WRITE A BOOK

[Gareth Davies]

I must admit that I haven't seen the 2nd edition, I have the 1999 version. And I do genuinely mean it when I say it is an excellent book. I live in the heart of Salisbury Plain and it has been an excellent guide to the military history of the county.

[Moonraker]

If you come across the second edition in a local bookshop (Cross Keys in Salisbury, for example) you may find it worthwhile to spend up to five minutes (oh, all right, three) flicking through the second edition. Nearly all the photographs are different, there's a new section on Wiltshire war poets and the bit on Devizes wireless station is far more accurate. Some other shortcomings of the first edition have been corrected, not least the statement that Tidworth Park was the most pleasant of the Wiltshire camp-sites - it's actually in Hampshire! But Tidworth village itself - and I think its station - straddled the county boundary, and Tidworth Park and Park House Camp (also just in Hampshire) fit well enough into the book's geographical compass.

Moonraker

[Gareth Davies]

You never know, I may even buy a copy!

[Moonraker]

Authors with books unlikely to attract a mainstream publisher and thinking of paying for publication should consider

this thread

I presume that the author paid for his book on a worthy subject to be published but decided against some of the "extra" options - which some might think was a false economy.

I admit to being very sensitive about how my own literary efforts appear (not that some of my posts in this Forum bear too close an examination), and am very conscious of the five minor errors that I'm so far aware of in one of my own books.

And way, way back in 1969 the printer of my first book had trouble with my rendering of "lèse majesté" - in those days accents were added with a pen to typed letters - both at copy and proof-correction stages. Flicking through my book, a French girl friend pointed to the words - incorrectly printed - and asked what they meant. I recall that one came out as "lise". (In fact, having just checked the dictionary, I see that the accentless form "lese-majesty" is now the preferred form.)

Moonraker

[Moonraker]

Eighteen months after publication, I've discovered a missing full stop in one of my books.

I was checking my original text to cut-and-paste for another thread, and there it was - or wasn't.

How many times did I check the original, not to mention the proof ...

Moonraker

[joerookery]

How many times did I check the original, not to mention the proof ...

This makes me smile. You should try to meld together a manuscript written in American English, with a lot of German words, proofed by somebody with only a knowledge of English from Great Britain and published by an Austrian! In the long run the publisher does what he wants.

[Ken S.]

Now that the Library and Archives of Canada will be digitizing all of the CEF service files by (they claim) sometime in 2015, I will hopefully manage to finally put something together about the 205th Battalion, CEF.

[jtemple507]

Hi

I am in the process of completing a novel written in dairy format of an Indain soldier who fought in Flanders and France from October 1914 to November 1915. I am hoping to have the manuscript completed by the end of this year so it is ready for the 100th annivesary in 2014. I have never published before and a few agents I have approached show no interest in work. The novel also takes a detour to the Brigthon Pavillion Hospital from June to September 1915 where the injured character ends up working as a translator and has a brief love-affair with a QAIMNS sister before being sent back to the Front. There is a Big Push on (Battle of LOOS) and all soldiers are needed to win the war! One of the themes of my novel is to give a voice to the thousands of Indian soliders (my ancestors) who fought and died for the Empire on the Western Front.

That is a synopsis of my work. Is there anyone out there who can help me to get published or give me pointers as to who would be interested in looking at my work. I think there is the potential for a lot of itnerest today and in 2014 by all British people to the contribution made by Indians and others to the Great War effort.

Thank You

I am also writing a fictional work, on a soldier in the 47th (2nd London) Division throughout the war. I've been taking most of my research from The Long, Long Trail and inferring from Wikipedia when an specific article on LLT is not available for that battle, plus various books I've read. Honestly, research has been tough, since I'm living in the US with a tight budget and thus can really only rely on online sources. Finding a publisher will also be quite tough, because I'm in the US. Nobody over here really remembers the Great War anymore, it certainly didn't impact us as much as it did our British friends in WW1, or ourselves in WW2! I was thinking HarperCollins, they publish pretty much everything! But that's a long ways away. I'm just finishing the first draft. Hopefully at some point I will get the chance to visit the battlefields, most especially High Wood and the 47th Division Memorial there. I'd also like to see London so I can get an idea of where my soldier might have lived.

Thanks,

JT

[Ron da Valli]

An interesting topic. I've been researching the names on Llandudno war memorial, and may go down the self publishing route. Has anybody had any experience of Publish Nation, they seem to be a good bet.

[stevem49]

Has anyone tried Amazon publishing yet. It looks a good way to 'do it yourself' but not sure.

