Is It Genius or Crazy? You're Free to Decide on Independence Day!

 I'm not sure if my frenemy Tony Laplume's anti-social approach to book marketing is crazy or if it's genius.  I think it's pretty stupid but then I think of the old South Park where Eric Cartman buys a theme park and closes it to everyone except himself.  Then everyone wants to go to the park because they can't.

My lunch at Red Lobster that symbolizes...absolutely nothing.

So maybe by only offering stories in expensive and unpopular Kindle Vella and paperback formats, and maybe by using perhaps the ugliest cover I've ever seen:

(I mean seriously, all I see is the armpit hair and man boob and then it just grosses me right out.)

Maybe it's the kind of counter-intuitive thinking other people should try.  Or maybe it's something to avoid like the plague.  I don't know.  It's 4th of July, so whatever.  I doubt anyone will even notice.

I whipped up a new cover for him to use, but I'm sure he won't because he's stubborn like an ass.  This isn't great but it's the best I could do in like 20 minutes without spending any money.  (The titles are a little off-center because in paperbacks you can't have text near the edges.)

Anyway, there's no way in hell I would put a book cover as hideous as the original on my shelf, but maybe that's just me.  Maybe others would see it as a brilliant lampooning of publishing norms or something.  (I would just see it as a shitty template picture and font.)  Maybe they'd whip it out at parties to show people as a conversation starter.

Between that and using formats people don't really buy as much, maybe it's like Cartman bragging that no one can go to his park.  Or maybe it's Laplume's way to insulate himself because God knows he can't stand it if anyone criticizes him.  He has to be the smartest guy in the room and the only way to guarantee that is to be the only guy in the room.  I mean if I'm in any way critical of him on his blog he shuts down comments, because of course conservative types love talking about free speech...until you say something they don't like.

But anyway, maybe his approach is so crazy that it's genius.  What do you think?  I promise I, unlike someone else, will not shut down your comments unless it's obviously spam.  Not that I expect there to be comments.

Whatever.  Happy Independence Day! (I think at this point I would welcome an alien invasion blowing up most of the world's cities.)