Discussion of the man and his work.

Harlan, is there any specific reason why you and Werner haven't collaborated on anything yet? An original screenplay, an adaptation of one of your stories, what-have-you? It just strikes me as the sort of alliance the stars themselves would deliberately conspire to prevent from ever happening, like Terry Gilliam and Mikhail Bulgakov.

Harlan: I will direct Mr. Cameron to your post first thing tomorrow.

REPLY TO JOHN E. WILLIAMS
Re: Your post of a few minutes ago.

Please convey to Lou Cameron's son that not only was I a HUGE fan of his dad's work, but I contributed a blurb to the cover of THE BASTARD'S NAME IS WAR, his father's terrific novel published by Fawcett's Gold Medal Books in 1963, right around the time Gold Medal published my SPIDER KISS (aka ROCKABILLY). I hadn't known his work prior to that (I was solicited to blurb BASTARD'S NAME by my then-editor at Gold Medal, Walter Fultz, a fine fine man too soon thereafter deceased) but I bought every Lou Cameron book that came out thereafter, although he wrote under so many pseudonyms, I'm sure I missed dozens. I even continued buying the amazingly entertaining FARGO westerns from Belmont/Tower after the publisher jumped-over to using a "house pseudonym" -- John Benteen -- because it was POSSIBLE they'd been written by Lou Cameron. (You'll recognize the historical name "Benteen," of course, from the Little Big Horn.)

There were several subsequent trail-cuts with me and Lou Cameron, but it is sufficient here to say I was, and remain, a devoted Lou Cameron reader.

Thanks for noting this, JohnE. Ah, memory! One of night's black agents.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Harlan's typewriter: the silence.............


Okay, I chatted with Harlan tonight. Things are in motion. As Harlan has already requested, there's nothing more to discuss here, and until or unless something else is needed from the group only HE is empowered to break the silence on this subject. Any further typewriter discussion among Webderlanders should go to the forums.

There's nothing to see here...

...move along...

...move along.

HARLAN'S TYPEWRITER AT THE SUMMIT AFTERMATH....




AFTER PART ONE: THE SILENCE

PART TWO: HARLAN REPLIES AFTER READING POSTS

1. I am somwhat physically limited these days, BUT...writing a page or two on that old Remington (sitting on the floor in our bedroom at the moment) is doable. Meaning: I am up for doing what needs to be done to "add extra value." Writing much more than that is questionable. I'm at approximately 13,000 words on "Riding the Rails in Atlantis" and I have to struggle every day to get up to the office and continue work on it. (Josh has grown petulant with me, because THE DISCARDED is HIS book, too. Not to mention Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press, with whom the book has been under contract for years. Not to mention my long-time agent Richard Curtis. Not to mention my good and sweet friend, Joe Stefko, drummer with The Turtles, who has been waiting Buddhalike for years for the final new Foreword to THE COMPLEAT GLASS TEAT omnibus. They are all friends and incredibly patient with me.) So, yes, your variegated suggestions of a page-of-this or a page-of-that left in the typewriter is a given. In fact, I can think of fifty ways to enhance that piece of paper, up to & including writing it right before the eyes of the entity with the fistful of cash.

2. Susan and I closed down the brief e.bay account we had, oh maybe eight, nine years ago. I don't think the word "despise" is muscular enough for my feelings e.baywise. John Q. Satan has a better chance of getting my vote for Governor of California than Meg Whitman, and I ain't that big a fan of Jerry Brown, even though he sat in The Chair here at Ellison Wonderland when he visited with his then-girl friend, Linda Ronstadt. Oh, yeah: e.bay. For me, not so much, folks. They like sucking people in to buy shit, but they won't make even a modestly human attempt to put in place a mechanism to handle little piddling errors or scams visited on the likes of me and my honey. So, though I never sold anything on e.bay, never had a seller's account, when they refused to course-correct our 100% buyer's record after we PROVED we had paid not once, but twice, for a pretty cheap piece of Asian-touted-as-Venetian glassware...we said fuck'm and have never been back to e.bay in any way.

3. Nonetheless, if David Silver and Rick Wyatt and Steve Barber and Clifford Meth and the shall-be-unnamed friend of Werner Herzog (whose forthcoming film will blow you far far away it is so splendiferous) and the Typewriter Tussle Posse think they can outsmart and outhit the shitheads at e.bay, I am open to their stratagems.

3. Five thousand is considerably, notably, below what I'll consider as an OPENING bid. For five grand, I'll take a sledgehammer to it and make sure NOBODY ever sees it again.
Yes, folks, it's about the money, which is why I have made sure none of YOU friends and actual readers of Ellison, get your exchequers or yourselves sucked into this vortex.