Steve

[CaroleHope]

I've just come across this thread and because of its length and the fact that I have already been through the process of publishing my book I have not read the thread in any great depth. However, just a few comments. 1) Self-publishing on demand (as opposed to vanity publishing) with someone like Reveille Press/Tommies' Guides is reasonably cost effective 2) but there are extras which may not be immediately obvious, such as the cost of proof reading/copy reading and compiling an index. I could only afford to pay for an index and relied on a friend to proof/copy read for me. However, as the friend was as enthusiastic about the subject of the book as I was he got carried away with reading rather than "proofing" and some typos did slip through. 3) It's very difficult to get such special interest books in shops (although that might change over the next few years) but Amazon will probably take it on. 4) AWM charges for photographs are reasonable compared to IWM and I made the exact point to IWM that someone in this thread has already stated - if authors use IWM photographs (for which IWM have copyright because the image they sell you is their own digital image/photograph of the original photograph) it helps promote IWM, but IWM prices small-fry (for want of a better term) authors (such as me) out of affording them. A good way of sourcing illustrations is to look for original postcards for sale on a website such as Delcamp. For example, there are many original photographs to be purchased of Tower Bridge at Loos, the leaning Our Lady of the Basilica of Albert etc. but it is a bit tedious searching for what you want. I also sourced photographs from In Flanders Field Museum, Ieper for a very reasonable fee. 5) Timescale, my book took 7 years to research, write and bring to publication, but it is a biography and uses a lot of primary source material. 6) just a general observation (and promotion!) - how many more Great War diaries/memoirs/letters are likely to appeal? I've no idea, but it does depend on the quality of the writing. I was lucky to stumble across 63 letters (89,000 words) written by a very engaging, articulate writer serving on the Western Front from February 1916 until his death in the front lines during Battle of Langemarck, 16/8/17 - uncensored, because who is going to censor the letters of the Roman Catholic padre?

Good luck with all your writing projects.

Carole

[stevem49]

Carole -

I contacted both the National Archives and IWM and was told it would be free for a small run. As mine is about one battalion, then definitely a small (ish) run. Have you contacted them?

You can also put them on Amazon yourself to sell.

After going down the self-publishing (!) on demand route, the one I'm working on now will be down some other route (possibly!)

Steve

[CaroleHope]

Carole -

I contacted both the National Archives and IWM and was told it would be free for a small run. As mine is about one battalion, then definitely a small (ish) run. Have you contacted them?

You can also put them on Amazon yourself to sell.

After going down the self-publishing (!) on demand route, the one I'm working on now will be down some other route (possibly!)

Steve

Hi Steve,

thanks for your advice. My book has been published now, in old fashioned format but available on request on Kindle I believe, so the cost of illustrations is water under the bridge. I did find when making enquiries at IWM that there were hidden costs which were not immediately obvious - so beware! As for the publishing of your one battalion project, I suppose your choice of route depends how many books you think you might sell and in what format. Going through Reveille Press has been cost effective for me and although I do keep a small supply of books at home to take to try and sell when I give talks, they don't take up much storage space because I can just order another small quantity when I run out. Reveille Press deal direct with Amazon for me so I don't get involved with printers and arranging distribution to Amazon or on behalf of Amazon. I may not earn as much in royalties - but then we are not talking about the clout of a Max Arthur here!

Anyway, the satisfaction gained from completing such a project outweighs the costs.

Good luck with yours.

Carole

[Moonraker]

For one approach to self-publishing, see the last part of

this article

about a book by local historian John Ellis on the war in Newton Abbot, Devon.

Kudos to John for his success in getting good coverage in the local newspaper and for his overall marketing efforts.

Moonraker

[jtemple507]

Now if only I could do that over here. People in the US just aren't very interested in the Great War, that's the biggest problem I've come across in getting people interested in my book.

[John_Hartley]

Unsurprisingly, when I visit America, I'll always look at the military history section in bookshops. There so few Great War books - in comparision with the War Between the States and WW2, but I suppose that's due to comparitively minor involvement and comparitively minor casualties. And, where there are books, they are often written by British authors. That said, one of the best researched and best written modern histories I've read, is "The Remains of Company D". I was amazed how many descendents the author had managed to track down - something generally not done by authors here (me included).

[healdav]

Carole -

I contacted both the National Archives and IWM and was told it would be free for a small run. As mine is about one battalion, then definitely a small (ish) run. Have you contacted them?

You can also put them on Amazon yourself to sell.

After going down the self-publishing (!) on demand route, the one I'm working on now will be down some other route (possibly!)

Steve

I have two books on Amazon Kindle. It is remarkably simple to use. Basically, once you have your text, and photos set up as you want them, just go to the part of the Amazone website and find the part about publishing your own work, then follow the instructions. Once you get to the website it takes no more than ten minutes - they even have a set of book covers for you to use, and you just add the title.

