Writers, Bloggers and Translators

Employed & Self Employed Writers, Bloggers and Translators
41

Another book! just published my five ebook on stories of France and Spain. My style is not everyone's favourite, so I present to you a little sample, A Trouser Ecology, about the Marques (or ranch Resistance) of Drome.

In the morning, there are soft showers, cold cascades and ice, born on Venterol's sleeping slopes. Within hair's breathe of my cold weapon, I reach for my wife, breath of hair, a back to stroke - cheek of the Marque - only soil and single blanket nestling with me. Armpit reality, a whiff of shiftiness, brotherly air; when the microscopic invades your scalp, and Nazis your land, all shall itch. Brothers call for action, and leaders for patience.

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We hid the refugee, the airmen and escapee; learning regimen and drill, pushing will up hills to cache and carry. Our legs bear us along our Baronnies path, driving my trousers to the world's end, blending with the local ecology, seeing wild boar take secret notes from the hillside tussock, trousers and I climbing, following the path of Free France of the farm, hoe and rifle, plough and gun, ready for some-day-soon. The years shall drive Nazi's ragged.

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We are men and womenfolk of the trouser ecology, going where the enemy dare not, looking over the embittered valley, our doctor harassed and shot, teachers beaten before roses, our men conscripted to German factories, bloody oath. Fondly we look to Venterol and Valreas, the mighty Rhone groaning that liberation is borne of worn trousers and dirty socks. We have the upland of soiled reality, watershed before my eyes, lashes entangled in sleepy pining, swamp aromatics, upright nipples, forehead making the Alamo, spectacles of our selves, neckerchief surrounding me, imagining two Nostradamuses coughing and spluttering the future, their easy metaphor and empty promise a curse on tillers of soil. With only blades of grass, free peoples are made of standing tall.

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In the presence of our trouser ecology, our leader speak of the springs that well beneath our shoes, that flow from the hills and into the valley, nurturing all the fruits of liberty. We farmers forbid optimism, the grace to fine words my offspring toes wiggling, knees a wildlife refuge, inner thighs full of gorillas and toads, stomach rapt in rags. Itchiness is spiky time, all of us thinking some-day soon, some-day-soon, my trousers bearing the years, as interlude to victory.

Pilgrimage 5 is found at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/355453 It's only US$1.99, PDF recommended.

42

Morning All,

We have just heard that our vendors have signed the Compromis de Vente and it is being sent to us for signature. Hooray!
W have seen the draft document but my limited French means that much of it goes straight over my head. We have retained our own Notaire who says it is fine and the agent is sending a translation of the main sections.
Do we still need a complete translation of our own and if so, are their firms that can do this for us please?

43

Congratulations, Brian, on getting great reviews and benefiting from a reviewing system - good luck with sales and hope you sell more than 40 :)

44

Sure thing Sheila. In fact I've just deleted the e-mails from those people. As for sales, well the sure thing is a couple of hundred university libraries and then the few are extra. When two of us co-wrote in 1989, our book was a 'best seller' in our professional field and I think our total sales were about 600. There was a second hand, rebound version on Amazon a while back for over $80 which is probably a greater achievement, 24 years on and given how the world is changed - literally in several cases. Now the name of the game is seeing how academics who didn't write it get their knives out. Oh well, I get a few conference trips paid for out of it though. The money is almost not at all important, so... Mind you, if you've got £90, it's up on Amazon for that now and I get my couple of bob per copy...

45

Congratulations. You must be very proud. Now the hard work, selling it...

46

Well done Brian. How time flies - it seems like only last week that you were finishing and sending to editor.

47

Kim, no problem with marketing because Springer have a reviewing system for academic publications that saves me the bother (and the bitching ;-) ) and thus far reviews have been great. I expect to sell at least, mmmm.... 40.

48

Congratulations, Brian!

49

Great stuff Brian. Hope it meets with enthusiastic reviews.

50

Congratulations, Brian. Now the fun truly begin...the marketing, which I have found to be more challenging than the actualy writing of my book, "Solitary Desire." Bonne chance!

51

My new book arrived today, six copies of... I wrote it, so not even bothering to have a look. Now to find reviewers so that I can sell a few.

