Freethought & Rationalism Archive

PinkZinc · 02-09-2009, 05:29 PM

Hi, Earl, if money is tight, consider coming out first-up with E-books. The 900 pages could be split into a series at a relatively inexpensive price. After all, Studies in the Judean Desert came out in what, 8,9 volumes and counting. Not bad for for a pile of mouldy papyrus. :-)
The beauty of E-books is that you can change mistakes and incorporate reader feedback to replace editorial correction (which I did). With the pressure off, you can scout academic publishers with sales figures. Marketing, as always, is the problem, but a small run of hardcopies of the first in the series, posted to reviewers will spread the word. If you don`t like the smaller websites like Lulu.com, Amazon handles E-books. It`s hard to sit on the fence between lay-readers and academics, but others succeed. Best of luck.

spamandham · 02-09-2009, 10:03 PM

A 700 page book is as much a perceived commitment on the part of readers as a 900 page book. If you've gone over about 300 pages, you've reached the next level of commitment.

EarlDoherty · 02-10-2009, 08:21 PM

Thanks for the great comments.

I can't really change the book title, because it's still essentially the same book. It starts out the same, and there's a fair bit of common material in many of the chapters, although a few start from scratch. That's why it's a second edition. A friend of mine suggested a clever new title: "Jesus Christ: Neither Man nor God". Maybe I'll keep that for an entirely new book somewhere down the line.

E-books kind of scare me. I prefer to put something into the reader's hand. Actually, one of these years I'm going to try out an idea I have for an historical novel on the Jesus question (I've written three--non-historical--novels already, only one published), which would be ideally suited for serialization, so maybe then I'll take the plunge.

All the best,
Earl Doherty

PinkZinc · 02-11-2009, 02:15 AM

Hi, Earl, if you`ve already had one book published, then you should know part of the ropes. In today`s financial morass, not many publishers are going to take a chance on a relatively-unknown writer. Forget the first-up author who signs a million-dollar deal. They are rarer than hen`s teeth.They`ll go with authors with street cred and market share. Even semi-best-sellers are pulled off bookstore shelves circa six weeks and hit the remainder bins a year later. If you haven`t pulling power, they won`t take the plunge. That`s why E-titles give you a chance to reach the public for little expense. Build your following like on this site and you can offer publishers a ready market.

Unless you want to go the sex/violence/fantasy route. Hey, isn`t that already in the Bible? :-)

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

02-09-2009, 05:29 PM	#11
PinkZinc Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 12	Hi, Earl, if money is tight, consider coming out first-up with E-books. The 900 pages could be split into a series at a relatively inexpensive price. After all, Studies in the Judean Desert came out in what, 8,9 volumes and counting. Not bad for for a pile of mouldy papyrus. :-) The beauty of E-books is that you can change mistakes and incorporate reader feedback to replace editorial correction (which I did). With the pressure off, you can scout academic publishers with sales figures. Marketing, as always, is the problem, but a small run of hardcopies of the first in the series, posted to reviewers will spread the word. If you don`t like the smaller websites like Lulu.com, Amazon handles E-books. It`s hard to sit on the fence between lay-readers and academics, but others succeed. Best of luck.

02-09-2009, 10:03 PM	#12
spamandham Contributor Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 11,525	A 700 page book is as much a perceived commitment on the part of readers as a 900 page book. If you've gone over about 300 pages, you've reached the next level of commitment.

02-10-2009, 08:21 PM	#13
EarlDoherty Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,435	Thanks for the great comments. I can't really change the book title, because it's still essentially the same book. It starts out the same, and there's a fair bit of common material in many of the chapters, although a few start from scratch. That's why it's a second edition. A friend of mine suggested a clever new title: "Jesus Christ: Neither Man nor God". Maybe I'll keep that for an entirely new book somewhere down the line. E-books kind of scare me. I prefer to put something into the reader's hand. Actually, one of these years I'm going to try out an idea I have for an historical novel on the Jesus question (I've written three--non-historical--novels already, only one published), which would be ideally suited for serialization, so maybe then I'll take the plunge. All the best, Earl Doherty

02-11-2009, 02:15 AM	#14
PinkZinc Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 12	Hi, Earl, if you`ve already had one book published, then you should know part of the ropes. In today`s financial morass, not many publishers are going to take a chance on a relatively-unknown writer. Forget the first-up author who signs a million-dollar deal. They are rarer than hen`s teeth.They`ll go with authors with street cred and market share. Even semi-best-sellers are pulled off bookstore shelves circa six weeks and hit the remainder bins a year later. If you haven`t pulling power, they won`t take the plunge. That`s why E-titles give you a chance to reach the public for little expense. Build your following like on this site and you can offer publishers a ready market. Unless you want to go the sex/violence/fantasy route. Hey, isn`t that already in the Bible? :-)

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.