Publisher for Ebenezer Allen – Statesman, Entrepreneur, and Spy

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Allen Mesch

After sending out over two hundred inquires to publishers, I am pleased to announce  that Waldorf Publishing has agreed to publish Ebenezer Allen – Statesman, Entrepreneur, and Spy.  Their books are reasonably priced from $9.95 to $16.95. Their publications for 2019 are presented on their home page.

Now I am beginning the “hard work”required to move the book from draft to a bookstore shelf.  The book is up to 291 pages and 93,887 words. I have completed a list of topics for the index and a very detailed bibliography.  At this moment I have 85 images and I need to reduce this number to 45 to 50. I am reviewing references to determine where I need to request permissions.

I am looking for people who are familiar with my books to write brief recommendations/endorsements for my biography of Ebenezer Allen.  This is not editing. I only need around three sentences to help create interest in buying and reading the book. Waldorf Publishing markets their books to libraries and schools. People with educational and library experience would be most helpful. I will write a post describing the process.

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Modified and Misquoted

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Allen Mesch

Authors hate it when their writing is modified or misquoted.
One of my favorite quotes is from Thomas Jefferson’s 1787 letter to William Stephens Smith.

330px-Official_Presidential_portrait_of_Thomas_Jefferson_(by_Rembrandt_Peale,_1800)(cropped)“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” This sentence is often used to justify violence in connection with political positions. I find it amusing the following sentence is never included in the quote: “It is it’s natural manure.” Does equating blood with manure make the first sentence less noble?

330px-William-Tecumseh-ShermanGeneral William Sherman’s quote on war is simplified to “war is hell.” The full sentence is “There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell. You can bear this warning voice to generations yet to come.”

 

 

270px-Leo_Durocher_1948Leo Durocher’s baseball quote is usually given as “Nice guys finish last.” The actual quote is “Nice guys actually finish seventh” or “Take a look at them. All nice guys. They’ll finish last. Nice guys – finish last.”

 

A rather bad misquote is from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The incorrect quote is “The devil is in the details.” The correct quote is “God is in the details.”

Lastly, a quote from English poet Violet Fane often stated as “Good things come to those who wait.” However, what she actually said was “All things come to he who waits (…) they come, but often come too late.”

The list goes on and on. Perhaps the culprit is the newspaper. Sherman is quoted as saying, “I think I know what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers.” Walt Whitman in letter to his mother during the Civil War. “The fighting has been hard enough, but the papers make lots of additional items, and a good deal they just entirely make up.

 

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Adjectives

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Allen Mesch

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun to make it more specific.

woman-typing-writing-windowsAdjectives are a writer’s best friend. They help describe a person, place, or thing to allow a reader to form a mental picture of a subject.  For example: 

“Sarah asked the man for directions.” or “Sarah asked the old, bald-headed man for directions.”

“The building was home to the local Masonic Lodge.” or “The two story, wood building was home to the local Masonic Lodge.”

Adjectives bring stories to life and bring the reader into the narrative.

However, there are some adjectives that I would like to see abolished, especially when they refer to people. The phrase “tall black man” may be useful in writing, but does it have a place in describing people?  Do we have to add racial, ethnic, and religious labels to identify or “classify” people?  These adjectives only point out differences between people and say nothing about an individual’s personality, skills, traits, and values. They attach group values to an individual based on past experience with a group or categorization of people based what important people believe or want you to believe.

ethnic_groupsI believe that most of the time these labels are racist in intent. They are superficial and demeaning, the vocabulary of lazy and bigoted minds. We should not describe our friends with labels such as: “my black friend John,” “my Jewish doctor Nathan,”  “my Catholic neighbor Mary,” “my Hispanic teammate Peter,” or “my son’s Asian girl friend Nancy.”

ethnic_youngYoung people do not feel the necessity of employing these labels, let’s hope that they can set an example for all of us.

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Preparing for Disunion Presentation

Posted on August 6, 2019 by Allen Mesch

On July 20, 2019, I had the pleasure of giving a presentation on my new book Preparing for Disunion – West Point Commandants and the Training of Civil War Leaders at the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

The following slide show will  give you an idea of some of the many  topics discussed in the book.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Please purchase a copy to learn more about the role of Commandants of Cadets in preparing Civil War leaders.

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McFarland Books on Sale

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Allen Mesch

In recognition of the company’s 40th anniversary, McFarland will be running a website promotion June 10 through June 30 covering ALL books. All website book orders will be discounted by 25%.