52

Always possible! Yesterday I went visiting to possibly buy a new digital office printer, so we could sample pages with slightly suspect images (we use many of these when constructing the Old Poster books). To be honest I didn't know whether to be 'impressed or depressed', as I realised just how far behind technology I had become.

Remember a) I have been in print all my life, and although only for entertainment purposes, I might just be one of the few left on this planet who have ever produced a stone litho! I started with hot-metal, did 'flong', did all the stages through, and could take apart just about every letterpress or offset machine. b) I DO produce (physically except for the printing now) large format books, posters, prints, booklets and all stops in-between.

So without bull****, I know what I am talking about. Or at least I thought I did.

The Demonstrator was close to useless, but the machine was exceptionally easy to understand, so I had it off and running in no time. On this basis alone I wasn't expecting anything too special, so I was absolutely stunned with the results. Once again, and not for the first time I knew I had to throw out all my almost 60 years of knowledge, as it was totally redundant.

If anyone had taken MY picture at that moment, I am sure I would have qualified for the 'funny face' listings.

It really is going too fast for me now, and what worries me most, is there no longer seem to be 'industry standards' to work with. Every eBook reader has its own programme, and that's just for starters! Fortunately the advances in offset and silk-screen are mainly electronic conveniences - which even though I don't know how they work, I still know what they do.

So spare a thought for some of us poor old stunned mullets trying to keep up.

53

Were the photos set up. Though there are characters. I could recognise the writers, the poets, the teachers and the hopefuls last year at the list fest in St Clem.

54

Glyn, anyone who works in Publishing is bound to be a bit 'funny' - mainly in the head I suspect. Possibly it shows a bit more than we like to think?

55

I found the photos of the different people who work in the industry funny. Wonder if they were supposed to be?

56

You might find this interesting. It was in the Washington Post on Sunday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/lifestyle/publishing-industry-profiles/index.html

57

Busy day hoeing behind me... brianmilne1048@gmail.com and send me yours, I'll pick an 'easy chapter' - the whole book might just finish you off ;-)

Now for heavy refreshment, the light stuff just does not penetrate those places...

58

Tell you what Brian, give me your address and I'll send you an ebook (gratis of course). Take a look at the list on the site www.mosaicbooks.hostoi.com and let me know which subject interests you (if any). They are all Posters & Graphics and the only one NOT available as an eBook is our Limited Edition 'Vintage Advertising - Old Automobiles'.

I always have full books digitally proofed, that way I can ensure no pages are missing, misaligned incorrect colours etc. I do the whole thing from research, compiling materials, image enhancement (within limits) writing the text, preparing the artwork, and controlling the print at all stages. As the books are usually proofed in series - 3-4 titles at a time usually, I find having a completed book is the only way to go, and handling the corrections, which I then do without recourse to others.

With a new project in mind, I will be visiting Xerox in Brive next week to look at a 'sampling' digital printer we might buy. Then I will also do the 'test marketing' for product acceptability. Hungarian quality and pricing was excellent, but distance and linguistic problems are now aiming me towards Spain, and I will be going there to visit printers to see their equipment and capabilities in early May.

I meet up with my Financial Partner/Publisher as well, with him having a rather sickening sub-plot in finding a mooring for one of his ocean-going yachts on the Med. He has two and the other is on the Great Barrier Reef. I think he's got a bob or two in the bank?

59

Want to swap a sample chapter? Might be fun. Mine are authors proofs mind you so very, very slightly uncorrected.

60

Yes Brian if you are offering a text I agree, peer group review and even contribution is often valid and useful. Ditto with 'fact' books in general,and I suppose I tried to cover that in the 'target group' part of my reply.

For me, as an avid reader there is nothing sadder than reading even fact books 'without an attitude', although I admit to not reading things like medical or technical instruction books which are obvious exceptions to what I have just professed.

Yes, yes and yes again being Honest with yourself and about your work remains the key to satisfaction as a Writer, and at the end of the day that really should be what it's all about don't you think?

Currently I am just completing touches to a new book 'A History of Propaganda' and a revised 'A Graphic History of World War One'. For me it has been impossible NOT to write and compile these without 'an attitude'. Ditto with all the other 22 books in the Graphics series.

The object has not been to convince others I am correct, but to provide a viewpoint open to challenge and disagreement. Hopefully generating an interest in that manner, other than just looking at the pictures (9,500 at the last count!)