There is some writing news to bring you up to date on, although major parts of the story remain unsettled at the moment. Several weeks ago, I received a note from the publisher (a British company) indicating that because of the complexity of British copyright laws, the publication process for the fiction novel would likely take longer than originally anticipated. Because of the subject matter of the book, I had hoped that its release could be timed to coincide with the U.S. election cycle. So, the publisher’s news was a bit of a downer. To help expedite the company’s responses to copyright questions, I went through a page by page scrub of the manuscript to provide detailed cites on references to quotes, events, dates, etc., and rewrote a few portions in attempt to remove even the remotest potential questions about facts associated with any of those considerations. That work, which had to be done on short notice, was what precluded publishing last month’s website newsletter (as did some associated pesky computer issues – why does that stuff always happen at the most inopportune time?)
Hopefully, the information I provided will address potential concerns with copyright aspects. Thus far, I have received no feedback that would indicate otherwise. There has been no later word on the publishing timeline.
Then, in mid-month, I received a draft of the editorial staff’s first proofread review of the manuscript. Two items in the draft need further discussion/resolution. First, the text was revised to transpose the wording to British spellings: i.e., color to colour, favor to favour, realize to realise, etc. etc. There were 238 instances of that on the first 250 pages before I stopped counting. I am puzzled – greatly – by the failure to employ “American English.” It is unlikely that there will be a British market for the book. That is quite understandable: it is about American politics, its intricacies, and arcane features such as the Electoral College. Interest would be limited. Conversely, those are features that Americans are presently immersed in on a daily basis – a circumstance that will grow in intensity as elections draw nearer in the coming months. If British usage is retained, American readers – prospective buyers – who browse through it will find it less than enticing. I share the view of a writer colleague: “The worry is that if they do that (publish it with British usage) they may transform it from a potentially impactful work into a seldom read curiosity.”
There is a part of all this that is sort of funny. One of the editor’s proposed changes was to revise references to time from, for example, ‘6:30’ and ’10:15’ to written form. Nothing wrong with that except they suggested using “six half”, and ‘ten quarter’ and similar British wording as replacements. My note back to the company explained that of the 330 million living Americans almost none use those terms and many would probably not recognize them at all. I politely suggested “half past six” or “six-thirty” or something similar. Other British phrases would probably raise American eyebrows as well – most notably ‘mum’ for ‘mom’ and similar usage which, as I told the editor, might get us laughed out of most book stores, book clubs, and reading groups on the North American continent.
The manuscript is clearly written with an American readership in mind. The effect of using “British English” spelling seems to minimize, if not ignore, the major market for the book. It seems unlikely that marketing staffs and book distributors would be comfortable with that approach. I asked the publisher to reconsider.
The second item, of equal or perhaps greater concern than the ‘British English’ usage, is what seems to be the arbitrary placement throughout the text of commas following the words ‘Maybe,’ ‘maybe,’ and ‘that.’ In almost every case they disrupt what are intended to be complete, uninterrupted phrases or thoughts, hampering the flow of the narrative and in some cases confusing it. It was almost as if whatever grammar- or spell-check mechanism they were using automatically inserted commas after each of those words no matter where they appeared in the text. My note to the publisher identified each of those circumstances along with explanations of why the commas where unnecessary and inappropriate.
So, we’ll see what happens. I am hoping that my letter to them had the right mixture of logic, common sense, and whining . I am not especially optimistic that the company will agree to these changes. Until this point they have been delightful to work with. I would like to continue the connection. I have requested that the company let me know their decision as quickly as possible. If they choose not to make the adjustments, I will need to decide whether or not to continue with the process. If their decision comes quickly, perhaps there might be sufficient time to seek an alternate publisher or, most reluctantly, self-publish.
My thought at the moment is to play the publication of a December newsletter “by ear” pending the company’s decisions on the proposed changes. If they have responded by early December, I’ll let everyone know the outcome and will keep readers in the loop on the next steps (if we know them at that time). If no response has been received by then, I may just close the year with season’s greetings and a few appropriate puns.
And now, the far more important (and interesting) segment of the website: TRULY AWFUL PUNS (WITH A THANKSGIVING FLAVOR).
The guest’s Thanksgiving jokes were so bad everyone at the table told him to be quiet or leave.
So he quit cold turkey.
There’s a new book about a love story between a pilgrim and a turkey.
It’s called 50 Shades of Gravy.
Gosh, those are bad.
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Best wishes for a very special Thanksgiving and Holiday Season.
Tom