Remember to put in your bank details, otherwise you won't get paid. Payment comes per book sold now, and you will get a mail message to say that the money has been sent.

If you want to sell it in the USA, for some reason you have to put it into Amazon.com separately to Amazon.co.uk

Strangely, putting it on one of these sites (i'm not sure which) will ensure that it sells on Amazon.fr and Amazon.de, Amazon.jp, and the others, as well.

[CaroleHope]

Unsurprisingly, when I visit America, I'll always look at the military history section in bookshops. There so few Great War books - in comparision with the War Between the States and WW2, but I suppose that's due to comparitively minor involvement and comparitively minor casualties. And, where there are books, they are often written by British authors. That said, one of the best researched and best written modern histories I've read, is "The Remains of Company D". I was amazed how many descendents the author had managed to track down - something generally not done by authors here (me included).

Well you never know what you might discover if you track down descendants. I accept that in my case, as I was writing a biography about one person rather than researching a whole battalion or war memorial, it was a less daunting prospect. The subject of my biography, a WW1 military chaplain, was born in 1873, the last of 7 siblings only one of whom, a sister, went on to have children who survived into adulthood. I did not know her married surname but eventually traced her great-nephew and his family. The file of papers and other artefacts in their possession were quite mind blowing. In addition to 63 letters, 89,000 words written by Fr Willie Doyle from the front February 1916 until just before his death in the front lines August 1917, there was a hand-written letter from Major-General William Hickie, OC 16th (Irish) Division confirming that he had recommended Fr Doyle for the Victoria Cross, which was not granted. The family also has Fr Doyle's Military Cross.

Carole

[jtemple507]

I have two books on Amazon Kindle. It is remarkably simple to use. Basically, once you have your text, and photos set up as you want them, just go to the part of the Amazone website and find the part about publishing your own work, then follow the instructions. Once you get to the website it takes no more than ten minutes - they even have a set of book covers for you to use, and you just add the title.

Remember to put in your bank details, otherwise you won't get paid. Payment comes per book sold now, and you will get a mail message to say that the money has been sent.

If you want to sell it in the USA, for some reason you have to put it into Amazon.com separately to Amazon.co.uk

Strangely, putting it on one of these sites (i'm not sure which) will ensure that it sells on Amazon.fr and Amazon.de, Amazon.jp, and the others, as well.

I'd assume just regular Amazon.com, as amazon.co.uk is specifically for items being sold in, or rather from, the UK.

[Felix C]

Thinking of submitting to a publishing house first before considering Amazon or physical self-publishing.

What type of time frame from submission to response is there with these firms?

Have self-published books later been picked up by established publishers?

[Moonraker]

Hi Felix

I guess all us budding (or budded) authors have different tales to tell, but I would say most publishing houses will let you know within a couple of weeks if they aren't interested. If they think they may be, they may consult an outside expert, who may take several more weeks to read the typescript and comment,

My Canadian effort languished for six months or so with a Canadian house, who finally told me that it was very interesting but they usually only published such books with grant aid from the Government, and as I was British my work wasn't eligible ...

I would say that it's most unlikely that an established publisher would "pick up" a self-published book that presumably has enjoyed some initial sales. It may happen with the occasional novel.

If you tell us what the subject of your potential submission is, then we might be able to make further comments.

Moonraker

[Felix C]

Thanks.

Work is nonfiction.

Translated/annotated/enlarged version of U-boat commander Johannes Spiess' "Six Years of Submarine Missions"

[Moonraker]

Could be the sort of book that Jay Slater at Fonthill Media might be interested in? See post 145 above yours, Felix, and

here

Googling shows that Jay has posted on a number of forums, mostly military-orientated, inviting authors to contact him. I also found this:

"I have commissioned the likes of Ed Dyer, Tim McLelland, Tony Buttler and many more. I previously commissioned books at Ian Allan Publishing and The History Press, the latter being a waste of time and effort on my part. That said, I have been asked to join Fonthill Media to be launched this spring as their publisher. The first books are the definitive titles on the P-51 Mustang and Westland Whirlwind fighters, for example ... if you do have an idea for a book, by all means drop me a line so we can discuss it further."

I haven't been able to determine whether Fonthill carries the costs of production and pays royalties, or whether authors are invited to chip in. Some of the published titles look good.

Moonraker

[Felix C]

Thanks. I read and noted for future use. Not quite finished as you can see from one of my posts in another sub-forum. Still fleshing out the work but thinking ahead for the inevitable next phase.

[Ron da Valli]

I used Publish Nation for my first book. It took about three weeks from me first submitting my manuscript to it being available for sale. It cost about £200.

I am writing my second book and I am going to do it all myself. You can download templates from Create My Space which is a part of Amazon.