WRITE A BOOK

[Moonraker]

Oh the irony! I've just been asked to write a 1,500-word article on Salisbury Plain and the Great War for a fee that matches the total royalties earned in four years from Wiltshire and the Great War (80,000 words).

 

Moonraker

[stevem49]

Maybe the way to go.

I would just be happy to see the royalties earned in the last five years

 

[Moonraker]

This morning the publishers of Wiltshire and the Great War relayed to me an email they'd received. My pulse quickened - a reprint (fat chance!)? Perhaps a documentary maker or presenter - Dan Snow, no less?

 

No, the mail was from an ex-girl-friend from 1969 ...

 

She must have Googled my double-barrelled surname which I don't use for authorship but which somehow has found its way on to some bibliographic websites. At the time of our relationship, I was writing an oeuvre de jeunesse and her recollection of that must have confirmed who I was.

 

Truly, there is no hiding-place in today's world. I wonder what she wants.

 

Moonraker

[Derek Black]

2 minutes ago, Moonraker said:

the mail was from an ex-girl-friend from 1969 ... I wonder what she wants.

Did you borrow any records off her, that have now become quite valuable?

[Moonraker]

D*mn! I was just about to edit Post 178 to say that my concluding sentence was not a question and if it was it would be rhetorical. I realised too late that people would come up with their own theories.(Steven must be working hard at the moment.)

 

I suspect that the Mods will not allow much, if any departure, from the main topic - indeed, I appeal to them not to.

 

Moonraker

[John_Hartley]

29 minutes ago, Moonraker said:

I wonder what she wants.

Possibly she wants to introduce you to your grandchildren.

[IPT]

Daddy!

 

(Can you lend me some money?)

[Moonraker]

Mods! Warning, please! Like me, you are probably distressed that two of our most senior members are setting such a poor example to junior ranks!

 

Moonraker

[Bernard_Lewis]

Don't take the blood test! Deny everything!

 

Bernard

[The Scorer]

21 hours ago, Moonraker said:

Truly, there is no hiding-place in today's world. I wonder what she wants.

 

Moonraker

 

She obviously wants to replay that £100 (plus interest!) that you lent her in 1969 ..... !

[KONDOA]

They have Internet in Thailand now I hear?

[Moonraker]

Large ad in today's Metro for

 

MTP Agency

 

"... urgently seeking manuscript submissions from new authors".

 

Hmm.

 

Facebook comments

 

One thought about electronic books. On request, publishers are required to send copies of their new books to  six copyright libraries in the UK.

Details here.

 

"This obligation has existed in English law for printed books and papers since 1662 and for electronic and other non-print publications since 6th April 2013. It helps to ensure that the nation's published output, and thereby its intellectual record and future published heritage, is collected systematically, both in order to preserve the material for the use of future generations and to make it available for readers within the designated deposit libraries."

 

I wonder how many individuals publishing very short runs, and print-on-demand and electronic books bother to do this.

 

Moonraker

[Bernard_Lewis]

I sent the requisite six copies of my self-published book on Neath RFC (2016) to the deposit libraries. It cost me a hefty sum in postage, from memory. Several copies went to a place (Lincoln?) where an agent shunted them on to the libraries though I think the British Library was not part of that deal...that was sent as a 'stand-alone'.

 

I also gave free copies to my local archive office and reference library as well as the Neath Antiquarian Society. 

 

I'm all heart...

 

Bernard

[Guest]

 Bernard-Good for you. My budgeting has the same sort of arrangement built into it. No point doing the work if the only way it is spread is a series of electronic blips which will disappear somewhere, sometime. I note that the IWM Library is not on your list.........I wonder why

 

      As my cousin was once savaged by a war crime posing as a Rugby Union team called "South Wales Police, then pray padon my pointed anti-Welsh Rugby jibe-Is there any difference between Neath Antiquarian Society and Neath RFC???  I think we should be told.

[trajan]

Yes, good on you Bernard!

 

The deposit libraries are a boon for small-circulations... I was lucky enough to find one of my old archaeological monographs from the 1980's existed at the Bodleian and not having a copy myself was able to p-copy the title page as proof it existed!

[Acknown]

If anyone is still reading this thread, I've drafted a book. Or rather, I have edited and put into family and WW1 context, the copious memoir of my great-uncle who fought in the 1st Canadian Division as a private soldier (7th Battalion), was wounded at St. Julien, captured, imprisoned then spent the last two years of the war as an internee in Switzerland. This is my first foray into writing, less the not-for-profit, privately-printed remembrance booklet I have produced on the 55 war dead of my local parishes that I hope to get on-line soon (and thanks to members of this Forum who helped in that).

