Welcome to September. For the sports fans among us, September and fall present us with an especially interesting menu to choose from: the final month of the major league baseball season with playoffs and World Series to follow, and beginning games on the college football schedule. Now, if Mother Nature would cooperate and rid us of the 100+ degree temperatures and other severe weather events across the country, conditions would indeed be ideal.
Actually, the University of Nebraska recently hosted a worldwide headlines making athletic event that was not related to baseball or football. On August 30 – on what turned out to be an idyllic summer evening – the women’s volleyball team played before an audience of 92,003 people in Memorial Stadium. That was not only the largest audience ever to see a game in the stadium, but it is also set the world’s record for the largest crowd ever to see a women’s athletic event, breaking the previous record of 91,648 for a soccer match held in Barcelona, Spain, between two European teams. Incredible night – one of those happy ending rare occasions where everything seemed to work out well. It took workers six days to configure the football field for a volleyball match. It was exceptionally well done – a real compliment to the university.
It was also a tribute to an incredibly loyal and dedicated fan base and to an iconic coach. When the university first decided to form a women’s team, the school did not even have a suitable venue to play in. For a year or two, they played in a PE facility in a women’s residence hall, where as one player said, “about the only people who watched us were boyfriends and family members.” They eventually moved to a venue formerly used by the basketball team that housed 4,000 or so fans. They played there for several years then moved to a rehabbed facility with 8,000+ capacity also abandoned by the basketball team. That remains their present home. The 8,000 plus seating arrangement makes it one of the largest volleyball venues in the country.
But … who’d have thought, 92,003?
That makes for quite a story. When the university first decided to field a team, volleyball was a sport that was not widely played in Nebraska. The coach, Terry Pettit, took it upon himself to travel throughout the state, even to the smallest schools – he was known to have held a clinic where only three players showed up – and introduce the game to fans and prospective players (some of whom in later years became All-Americans and Olympic Champions). In the early days, Pettit was also known to attend other university athletic events and hand out free tickets to the volleyball games to build the fan base. He sent some of his players to do the same. Early on, he scheduled volleyball games after football games, inducing people to stay and attend the matches. Eventually, sooner than expected, all that and an equally iconic successor coach (John Cook) led to several conference titles, five national championships, this year’s number one recruiting class, and a statewide fan base that is absolutely enthralled by the team. The Harvard Business School once used the case study method to teach students how to build successful organizations. I’ve often thought the school should use Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team as an example.
Well, enough about all of that. I must admit, though, that with all else that is going on in the world it is enjoyable to write about a success story that inspires and brings people together.
Some writing news: first, thanks to those who have asked about the status of the fiction book mentioned in previous updates, and wondered about the steps involved in the publication schedule. Here is the process used by the company that is publishing The YouTube Candidate.
- Initial formatting of the draft manuscript (sizing for content, fonts, headings, page numbers).
- Proofreading/editing (company proofreaders check grammar, spelling, facts, make recommendations as appropriate).
- First proof (proofreader recommendations sent back to me for review).
- 1ST Amendments (production team reviews report and marked-up manuscript, incorporating the changes agreed to by me and the proofreader).
- Second proof (final read to insure errors have been corrected. Back cover blurb and press release are decided upon).
- 2nd Amendments (second opportunity to make editing changes. If the book has illustrations – none are planned at the moment – they would be inserted at this time).
- Final edits, finalization, and sign off (final check of complete manuscript. Manuscript will be formatted and finalized for print).
- Graphics (cover design with advice and input from the production and marketing teams. Draft will be sent to me for comments and amendments, if necessary).
- Graphics editing and finalization (cover will be sized to fit inside and back cover blurbs; price, book number, etc., will be added).
- Project finalization (final check of unbound book. Main production run begins).
- Publication (completed book is turned over to the marketing department).
- Marketing department (establishes a release date, makes the book available worldwide, works with wholesalers and distributors, arranges book reviews, .connects with bookstores and trade contacts).
The length of the production run varies depending on the style and type of book. The contract calls for the book to be published within 325 days after its final form has been presented to the publisher. I was hoping that it would be available on bookshelves during the course of next year’s election campaign. I now think that is unlikely due to the length of the process outlined above.
Hope this finds everyone well. The most important part of the newsletter follows below.
TRULY AWFUL PUNS
What is the difference between a hippo and a zippo?
One is really heavy and the other is a little lighter.
What do you call a bee that can’t make up its mind?
A maybe.
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Best to all,
Tom Phillips