Alright Bots, we’ve got another chance to take action for the little guys. I know there are a lot of readers here that support small business, local business, and independent writers, publishers, etc. Here’s a great chance for it.

Some of you may remember reading about a project on Wondermark, BoingBoing or other places several years ago called Machine of Death. The concept is a machine that can tell you exactly what your cause of death will be, but no further details such as date, place or even an interpretation. The creators asked for reader submissions and received over 700. They chose 30  and got some illustrators on board as well. The book they built is an anthology full of people you’ve probably never heard of.

Here’s where things went wrong. Apparently, despite it sounding ridiculously cool, no one wants to publish an anthology book with no big name writers. So, in true internet fashion, these guys decided it was time to publish on their own. And, using the inernet, they plan to make this work.

You can read more about the project at their website. You can buy the book on Amazon now, but please don’t do it yet. Does that sound weird? They’ve actually got a fun idea for it. Apparently to be considered a “bestseller” on Amazon you don’t have to sell a certain number of copies overall, just a certain number of copies in a specific time period. The plan is an online “flash mob” of sorts. On October 26th, buy this book on Amazon. If they sell even a few hundred copies that day it should be a bestseller and they’ll have their small victory.

Of course, even if you don’t want to join the stunt, the book still sounds interesting and probably an enjoyable read. You can also buy it directly or wait for the free .pdf and audio versions. But where’s the fun in that? If you want to support independent art, now’s a good chance.