Interview with the gents of Uglytown:
Jim Pascoe and Tom Fassbender
April 2003

JON:  So, lets start right at the beginning. How did you two meet? And was liqueur involved?

JIM & TOM:  Don't be silly. Liquor is always involved. UglyTown doesn’t like to dwell on beginnings. We can remember knowing about each other before we actually meet. Perhaps because of that, we can't place that first meeting. Like the first time you have sex, the hype is more powerful that the reality. Don't believe it -- the truth is never more interesting that fiction.

JON:  What were you doing pre-UglyTown?

JIM & TOM:  At our heart, we are creatives. We love to write, love to tell stories. We worked like machines trying to find outlets for our passion.

JON:  Do you get a lot of submissions?

JIM & TOM:  More and more all the time. We're thankful for the patience of our potential authors -- with only two of us reading everything, in addition to all of the other madness, it takes us a lot longer to go through them all than we would like.

JON:  What is the process involved in getting the book out? Lets say that I send a manuscript, and you like it. It needs a little polishing but you want to publish it. What happens from that point on to seeing on a bookshelf in a bookstore?

JIM & TOM:  Here's an abbreviated version: Our submission guidelines request three sample chapters. If we like the quality of writing, we'll request the entire manuscript. If we like it, we'll offer a contract. The editing process involves a full content edit, which involves analyses of character, plot, theme, pacing, etc. After that comes a comprehensive line edit concentrating on tightening the prose. We offer all of our authors the opportunity to edit their fellow writers' books. It's a great way to keep our community tight.

During this process, we begin the marketing campaign. Working with our distributor, WORDS, we submit cover designs and other materials to present to our sales reps.

Once we've finished editing the text, it's put into QuarkXpress, and a printed galley is made. We use that for proofreading. We have close to ten proofreaders we use to catch as many mistakes as we can. Attention to detail is one of our main competitive advantages.

Books are printed, distributed to retailers, and served up to hungry customers. And yes, that really is the abbreviated version.

JON:  I’ve heard rumors, but can I get the real story on Dashiell Loveless?

JIM & TOM:  No.

JON:  What was the biggest obstacle you faced getting Uglytown going?

JIM & TOM:  Wow, there are almost too many to mention. Perhaps the biggest challenge was (and remains) reaching consumers directly. Your distributor can love you, retailers can love you, but if people don't walk into the independent bookstores and buy the books, that's the end. If you love a book -- whether it's one of our books or not -- the best thing you can do is talk it up as much as you can. Writers live and die by the support of their fans.

JON:  What did you do in the comics field besides write Buffy? I see your names pop up a lot.

JIM & TOM:  We've had a variety of jobs in the comics industry, in retail, distribution, editorial, marketing ... but it all really comes down to the fact that we've been professional barflies since before we've been drinking age.

JON:  What are your favorite comics of recent years?

TOM: We've been fans of Paul Pope's work since the very beginning. He constantly amazes us at how he gets better and better.

JIM: One of our other guilty pleasures, because it's so fun, is Batton Lash's Supernatural Law. Not only is it wonderfully done, two of the characters are based on Tom and I!

TOM: It's practically a trend to put us in comics. We've been in Rick Veitch's Rare Bit Fiends. And there's a character named Jim Fassbender in Scott Allie's Devil's Footprints.

JON:  Is it safe to say that you are publishing books that you would be inclined to buy? Basically publishing the kind of stuff you like to read?

JIM & TOM:  Bingo. You hit it on the head.

JON:  Tom, you’re originally from Wisconsin, and Jim, You’re originally from Pennsylvania. What took the two of you to California?

JIM & TOM:  Money and girls. Not necessarily in that order.

JON:  Does publishing get easier as you go?

JIM & TOM:  We wish.

JON:  In the back of By The Balls, under your bio’s it mentions that you seldom sleep. I share this trait with you so I understand it oh too well. What kind of things do you do to fill the hours late at night when the civilians are asleep?

JIM & TOM:  Besides Internet porn? Being creative requires a lot of alone time. Whether it's writing, making art, or making music. Blixa Bargeld says that if he ever had free time, he would immediately fill it with another project. Then the time would cease to be free. We can relate. Sounds like you can too.

JON:  This is the list question..... Who are some of your favorite authors?

JIM: J.G. Ballard. Haruki Murakami. Raymond Queneau. George Perec. Cornell Woollrich. Umberto Eco. John Irving. D.M. Thomas.

TOM: Philip K Dick. Don DeLillo. Richard Dawkins. Thomas Pynchon. Mark Twain. And, of course, Murakami and Eco.

JON:  And who are some of your favorite musicians?

JIM: Einsteurzende Neubauten. Atom Heart. Snog. Crime and the City Solution. Slint. 16 Horsepower. Lift to Experience. Ween.

TOM: Nick Cave. Serge Gainsbourg. John Coltrane. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Beat Happening.

JON:  The two of you have become a regular sight at the mystery conventions. What’s the thing you like most about them, and the thing you like least?

JIM & TOM:  We love meeting people, talking about ideas, learning new things, being inspired. We just don't like doing all that before noon.

JON:  You are publishing your first Hardcover book later this year. When you started UglyTown did you think this is where you would be a few years later?

JIM & TOM:  As booklovers, we have always wanted to do a hardcover. We don't think we would have thought we'd be doing it this soon. What's doubly ironic about this is we have no desire to grow our business too quickly. It all comes down to believing in our artistic gut instincts, following our business numbers, and doing what's best for our authors. When we can do all three, we win.

JON:  What’s the best way for someone to get your attention?

JIM & TOM:  You probably expect our answer to be "ply us with many free drinks," and, well, you'd be right. If you're talking specifically about advice for submitting authors, getting our attention is not always the best thing. We can recall tons of the ridiculous submissions that have gone to the top of the pile because of some crazy gimmick. But if the writing isn't good, all it means is you get the rejection slip faster.

Be persistent. Be professional. Let your writing speak for itself.

JON:  Are we going to see more books from the two of you? (he asked hoping for a yes....)

JIM & TOM:  The answer is a resounding yes. We've always been wary of folks who promote things before they're done. It smacks of false promises.

While we haven't written an UglyTown-published book recently, we've have had four-sized collections of comics come out in the last two years plus a non-mystery Buffy novel.

There will definitely be more crime fiction from us. There may even be some surprises.

JON:  Have the Ketel One vodka people called you to do an endorsement yet?

JIM & TOM:  No. Get on that, will ya?

JON:  What’s the next big thing from UglyTown going to be?

JIM & TOM:  You already mentioned our move into hard covers, starting with Sean Doolittle's Burn and Mark T. Conard's Dark as Night in 2003. To celebrate, we're throwing a big party when Book Expo America comes to UglyTown's hometown. If you're attending BEA this year, keep Friday night free, stop by our booth for an invite, and get ready to get ugly.

JON:  What’s the one thing always in your refrigerators?

JIM & TOM:  Water. Water is life.

UglyTown Authors:
Curt Colbert
Sean Doolittle
Tom Fassbender
Victor Gischler
Rodney Johnson
Dashiell Loveless
Jim Pascoe