Bad Religion, Edward Gorey, and the unspeakable horror of the literary life
For the last ten days or so I’ve been reviewing proofs for the Bad Religion book, an activity that fills me with terror and joy.
What are proofs? In publishing, the proof stage is when the author gets her manuscript back after it’s been typeset. It’s joyful because it’s the first time you see what your book will actually look like when it goes out into the world. It’s terrifying because it’s the last chance to catch a typo or fix a mistake.
This combination of emotions is disorienting. After two-and-a-half years of work, shouldn’t I know how to feel about this project?
There’s a memorable scene in my favorite book, The Unstrung Harp by Edward Gorey, in which the protagonist, Mr. Earbrass, reviews the galley pages for his new novel called The Unstrung Harp.
“TUH is over, so to speak, but far from done with. The galleys have arrived and Mr Earbrass goes over them with mingled excitement and disgust. It all looks so different set up in type that at first he thought they had sent him the wrong ones by mistake.”
The Unstrung Harp is my favorite book. It’s subtitle is “Or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel” and the book is about exactly that. Gorey captures every phase of the novel writing process with uncanny alacrity. “Over but far from done with,” reflects the mood at Casa Ruland these days.
The Bad Religion book is in a purgatorial phase. It’s life as a manuscript is over, but many, many thousands of prayers must be said before the pearly gates of publication swing open.
Reviewing proofs is different from other kinds of revision. It requires a different kind of rigor. By now these sentences, paragraphs, entire pages are familiar to me. One has to trick the eye into seeing them anew. My process is to read the manuscript from start to finish and then go backwards from the final page to the first. I do this to disrupt the flow so I can really see what’s on the page rather than what I imagine to be there.
I knew a proofreader who worked at a publishing company whose boss only gave him half the manuscript to review. He did this to discourage his proofreaders from getting too invested in the story.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like hell to me.
One of the things I learned from my career in advertising is a healthy respect for proofs. This view seesawed between reverence and fear because of the scale of the enterprise.
I frequently wrote things that would go out to millions of people. A mistake could have massive financial implications. An error in the printing of a booklet of terms and conditions for a rental car contract, for example, could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to rectify.
My boss at the agency I used to work for, Brierley Partners, taught me that one should always view proofs in the final form the work will take. Proof emails on screen and letters on the page, etc. What might seem like a great idea for a billboard on your computer screen might not work once it’s designed, laid out, printed in thirty-foot tall letters, and read at 70 miles per hour.
Thankfully, that’s not how we read books.
I’ve been taking the proofs to coffee shops, reading them on my couch, and even bringing pages to bed with me, and I’m happy to report that what I mostly feel is joy.
The main reason for that is the commitment to the project by the members of the band. They each spent countless hours telling me stories, stories that still make me smile and laugh and feel things.
But more importantly, they’ve each read the manuscript multiple times, making sure that every word reflects what they think and feel and believe to be true about the band that has defined the bulk of their lives.
I imagine most people read The Unstrung Harp and think, why would anyone want to be a writer when there’s so much anxiety and doubt involved? The double whammy begins with the first word and then never really goes away.
There’s a scene in The Unstrung Harp where Mr Earbrass stands in front of the window to a bookshop, and while he knows his book is there, he can’t bring himself to look at it, a situation that brings him to “a state of extreme and pointless embarrassment.”
Each little vignette in The Unstrung Harp is accompanied by one of Gorey’s dark and densely crosshatched drawings so that when Mr Earbrass describes “the unspeakable horror of the literary life” we feel it in our bones.
On the Gorey meter, I would say I’m feeling 99% excitement, 1% disgust. Believe me when I tell you it’s not always like this.
But I’m not going to stand in front of the bookshop window in “a state of extreme and pointless embarrassment.”
I’m going to a get a tattoo.
This begs an interesting question: What would a Bad Religion tattoo designed by Edward Gorey look like?
Lit Picks in Southern California and beyond for November 7-13
Thursday, November 7 at 7:30pm (SD)
Nick Neely will be at Warwick’s Books to discuss and sign his book, Alta California: From San Diego to San Francisco, A Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State.
Friday, November 8 at 7:30pm (LA)
Liska Jacobs launches her sensational new novel The Worst Kind of Want with Allie Rowbottom at Skylight Books.
Saturday, November 9 at 4pm (LA)
Cameron Douglas, son of Michael Douglas and grandson of Kirk Douglas, describes his hellish descent from a privileged kid in Hollywood to eight years in prison. Inject this book directly into my veins. The event will be held at Book Soup and if any of you attend I want to hear details!
Sunday, November 10 at 4pm (SD)
New York Times bestselling author Kel Kade will discuss her novel of epic fantasy, Fate of the Fallen, with Jenn Lyons at Mysterious Galaxy. This is a ticketed event so don’t be bitten.
Monday, November 11
Celebrate Veteran’s Day by ordering a book from your favorite veteran. I read a fascinating profile of Charles Willeford not too long ago, the hardbitten veteran of the Battle of the Bulge who went on to write weird little crime novels, but I can’t seem to find it so you’re just going to have to take my word for it.
Wednesday, November 13 at 7pm (SD)
Erin Morgenstern, author of the breakout bestseller The Night Circus will discuss her new novel The Starless Sea at the San Diego Central Library. This is a ticketed event. Doors open at 6:30pm. Admission costs $35 and includes a hardcover copy of the book, a seat for the event, and ticket for the signing line. For $45 you can get one book, two seats, and two tickets. Of course, you can always check out the book at the library for free.
Plan B (LA): The Wing in Santa Monica will be hosting an event called A Time You Felt Seen with readings by Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo, Siel Ju, Nithya Raman, and Rufi Thorpe, and hosted by Alisha Rai. The Wing is located at 8558 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. Fun starts at 6:30pm. I’ll be in L.A. next week and I’m very much looking forward to attending this event.
Thank you for reading Message from the Underworld. Look for my profile of Dean Koontz in the Los Angeles Timesthis weekend.