Staceygarrett's CBRIII Review #8: Publish this Book by Stephen Markley

“I am only a writer in the sense that I am not anything else right now.”

Yep, that about sums it up.

Let’s just go ahead and get this out of the way, I consider myself a “writer.” Go ahead. Roll your eyes at all that pretentiousness going on. It’s cool. But I am and I consider myself a writer even though I am not good (I am great). It is something I have always wanted to do and something I have always been fairly kick-ass (to me) at doing. If that doesn’t make me a writer, I don’t know what does.

Stephen Markley is a writer and he is worlds better than I (but like small, conquerable worlds). Unlike me, he has actually written books with words and plots. In Publish This Book, Markley writes about trying to get the very book he is writing published. It’s very meta…I don’t know what meta means but I feel like I am right?

The concept may seem boring or procedural but I assure you, this book is nothing less than beautiful. Yes, I just said beautiful. Markley has a knack for description that makes my lady bits tingle a bit. That might be a hefty bit of Too Much Information but I care not. There ain’t nothing like a man that can successfully (and heart-breakingly) describe his Love Interest in one chapter and in another speak about ball pokeage. And (!) he hates white people and he day drinks! Uhhhh…Score! If he had an outstanding collection of comic books and was completely, irrevocably emotionally unavailable, I would be stalking him right now.

Where was I going…right. Book Review. I’m on it.

I feel there is artistry in naming chapters so with names like “Please Don’t Fact Check this Chapter,” and “The Parts of this Book that Belong in the Toilet,” it was pretty much predetermined that I would love this book. And I did. The way it was described to me was “Sorta memoir/ sorta how-to/ all awesome.” That is the best description that I can give it. It is nothing like any other book I have ever read.

I can’t really describe to you, a feeble-minded non-writer, how this book resonated with me. I sat for hours reading and nodding my head in “EXACTLY!” agreement. You want to call yourself a writer but you second guess yourself every time with thoughts of; I haven’t lived enough/ been homeless enough/ drank enough/ done enough drugs to be an effective writer. While reading I thought to myself, “Maybe this whole writing thing isn’t so insurmountable? Maybe my dumbass can actually do this?” I am pretty sure I still can’t but Publish This Book just made me feel a little more optimistic about it.

And it isn’t just for writers. While he does know a bit about writing it’s also about coming of age and the overwhelming college graduate fear of “Fuucccck. What am I going to do now?” It’s about relationships and friendships and actually following through with something you have always wanted to do. It’s also a story about one seriously funny mother fucker. That right there should be enough for you to pick it up. Go do that. I have a signed copy, so you can’t have mine.