My sixteen-year quest to publish my memoir The Accidental Terrorist is nearly over. I feel like I've been fighting my way down the field all that time, sometimes making progress, sometimes getting stopped cold, sometimes losing big ground. But now that it's fourth and inches, and I need your help to cross the goal line.
Possibly you were planning to wait to buy The Accidental Terrorist at a book signing, or to order it this fall from your favorite independent bookstore. I can't fault you for that, and I don't even want to try to dissuade you. But the fact is, you will help me more if you pre-order a copy of the hardcover today, directly from me.
I will even sign it for you. A few months from now.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Last year when we first started talking about self-publishing this memoir, we decided not to finance it with a Kickstarter campaign. We didn't really know what the process would entail, and we didn't want to ask for your money when we didn't have a good handle on what we'd need to do use it for.
And that's only what we've spent so far. Juliet will soon be done with her second round of edits, at which point she'll be owed a second check, and then when I've finished my final revisions the proofs will go to my copy editor, while at the same time I'll be ordering a batch of advance reading copies to mail out to potential reviewers and blurbers. I've budgeted for some publicity also, but not a lot.
I could have put out a half-assed book last fall and been done with it. I would saved myself a lot of money and headaches, but I wouldn't have felt very good about it. I've always believed in this book, and believed it needed my best efforts—but those efforts are expensive.
This is not just good for you. It's good for me because, if I can place one big order for books from my printer in August, I'll get a volume discount, which means more money I can put toward those last production and publicity costs. Win-win!
So here's the deal. In the next thirty days, between now and July 15th, I want to make 500 pre-order sales. That's a lot, I know, but as of the moment I'm writing this, late Sunday night, I've already received 13 pre-orders. And that was without really trying!
Now is when we start trying for real, and with your help I'm positive we can make it. I've spent the past several days on a nearly sleepless coding marathon, getting AccidentalTerrorist.com ready for the push. You can see the magic progress gauge here on this page, and it will magically update itself before your very eyes within a few minutes of each new pre-order so you and I can keep track of our progress together. (How is that possible, you ask? Because I'm a computer programmer, and computer programmers are magic.)
Thanks for sticking with me this far. And look, if you can't afford the hardcover, or just don't want to buy one for whatever reason, I understand. There will be plenty of less pricey options later, including a trade paperback and various flavors of inexpensive ebooks. (In fact, the ebook is available for pre-order now on a few different stores.) If you can't help right now with your dollars, please help with your shares and retweets.
You know, I think I'm asking you to be my missionaries. If that's not fucked up, I don't know what is. But it's perfectly in the spirit of the book.
And now, the official pitch...
Be among the first to learn what really goes on with Mormon missionaries when they're not out knocking on your door.
The Accidental Terrorist
Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary
By William Shunn
Release date: 10 November 2015
“This just may be my favorite true-life amazing-but-true tale—never has threatening an aircraft been funnier or more thought-provoking.”
“I devoured the more than four hundred pages of this memoir in what was essentially one sitting . . . A welcome addition to the library of Mormon autobiography—educational and highly entertaining.”
1987. A faltering missionary named Bill Shunn lands himself in a Canadian jail, facing charges of hijacking and the prospect of life behind bars.
1844. A frontier prophet named Joseph Smith lands himself in an Illinois jail, facing charges of treason and the prospect of imminent lynching.
What binds these two men together? This riveting memoir—by turns hilarious, provocative and thrilling—answers that question in style, weaving from their stories a spellbinding tapestry of deception, desperation and defiance.
“You will read few other books as smart, funny, honest, and heartbreaking as The Accidental Terrorist, and I unreservedly recommend it to you as both a home-grown cautionary tale and a highly original coming-of-age saga.”
“The book grabs you on page one and never lets go. Fantastically written, beautifully paced, The Accidental Terrorist reads like a novel instead of a memoir. Only in novel form, no one would have ever believed these events could have happened. Believe it. William Shunn lived every word of this book. That he can share it so eloquently is a tribute not just to his writing skill, but his strengths as a human being.”
Want to get your hands on The Accidental Terrorist before anyone else? We'll happily ship you an advance signed hardcover at least a month before our November release date. Just order now!
What's more, as a reward for buying early, we'll also send you a DRM-free version of the ebook edition on the day of its release. All you need to do is tell us whether you prefer EPUB or MOBI format.
Don't miss out! Reserve your copy soon to take advantage of this limited early release!
If you select the Recipient Name + Signature option, be sure to specify the recipient's name as you wish Mr. Shunn to write it in the book.
Your book will ship in either September or October, depending on how our production schedule goes. Delivery will take longer for overseas addresses.
A big thank you to all our generous supporters!