4. Raffle ain't gonna do it. Too much work that neither Susan nor I have the capacity to undertake. And being a mooch, a schnorer, a person who imposes on the affections of one's friendships, well...there are already heartbreakingly loyal pals in the Typewriter Tussle Posse whose lives I've interdicted with this undertaking. No, I need no loan. Thank you to each and every one who offered.

5. Probably lots of other things I should reply-to here, anent your smart, caring posts. But I've forgotten them as I have been writing points 1 through 4. If I remember more later, I'll come back. And Bob's Your Uncle.

Till then, I'm in good hands, and waiting for David Silver to get back home. Tried the last number I had for him, and it just rang and rang. But he'll get to me, so don't fret, Cliff, or Steve, or Rick.

Otherwise, the day seems to be ending, and I have a honey to pay attention to.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

shagin: Kick. Ass.

Harlan, I don't know if this is here or there for you, but it turns out one of my co-workers happens to be Lou Cameron's son. Small world, etc.

My ;ove story short-short "Afterglow" is now up at Ideomancer Magazine.

http://www.ideomancer.com/

SHOUT OUT TO DAVID SILVER

Just got to your post from Tuesday. Please call me ASAP. I had no idea. You know my number. I'll be up till about 8 tonight. Or anytime completely convenient for you.

Harlan

FURTHER TYPEWRITER CONVERSATIONS

May be held in the Forums under HARLAN'S TYPEWRITER in the GENERAL threads.

Going Viral
My blog doesn't get that much traffic, between four and five hundred hits a day, but if'n we are creating a wave, here's my bit:

http://tinyurl.com/2887euh

Perry

THE SUMMIT ----- AFTERMATH, part one: "The Silence"


You are a fine, fine, even dandy, crowd.

We have more than enough input now to get the machine licking its chops. All your suggestions of catching the interests of Christies, Sotheby, Heritage, Hake, Diamond, Profiles in History, were wise and helpful, although I already knew of them, of course, and in the case of two of them, had long-since had dealings with them. What I needed was for THEM to know about this, without my first going to them...in which case they'd have slipped into their usual cozening, seductive (but ultimately), lowballing procedures.

At THIS point, I ask that you go as viral as you wish, feeding all moneyed, interested parties with whom you have a connection
to the Pav thread our Trail Boss, our Ombudsman, and our Archbishop have indicated. Pour everything thattaway.

Not here.

Please, not here. You're driving out of their minds, the Smart Friends of Ellison who're trying to pull this together for the next steps.

Idle comment, funny lines, driftasides, ON THIS SUBJECT will only snafu the main effort. Nobody is fucking with your right to talk about this if you've got something real or pertinent. Assume, though, that unless you have special knowledge, or something current and unique, we already got it.

That leaves this Pavillion open for me to reply to Ellison stuff distinguishing THIS site from the 20,000,000 OTHER places for posting your dog's ongoing battle with Killer Fleas, etcetera.

Keep visiting, keep chatting, while at the OTHER thread (the name of which I don't know because, well, er, uh) yesterday wasn't the best day of ANYbody's life, and I simply haven't gotten around to reading ANYTHING that followed my circa 3:00 PM Tuesday post about Harlan's Typewriter.

Read only one or two replies to The Summit, before the feces hit the fumarole here at The Lost Aztec Temple of Mars, last Tuesday...but I shall...and I already thank and adore you. Had it not for seeing the length, breadth and height of Tues-Thurs' posts, driving the New Threadmaster / Ombudsman / Capt. Nemo of this tub nearly bananacakes, I would be more voluble, and able to direct you to the code-name of the pertinent Typewriter site at the Pavillion Annex.

If my gratitude were cast as pavestones, you would have a four-lane superhighway from YOUR front door to the plain of Gizeh.

Yr. Pal, Harlan

Harlan's Typewriter
Dear Unca' Harlan,

There is a website, http://www.worthpoint.com that provides individuals with a way to research what items' selling prices have been in recent auctions.

I used it to sell some icons recently. I had to sign up, but there is a free seven (7) day trial period. I did all of my research in a day and then canceled my "subscription" with no problems.

All the other Webderlanders have come up with such good ideas and points that this is the only thing I can add to the discussion.

Kind regards,
G.

Harlan's Tpewrier some additional comments and thoughts
Non-Paying eBay bidders- I've sold on eBay since 1996. I don't know exactly how long that was after they started, but it was not terribly long. I was there when they first made it poosible to use pictures, and remember what a relief it was to not have to describe things to a tee.

