Practical tips for publishing book

[Jean-Loup]

I tried asking these questions in the Kneip, but got no replies...

In the next months, if time permits, I am planing on finaly writting a book about the liberation of the region of Nice in August 1944. I have never published any book before, so some tips could be usefull. Here are some questions I have:

-is writting the text for the book in Word OK?

-Is it better to try to self publish, or to find an editor? It seems having an editor prooves that your book is good, and of course you will benefit from the editors expericence, advertising etc. But then the editor also take almost all the profits, and may heavily edit the text. Nowadays with the internet, it seems that you can self advertise your own book quite well. Anyways, what would the major pro's and con's be?

-what editors may be best for publishing a book that will mostly be oral history, period photographs and ground dug or battlefeld found items?

-what are the best options for self publishing a book? It will probably be very large, hard cover, with many photgraphs inside. I would like the quality to be good.

-My project is to get the book published in both English and French, but I am not sure which I should do first. On the one side, the book will describe in detail what happened in a specific region of France, and readers from that region will be interested. On the other hand, the miliary units involved where all American, Canadian or German, so there should be some interest from many English speakers...

Anyways, those are some of the things I am wondering about. If anyone has any usefull advice about other details, I am interested...

JL

[Jean-Loup]

Hi guys

I have now writen a 500 page rough manuscript (Word, size 12, no double spacing) in English, to which a large number of photos will have to be added. I am looking for an editor who could be interested.
Any propositions or ideas are welcome.

[Napalm]

I would suggest spending some time in little independent bookshop/uni's for coffee mornings/poetic readings etc:...You will find that the frequenters of these places will know somebody that knows somebody who can do this on the cheap ( small start up companies etc: ) who will take a gamble on it and at no cost to you...it will probably take longer for it to get into print but you'll be in a better position to create what you want and not have some over zealous editor chopping out the pieces that are essential to YOUR story, just my two cents from the music industry...Hope this helps...

[Jean-Loup]

This could be a good idea; the problem is my book is in English and I spend 90% of my time in Croatia and the other 10% in France, so I dont think any locals can be of much help.

[pasoleati]

Have you contacted Heimdal or Histoire & Collections, both French publishers who have published in English too?

[Jean-Loup]

Good idea about Heimdal.
H&C were interested when I first mentioned the project to them, but became uninterested when they found out some parts of the book are about exhuming soldiers and searching battlefields.

[pasoleati]

That's an odd reaction from H & C considering their militaria oriented line...

[tracman]

That's an odd reaction from H & C considering their militaria oriented line...

From my readings of both Heimdal and H&C books, my two cents are that:

1. H&C very rarely shows pictures in its books of dug up relics and the like: they tend to prefer text supported by photographs of full-dress/equipment live models, with an occasional set-piece of a confirmed relic. Based on the critical success of their title by Jonathan Gawne on the Brittany campaign, and based on Militaria Magazine's frequent articles on the Dragoon landings and campaign in Southern France and up the Rhone River, it might be quite interested if your supporting pictures and texts involving exhumations were removed and/or significantly edited. I would, in any event, query them as to what they would support.

2. Heimdal, on the other hand, tends to spend considerably more space covering such things as dug-up relics, although I'm rather sure they are very careful for obvious reasons about discussing exhumations. The main issue, as I see it, is that their publications tend to focus on the Normandy campaign, although they have branched into the Eastern Front.

3. You may want to consider After the Battle publications (of the famous Then and Now series), which tend to cover plenty of campaigns and which also address such issues at period relics and exhumations.

Regarding exhumations, keep in mind that most people have serious ethical issues with disturbing the rest of the fallen, except by those whose intention is first and foremost to give them the dignified resting place they deserve in cooperation and coordination with the responsible war graves commissions and local authorities. There are legal considerations in most countries as well, and for good reason. I would very strongly consider any emphasis on this topic in that light., and you may find this topic is usually addressed as an annex to most texts, vice in its body, if it's addressed at all...

As for your intended book, my humble thought is that your first key question should be to determine your target audience, and specifically whether you are looking to target an audience already familiar with this topic looking for a book that goes into some detail, whether you are looking to attract those who seek to walk in the soldiers' footsteps, or whether you are looking to address people with a military-archeology bent. Those are very likely very different audiences, and your writing style and supporting pictures/documentation may have to be adapted accordingly. Generally, those are exactly the sorts of questions a good editor can help you answer. This is also how they make their money, as their expertise and customer base results in texts that sell. Personally, I would look at a first book as being a marker and not to expect to make a lot of money on it. Success built on experience will lead to greater rewards down the line, unless your labor is one of love, in which case, the financial considerations should be secondary in any event.

