Publicity might be the lifeblood of the book trade these days but author Cathal Morrow is going public in more ways than one with plans to float himself on the London Stock Exchange. Having previously wangled sponsorship from a private equity company to fund a year without lying – he's writing up his exploits as the book Yes We Kant – Morrow is hopeful that patrons looking for a more unusual investment will back this latest project, Me Me Me Plc.

"Rather than one company owning part of the intellectual property of a project, a lot of people will own a smaller part of me," he says. Morrow is offering a total of 30,000 shares in himself at £10 a piece (he's retaining 30%, "the vital organs and so forth"). Because he's not legally allowed to sell shares in himself, what investors are actually buying is a signed photo of the author, with the shares given for free. Morrow is also looking for non-executive directors and sponsors.

"I'm floating the value of me, that is the intellectual property of the story of my flotation on the stock exchange," he says. "If it goes viral, if we get book deals, and a big movie studio wades in with a big chunk of cash, then that could be worth a considerable amount. The more 'famous' I become, the greater the value of me."

Although crowdfunding is becoming increasingly popular among authors – novelist Tao Lin made $12,000 selling shares in his second novel – an initial public offering takes the concept to the extreme (Morrow will even have to produce accounts). So far, only "a couple of dozen" shareholders have jumped on board so he has some way to go to make the approximately £250,000 it costs to float on the Stock Exchange – but he remains undaunted. "I emailed the CEO of the LSE, but no official response as yet," he says. "I expect them to welcome me with open arms, and perhaps a little cuddle."