So I have sold on ebay for fourteen years, I've run at least ten thousand auctions that resulted in a sale. I have had perhaps three or four non-paying bidders, and those all were for penny ante purchases. I have sold fine art on eBay for prices approaching ten=thousand dollars and more, many times, and never been stiffed on one of those high end sales.

Also, I believe eBay offers a form of listing that requires the winning bidder to make immediate electronic payment upon winning the auction, failing which the ebay system cancels their winning bid and awards the right to buy the item to the next highest bidder, all without any intervention by the seller (assuming the second highest bidder has met the reserve, if any).

I have no idea what ethical problems eBay may have. Never heard of anyone having problems on eBay of that nature, and I never have had any come to my attention in fourteen years of using their services. They ban people for things like shill bidding, lying about details pertinent to what listed items, as well as outright fraud and non-payment or non-delivery of paid for goods.

Now for my NEW idea.

I have a friend who is an auctioneer. He actually went to a professional auction school, graduated and got the certificate. He has run dozens, perhaps hundreds by now (twenty years since he got his ticket), and is quite good at auctioneering. He is ALSO a science fiction fan. Without IDing him further, he's well known. He was once a Guest of Honor at a WOrldcon, for what it is worth.

Why not auction the typewriter off at the WorldCon in Reno next year? There are plenty of Fans with lots of money. Some are downright wealthy. Not to mention the other writers that will be in attendance, including a certain GOH who had one of his books bought for a certain Pirate movie starring a guy named Johnny. My Fan friend the auctioneer would donate his services. You can promote this for the next ten months or so, and then hold the auction on the last day of the WorldCon, after letting everyone ooh and ahh at the typewriter in a glass case for five days or so.

This would NOT require Harlan to go to the WorldCon. He can get a bonded individual to repreent him there, with the typewriter insured for a huge sum against loss, theft,damage etc.

This might be the way to keep it In The Family as far as who gets it, AND get the most cash.

Of course, Harlan has never been exactly unambivalently in love with your Average WorldCon sort of SF Fan...

Just saying.

OH OOPS!! HARLAN'S TYPEWRITER!
:o

And CINDY suggested a contest-- an essay contest with a $100 entry fee. The details are in my previous post.

How many people are members of HERC? If you didn't receive the predetermined windfall that you had in mind, the contest would be off and the money returned.

I LOVED Rick's and David's ideas too-- only added to MY idea.

For a chance for everyone to have a shot at the Holy Grail...
I'm being selfish
:)
Cindy

HARLAN'S TYPEWRITER - SUMMARY OF IDEAS SO FAR

HARLAN - I don't know if you've been following the typewriter conversation for the last two days or if you have indeed stayed away as I believe you suggested you would.

Assuming you haven't been following along, here, as neutrally as I can do it, is a RECAP of the main schools of thought.

A. Alex Jay Berman and Michael Rapoport suggested you go to one of the BIG AUCTION HOUSES. These folks would be able to help you figure out a correct starting valuation, and their customers are checked out ahead of time to make sure they can pay if they win the bidding. The disadvantage is that these auction houses will want a very large piece of the action, and it may be months or years before they can bundle it with enough similar sorts of items to justify holding the auction. One way around that second issue might be for you to find enough other cool bits of Ellisonia to create an Entirely Ellison Auction.

B. David Silver and Amperion, with a lot of other folks like Rick chiming in, urge you to go the EBAY route. There seems to be a sense that you would come out with a greater piece of the winning bid, and it would be faster and simpler. David's posting in particular you will want to track down and read because he makes a specific business proposition to you, and has some smart ideas about how you would promote such a sale. The downside to this is 1) it's an internet thing, not your favorite, and 2) some folks bid on Ebay and then can't follow up with the $, and 3) Mark Spieller suggests that Ebay may be an ethically challenged organization.

(whether more so or less so then the big auction houses hasn't been debated here)

C. Ian suggested a RAFFLE, but there doesn't seem to a lot of movement in that direction from the masses.

D. David Silver also mentioned, and I think others have encouraged, that you SELL DIRECTLY TO A COLLECTOR, as this would be simple and the least work on your part. There is some fear that without an open auction that you would be lowballed and get less then you deserve. Apart from that, on this board there also seems almost to be a revulsion to the idea, as the sort of thing that doesn't give everyone a fair chance, and that will for sure put the typewriter in the hands of a greedy, yucky sort of person. But that doesn't mean that doing so would not be in your best interests.