For comparison's sake, you may want to purchase some of the bigger titles put out by all three and read them, not for content but for style, flow, and focus. Hopefully, that may help you also tailor your product.

[Jean-Loup]

I realised that I didnt meantion in this thread that the ext is for a large majority first hand accounts by witnesses, supported by period documents and photos and results of searches performed on the battlefields (ground dug and 'barn finds').

It is out of the question to remove the ground dug aspect as that is one of the main topics of the book. Exhumations were done legaly ( http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=194678 ) and have been publicized already, so there is nothing to worry about there. Minor excavations were done with land owner permission, etc, so shouldn't be too problmatic I hope.

The book is about a very precise and rather obscure theme (Liberation of the region of Nice in August 1944), but because it is mostly based on first hand accounts, I think it can captivate anybody with an interest in military history, oral history, WWII, battlefield investigations, etc.

[tracman]

I realised that I didnt meantion in this thread that the ext is for a large majority first hand accounts by witnesses, supported by period documents and photos and results of searches performed on the battlefields (ground dug and 'barn finds').

It is out of the question to remove the ground dug aspect as that is one of the main topics of the book. Exhumations were done legaly ( http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=194678 ) and have been publicized already, so there is nothing to worry about there. Minor excavations were done with land owner permission, etc, so shouldn't be too problmatic I hope.

The book is about a very precise and rather obscure theme (Liberation of the region of Nice in August 1944), but because it is mostly based on first hand accounts, I think it can captivate anybody with an interest in military history, oral history, WWII, battlefield investigations, etc.

Then my suggestion would be to look more in the direction of Heimdal, which tends to put more emphasis on first-hand accounts the the like compared to H&C. I recently read "Seine de Guerre" and the three-volume series on the American advance into the Yvelines, and regret I can't recall the publishers (should be searchable).

I also recall that Ouest-France put out a whole series of books and booklets having to do with the campaign in Brittany: perhaps some of the local publishers would be a good start, especially if you have a text in French. My recollection of reading Ouest-France publications on various firefights around Dinan, Morlaix, and the Guingamp area, for example, were almost totally based on first-hand and archeological accounts. I can't imagine that the press in the Cote d'Azur area would not have some interest in this.

You might also want to look at contacting veterans groups associated with the various Allied divisions involved. With some luck, one of them might have the sorts of contacts you seek.

Bonne chance avec votre projet.

[pasoleati]

Regarding exhumations, keep in mind that most people have serious ethical issues with disturbing the rest of the fallen, except by those whose intention is first and foremost to give them the dignified resting place they deserve in cooperation and coordination with the responsible war graves commissions and local authorities. There are legal considerations in most countries as well, and for good reason. I would very strongly consider any emphasis on this topic in that light., and you may find this topic is usually addressed as an annex to most texts, vice in its body, if it's addressed at all...

I think referring to "ethics" with this issue is pretty much double standard since historical museums are full of artifacts taken from the graves of ancient Egyptians and so on. I doubt that many of the forumites would suggest returning these artifacts "to dignified resting places"...

[Jean-Loup]

Hi Tracman

I agree, local publishes would be the number 1 route to follow if the text were in French; but it is in English!

[tracman]

[QUOTE=Jean-Loup;4995333]Hi Tracman

I agree, local publishes would be the number 1 route to follow if the text were in French; but it is in English![/QUOTE

Heimdal has many of its books in French/English (the translations into English are a bit wonky at times), and my limited contact with the people behind After the Battle was prompt and courteous. Otherwise, have you looked at Pen and Sword, The Tattered Flag, Merriam Press, Casemate Publishing, and Osprey? You may want to look at websites that specialize in that field, such as history.net, and there are probably more to find by doing some Internet searches. You will very likely find some very interesting threads there.

Your title has a nice ring to it, and as you likely know, it's been used for other books as well that cover that timeframe. Pity it doesn't translate well into French: I bet most would assume you're covering the Chemin des Dames...

I'll be very interested in your progress: do keep us posted please!

[Jean-Loup]

I will look into the names you mentioned. I have been doing some internet searching and found a few editors that seem appropriate.

'Champagne Campaign' is not the title I am planing on, as it has already been used, and does not reflect the reality of what happened. I do have title in mind but perfer not mention it publicaly yet.

JL

[Simon H]

Hi Jean-Loup!

I would also recommend you contact Helion Books in England, who are always interested in hearing about WW2 projects.

http://www.helion.co.uk/

And no, I'm not on commission with them! Good luck with this project. I look forward to reading more about it again in the future.

Kind Regards,
Simon.