My latest effort is in the region of 100,000 words. The story is hardly ground-breaking, but there are many fascinating facts, details and vignettes that the informed reader would like, and I hope I have wrapped it up into an interesting, readable tale for all-comers. In addition, I am unaware of any recent book that describes the lot of internees in Switzerland in detail, though I have read Desmond Morton's 'Silent Battle'.

As well as other sources, I have drawn on the works of Moonraker in doing this, and will seek permission, naturally, for any included quotes!

I have scanned the splendid information above and will read it in more detail. But I would very much appreciate any current advice and have a few of general questions:

• Should I seek publication in Canada or the UK? Advantages/disadvantages? It is, after all, a Canadian story.
• Does anyone know of publishers on either side of the Atlantic, who might be interested in this military script and are sound bets?
• Whilst I'll research how to approach a publisher, any kick-off advice?

Many thanks,

Acknown

[Bernard_Lewis]

I'd try Pen and Sword Books of Barnsley. They've published e.g. Russian WW2 snipers' memoirs etc. so a Canadian in WW1 shouldn't frighten them...

 

Check their website for submission guidelines. 

 

Other publishers are available, of course, such as The History Press, though I've not worked with them.

 

Good luck!

 

Bernard

[Bernard_Lewis]

And...are there any Canadian publishers who specialise in WWI or military history in general? (I don't know...) Might be worth trying them first (before any UK company) but, if there is one, try and establish how well such books that they produce are marketed etc. Would they provide you with an editor for free? (Pen and Sword do, and it's a handy failsafe to rein in your wandering apostrophes etc.)

 

You'll probably have to obtain any clearances for the use of particular images yourself, as well as meeting any associated costs. 

 

Follow any submission guidelines that a publisher sets on its website. Typically, they ask for a couple of sample chapters in Word, minimal formatting, a letter about yourself, any publishing experience to date, a synopsis of the entire book, chapter headings, word count, how many images you expect to use, target audience, any competing works out there (has it broadly been covered before?) etc.

 

Bernard

[Acknown]

Thank you, Bernard. All good stuff and I'm grateful. I'm familiar with books by Pen and Sword and I'll bear them in mind.

Acknown

[Stuart24]

Hi Ackown,

 

I've worked with Pen & Sword and The History Press.  They were both pretty good for proof-reading and checking, that sort of thing, although I should say that Pen & Sword has different imprints which vary greatly.  The Military and Family History imprints (which I guess you would be looking at) are both good, but the Aviation imprint was pretty awful when I worked with them about 10 years ago - no proof-reading and very little effort for anything on their part.

 

Both of those publishers have 'Write for us' or similar tabs on their websites, which provide forms to fill in about your book.  You have to remember to blow your own trumpet on these (something I always find difficult) and play up how new and original what you are doing is, and what a large market there is.  So, in your case play up the Canadian angle and the Swiss angle, and all of the interest generated by the centenaries.  They get dozens of submissions a week, so you need to find ways to make yours stand out and stick in the mind as something interesting, and something that is going to sell well.  Emphasise that you've already got the manuscript written* and it thus can deliver it fairly quickly.  Given that they will need 6-7 months for their own work in producing and printing the book, this still leaves you comfortably inside the zone for getting it published by the big centenary in 2018, something that will appeal to the publisher.

 

*My advice would be stick close to 100,000 words - I know people who have written manuscripts that are longer than that, and publishers then demand they then cut down them to about 100k.  That length equates to a comfortable, standard size c. 250-page book.

 

Really give some thought to how it may be publicised, and where you can send review copies.  Although they have their own marketing departments who are nominally experts in this sort of thing, there are usually only a handful of people working on a couple of dozen books at a time, so anything you can do to make it easier for them is going to make a big difference.  Good etiquette is to only approach one publisher at a time, and then you really need to give them 3 months to get back back to you.  If you've heard nothing by then, move on to the next one.    

 

And a final couple of points to bear in mind for the finished product: 1) make sure you do an index!  Publishers charge you to compile the index themselves, and as compiling them is pretty boring and time-consuming work, some authors don't bother with them.  As a historian, this annoys me hugely and I've been known to not buy a book because there is no index, and I know a lot of people who feel the same way.  Similarly, 2) make sure you get decent maps, particularly of the battlefields.  I do a lot of talks and other events publicising my own books, and naturally get chatting to people.  These two points come up again and again as things that people greatly desire in their history books.

 

I hope this helps!

