I heard from Plexus today regarding my book on Friendship. They said due to the economy they have to decline my book. Personally, I feel they didn't even look at it. It has sat at their company since September. I had to email them several times just to get a response. They suggested self publishing, but I am not sure if I want to go that way. Any suggestions are welcomed since I will not be giving up on this venture.
Friendship story
- Thread starter suresue592003
- Start date
Rutgers University Press. Just a suggestion.
http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/NEWSITE/Manuscripts.html
http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/NEWSITE/Manuscripts.html
If Plexus won't take it, Rutgers won't either. They're extremely hard to get published at.
Personally, I'd self publish. http://www.lulu.com
Personally, I'd self publish. http://www.lulu.com
Might want to contact Marilyn Schmidt at Buzby's in Chatsworth. The Pine Barrens Press and Barnegat Light Press are run from there, Marilyn has written many books and may have some suggestions.
I have three options here. One is Batsto Press and Marlyn at Buzbys. The third is the self publishing. I wonder though how time consuming it is. Time is the issue here. I will look into the self publishing links you guys provided. Thanks you all so much for your support. I will keep you all posted with up dates.
Self publishing isn't so much a matter of time. In fact, a mainstream publisher might take more of your time than you would take yourself. What you don't get in self-publishing are the things that mainstream publishers do to make a book successful: edit it and market it. Though it's fair to say many authors don't think they do enough of either anymore. You also don't get their investment. The initial and per-copy costs are yours. Self-publishing houses that do print-on-demand will link you into Amazon, etc., but that won't sell many, or any, books. Successful self-publishers fill their car trunks with copies and get out and push them.
Self-publishing is a tough road, for a simple reason: there are no gatekeepers, and most self-published work is utter and unmitigated crap. Some is not, and some is really extraordinary, but people know that the odds of getting drek are high.
Self-publishing is a tough road, for a simple reason: there are no gatekeepers, and most self-published work is utter and unmitigated crap. Some is not, and some is really extraordinary, but people know that the odds of getting drek are high.
There is the story, then there is the story-teller. (Which brings to mind John McPhee, who can write about anything, including the pine barrens, and do it so well.) I remember when suresue first posted an account of her Friendship experiences and of her aspiration to place these in a book. Captivating. I'm looking forward to reading the final product in whatever form it can be produced. How long is the Friendship story? After reading George's brilliant post on the Ramble Inn, one wonders if a compilation of pine-barren histories might be produced. Take Guy's knowledge into account -- the history of the stones -- his journeys to rediscover each, putting together a jigsaw puzzle of whos and whens, and placing these into words. (Guy's "mystery stone" account posted yesterday on the Barren Nights thread seems to be the tip of an iceberg of its own). It's all fascinating, and fun to read here on the forum ... one could rightfully wonder if there might be a serious editor here that can accumulate these into a Wharton-tract-sized tome.
Most authors would love to work with a good editor, in the way that the old-timers had these career-long relationships with the best ones, but it doesn't happen much anymore. The whole business operates on such thin margins, with most of the available development budgets dangled out to fish for blockbusters.
Self-publishing is a great way to go for a story like Sue's, and I didn't mean to be overly negative about it. The mechanism is tailor-made for great writing for niche audiences. Unfortunately, what it too often gets used for is to overcome the sting of rejection for really bad writers who can't get a legitimate outlet. That's why I suggested that successful self-publishers (good writing, niche subject matter) fill their car trunks and get their feet on the street.
If I had a ton of historical material on a niche subject I would probably make a website. You can put one on a fast server for $15 a month or less, and keeping it up for a number of years probably wouldn't cost more than self-publishing a thousand copies of a book.
Self-publishing is a great way to go for a story like Sue's, and I didn't mean to be overly negative about it. The mechanism is tailor-made for great writing for niche audiences. Unfortunately, what it too often gets used for is to overcome the sting of rejection for really bad writers who can't get a legitimate outlet. That's why I suggested that successful self-publishers (good writing, niche subject matter) fill their car trunks and get their feet on the street.
If I had a ton of historical material on a niche subject I would probably make a website. You can put one on a fast server for $15 a month or less, and keeping it up for a number of years probably wouldn't cost more than self-publishing a thousand copies of a book.
Stu who is on this site is a published author, maybe he has some ideas? I will reach out to him and tell him to pop in...
There is the story, then there is the story-teller. (Which brings to mind John McPhee, who can write about anything, including the pine barrens, and do it so well.) I remember when suresue first posted an account of her Friendship experiences and of her aspiration to place these in a book. Captivating. I'm looking forward to reading the final product in whatever form it can be produced. How long is the Friendship story? After reading George's brilliant post on the Ramble Inn, one wonders if a compilation of pine-barren histories might be produced. Take Guy's knowledge into account -- the history of the stones -- his journeys to rediscover each, putting together a jigsaw puzzle of whos and whens, and placing these into words. (Guy's "mystery stone" account posted yesterday on the Barren Nights thread seems to be the tip of an iceberg of its own). It's all fascinating, and fun to read here on the forum ... one could rightfully wonder if there might be a serious editor here that can accumulate these into a Wharton-tract-sized tome.
Well, if it ever gets published, it is only about 50 or so pages. It consist of nine short chapters dedicated to the people who lived there. My memories of my parents, and 2 uncles, and three other notible characters. I have drawings of these people representing each chapter. (my own drawings) I also wanted to include LOTS of never seen before photos of family and life there at Friendship. The ending chapter which I am still working on, will have a surprise ending one would not expect from a book like this. All my work is already edited. I will never give up here. I looked into self publishing from lulu. Without the photos, they want $38.00 for each book. Too much for a book of only 50 pages of reading. I am waiting to hear form janwor in regard to Batsto publishing. I think it was them who published Heart of the Pines by JP.
Have you looked into CreateSpace? I work with a group that will be using it for a DVD--they create the book/DVD on demand. It's available on Amazon and an e-store they set up, and you can set something up with a website of your own, plus you can print a bunch for yourself without their commission. I don't know what the quality is like for the books, but it might be worth looking at.