Two ideas seem to have drawn consensus:

1) Lagniappe. Almost everyone seems to agree that some little personal something to go with the typewriter would raise the value considerably - a photo of you using it back in the day, an actual manuscript written on it that was later published, or maybe some new, very short document by you - a note to the new owner, a one-page essay or story - written on the typewriter. There's been a lot of back and forth about what sort of lagniappe - but almost everyone seems to think there should be some.

2) Promotion. Almost everyone seems to think this can and should be heavily promoted ahead of time, regardless of the venue in which it is to be sold, to maximize the price (the exception being if you go straight to a collector).

No doubt I've overlooked a couple things, but that's what stood out to me from all this. It seems like the basic choices you have to weigh are how much effort you want to put into the project against how much more you might possibly make from the sale.

Best,

MM

The Circus Wagon
Dear Friends,

My publication The Circus Wagon was released yesterday by Damnation Books. http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615721740

A few days earlier, I finished the book trailer, which the publisher has added to the webpage.

Thank you all for your help in researching historic circus photos for the trailer.

As a story just shy of 7500 words (not quite a novelette), it's available in digital formats: PDF, ePub, MS Reader, Mobi Pocket, Palm. Amazon has a Kindle version too. (No print edition.) If you don't have any of these e-book reader devices, the PDF program Acrobat is included (or free) on most computers. And if you're interested in writing a review, I'd be happy to send you a PDF.

I hope you enjoy the read!

Regards,
Andrew S. Fuller

To: Robert Morales, re: FRANKENSTEIN recommendation
Robert-

Thank you for your recommendation of the 1818 text in your detailed response. I just placed an order for that Oxford edition. Can't wait to read it!

Ebay
Although Ebay would seem to be the most natural place for Harlan's Typewriter to be placed there is a cockroach or two on the wedding cake.

First and foremost, there is a difference between the someone bidding the highest and that person coming across with the scratch when its times to pay up. There have been problems with this time and time again, and Ebay has not yet found a way to resolve this.

Another problem is Ebay itself. Bruce Hershenson, who once used ebay as auction site for his movie poster business, has removed himself because of their problem with their 'ethics' standards. Considering, Harlans' own standards regarding ethical behavior and distrust of the internet this might not be the match made in heaven.

A reputed auction house does at least guarantee bonded bidders who have the scratch, takes all the details off the shoulders of Harlan (and Susan and all of us who would be happy to assist with a internet sale), and would give it the kind of promotion that would bring a large pile of long green. I do like the idea of Harlan including a "last page" that would be unique to the sale, and perhaps some reproductions of any exsisting pieces as part of the packaging.

Typewriter
1) Promote this web-wide/media to the hilt (e.g., Blue monkey gardyloos, a press release, etc.) about a couple weeks or so before listing.

2) Harlan lists on Ebay with reserve price. Though he may be loathe to do so, Harlan should list this himself (with assistance, of course) under his own account and he can identify himself as the seller in the listing, which would alleviate any hesitation about him being a new Ebay seller. Further, there may be a tax consequence (e.g., taxable income from the sale, sales tax) and yet another reason why this should be done under Harlan's own account.

Re: Frankenstein
Le:

Get the Oxford World's Classics edition of the 1818 text. A few years ago, Vintage put out a dual edition of both versions but the Oxford has a solid introduction by Marilyn Butler which puts Shelley's novel into context and explains the political climate that led to its revision. There was a wonderful oversized edition some years back with incredible illustrations by Barry Moser - and more recently, Dark Horse reprinted Bernie Wrightson's justly celebrated illustrated edition with a new, unreadable text design - but I believe both are the revised texts. The original is more accessible, wittier, and moves like a dream.

OT: Frankenstein edition
Can anyone recommend a good edition of Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN? Specifically, does anyone have a preference between the 1818 text vs, the revised text?

Alan, I Can't Stand It Any More...
Alan, would you at least put a space after your commas? Jesus Fucking Christ.

Tim Raven

Harlan’s Typewriter
I haven’t the slightest idea of how to sell the typewriter at the highest possible return. I wish I did know. I wish I won the lottery today, and gave half of the millions to Harlan. I would really do it. At that scale, how much money does one person or two really need? I would like to help Harlan Ellison. His life inspires me to continue writing. Writing makes me feel like a human being.

Financially, on a smaller scale, I’m a handy guy with a shitload of tools. Plumbing, carpentry, hauling stuff in my big gigantic pickup truck, etc. Harlan, I am at your command. I live in Burbank, very close. In return, perhaps you would read a bit of my work. I would be grateful for that and it would be an uneven exchange, certainly. This Tembo would be getting the better part of that deal.

Offering the best thoughts that I can contribute to the Great Typewriter Heist,

Tim Raven

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