A Long and Messy Business
A Long and Messy Business
Rowley Leigh
Photography by
Andy Sewell
Dear Reader,
The book you are holding came about in a rather
different way to most others. It was funded directly by
readers through a new website: Unbound. Unbound is
the creation of three writers. We started the company
because we believed there had to be a better deal for
both writers and readers. On the Unbound website,
authors share the ideas for the books they want to write
directly with readers. If enough of you support the book
by pledging for it in advance, we produce a beautifully
bound special subscribers’ edition and distribute a
regular edition and ebook wherever books are sold,
in shops and online.
This new way of publishing is actually a very old
idea (Samuel Johnson funded his dictionary this way).
We’re just using the internet to build each writer a
network of patrons. At the back of this book, you’ll
find the names of all the people who made it happen.
Publishing in this way means readers are no longer
just passive consumers of the books they buy, and
authors are free to write the books they really want.
Authors get a much fairer return too – half the profits
their books generate, rather than a tiny percentage of
the cover price.
If you’re not yet a subscriber, we hope that you’ll
want to join our publishing revolution and have your
name listed in one of our books in the future. To get you
started, here is a £5 discount on your first pledge. Just
visit unbound.com, make your pledge and type messy5
in the promo code box when you check out.
Thank you for your support,
Dan, Justin and John
Founders, Unbound
Contents
Puntarella Salad with Anchovies and
Custard Cake with Prunes . . 40
Turnips and Beluga Lentils . . 55