Cheers

Stuart Hadaway

[Moonraker]

Congratulations, Acknown, on your 100,000-word book - as Stuart has suggested, that's probably the maximum advisable length. You've already had lots of other good advice. Apart from the publishers already recommended, there are one or two others of untested worth mentioned in this thread.

 

When I was looking for a Canadian publisher six years ago, I found hardly any to approach. One sat on my sample chapters for six months, only then to tell me that, though my book appeared worthy, it usually only published Canadian authors! After I'd got a British publisher for The Canadian Army ..., I discovered

 

Norm Christie

 

You may like to look at

 

this thread

 

about my efforts.

 

Advice much repeated here is now you've got a completed draft, show it to a person or people with some knowledge of the topics covered. Their fresh eyes are essential. One reader's review of my book commented on "editing errors", which I have to acknowledge - inexplicably, Halsgrove did no sub-editing.

 

(Also inexplicably, the reviewer added: "overall it was interesting as a survey text of the period, though exploring the topic in depth would require turning to another text". I'm unclear as how much more  depth he wanted and which other text would satisify him.)

 

I do feel that you may be a bit late in submitting your work to publishers, who have been inundated with potential books on the Great War;  a few, at least, fear they will be left with rather too many unsold copies. (Some are offloading titles at reduced rates.)

 

Stuart correctly advises to approach one publisher at a time, allow three months for a reply and, in the event, of acceptance, six or seven months for production. You'll need to strike lucky with the first one or two publishers you approach, otherwise you won't be "inside the zone for getting it published by the big centenary in 2018".

 

You may wish to consider self-publishing and print-on-demand, which we've discussed before, with a couple of companies being recommended. But you have the dilemma of waiting perhaps many months to see if a traditional publisher is interested and then self-publishing at a time when "the big centenary" has all but passed.

 

Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

Moonraker

Edited 25 July , 2017 by Moonraker

[Acknown]

Stuart and Moonraker,

Thank you very much for this invaluable advice. Your suggestions as to time-frame are somewhat discouraging, particularly as I have other fish to fry. I certainly don't consider this a best-seller, but rather an interesting work of reference for the WW1-interested and the British Columbia community. My main aim is to get the information out there where it can inform. Thus, self-publishing seems the most promising route.

An internet search has revealed Tellwell Publishing in Victoria BC: http://www.tellwell.ca/. As Great-uncle Kenneth lived in Victoria and was in the 7th (BC) Battalion, it seems a neat fit. Have you or anyone else come across them?

Meanwhile, I've started on the index.

Best wishes,

Acknown

[Bernard_Lewis]

I self- published my last book (on Neath rugby club.) It was a labour of love and quite a niche market. Mainstream publishers wouldn't be too keen, though Pen and Sword suggested I try CreateSpace for self-publishing.

 

It went OK though you have to do your own editing (or pay someone, or get a good volunteer) as well as format the da*n thing for print purposes - which involves finding out what all those bells and whistles on your Word screen do. Hard work but doable. I actually bought a book on formatting to help me...

 

I went for hard copies only - no Kindle/PDF version. Also, I bought hard copies myself in bulk (250) at an author discount ad then 'disabled' all other CreateSpace sales channels so that folk could only order from my Amazon page (which would result in me getting an email from Amazon, digging out a copy of the book and mailing it myself.) Or seeing me at a 'personal appearance' and buying a copy. 

 

I found it easy to get the title onto Amazon though getting it 'in front' of folk was much harder - how could you get them to 'find' the page? Without spending an arm and a leg...? It was easy to (try and) sell it at 'personal appearances' at e.g. the rugby club, local book fairs etc.

 

I've sold almost all copies and have made a small profit. I'd personally be wary of going through the process again. Hard work and a lot of responsibility - you have to typeset, edit, publish, promote, post out, calculate tax etc...a lot of hassle. Even worse, I knew I was writing about folk who were still alive - while not a particularly contentious book I could imagine some people feeling that I had insulted, misrepresented, libelled them etc. with a writ being a (remote) possibility. So far, so good! 

 

Bernard

 

 

[Acknown]

Bernard,

Many thanks for your Welsh All Blacks experience! I'll contact Pen & Sword to see what they offer. The Canadian company (see above) looks jolly good (good reviews etc.) and will do it all for you, including marketing - at a price. I may choose their half-way package and do some of the work myself.

Best wishes,

Acknown

 

[Andy Wade]

Has anyone used Scrivener for book writing? Or any of the other programs that are available? I've seen good some reviews and wondered if it really did simplify the process? I thought I might download the trial version and see what's what with it before considering lashing out for a full copy.