For those of you familiar with my Civil War books, you might be surprised at the diversity of topics covered by McFarland. Please click on the following link to browse  their entire selection of McFarland 40th Anniversary books.

You can check out my books at Teacher of Civil War Generals and Preparing for Disunion.

Please tell others about these savings.

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2016 Book Tour

B&N Louisville

Barnes & Noble Louisville, KY

 

 

 

 

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Texas Civil War Museum

Posted on June 8, 2019 by Allen Mesch

The Texas Civil War Museum holds free lectures on Saturdays in June and July.

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This summer’s program

  • Richard B. McCaslin – June 8th – “Pompeo Coppini – Confederate Memory in Texas”
  • Randy Gilbert – June 15th – “Trans-Mississippi Prisoners of War”
  • Luke Salisbury – June 22nd – “No Common War”
  • Scott Bowden – June 29th – “Robert E. Lee’s Art of War”
  • Jim Davis – July 6th – “The Cypress Rangers in the Civil War”
  • Vicki Tongate – July 13th – “Another Year Finds Me in Texas – Dairy of Lucy Pier Stevens”
  • Allen Mesch – July 20th – “Preparing for Disunion”
  • Tom Holder – July 27th – “Molli Mac Gill Rosenberg – Angel of the Confederacy”
  • Please see Upcoming Events at the Museum for more information.

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I hope you can attend one or several of these lectures. Plan to visit the museum while you are in Fort Worth. The museum is home to many current exhibits and permanent collections.

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Fashion Tips for Writers

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Allen Mesch

Writers seem to adopt a variety styles once they become authors. Just because you enter the realm of published writers, doesn’t mean you have to:

  • Wear your hair in a pony tail (men)
  • Let your grow down to  your waist (women and men)
  • Color your hair uniquely (sister and other women)
  • Grow a beard or mustache
  • Wear sun glasses indoors (women and men)
  • Deck your neck with an ascot (men)
  • Start smoking a pipe (women and men)
  • Only using one name (Picasso, Beyoncé, Robespierre, Napoleon, Cleopatra, etc.)
  • Writing with a typewriter (women and men)
  • Wear a beret (women and men)
  • Kissing everybody on the cheek, even people you don’t like (women and men)
  • Hiring an agent (men and women)
  • Listing your degrees after your name (e.g. Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile; Allen Mesch, B.S.and M.S.) (women and men)

Please submit your additions to this list.

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Rejection

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Allen Mesch

Rejection is not a word that an author wants to hear or read. This publishing decline can assume many forms: “doesn’t fit with our current offerings,” “our publishing schedule is full,” “you work is too [long or short],” and “your work is interesting, but …” Think of rejection as a job hunt. You’re going to have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince or princess.

All of which brings me to my tentative publisher rejecting my manuscript despite early interest. With this refusal comes a couple of warnings:

  • Send your proposals to a number of publishers — there is no need at this stage to contact one publisher at a time.
  • Beware of publishing houses that offer a variety of services for fees. This is more like a vanity press that will edit and market you work as a means to improve your status or show off your knowledge. Think of politicians who want/need a book to get voters attention, sell their ideas, and/or add money to their campaign chest.
  • There are many self-publishing companies that will present your book without editing or expert review. This may be considered as a last resort measure to create interest in your work.
  • Be very careful about pitching your book to an academic publisher such as the University of Prominent School Press. These publishers are more focused on promoting the work of their own faculty. Writing for an academic audience is very different than writing for a broad class of readers. This can be done with some effort. Your research should be from books, private collections [the letters and diary of historic person], and copies of newspapers. Avoid sources from the Internet. Citing Wikipedia, on-line dictionaries, or other web-based publications should be avoided. Academic publishing involves a gauntlet of peer and faculty reviews.  This is like a Good-Housekeeping Seal of Approval. This process can take upwards of a year and may conclude with a rejection. Which brings up another problem. University presses want to see your expertise by obtaining a doctorate in your subject area. You may be a self-taught expert, but reviewers want to see if your credentials fit with their other authors.
  • There are always exceptions to my suggestions, so use my comments as suggestions or cautions.

Let me hear your thoughts on these suggestions.

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Ebenezer Allen – Statesman, Entrepreneur, and Spy

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Allen Mesch
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I am happy to announce that the unredacted edition of Ebenezer Allen – Statesman, Entrepreneur, and Spy has been delivered to a potential publisher. The edition is 443 double-spaced pages with over 90 illustrations, and 700 footnotes.

 

Now I begin the difficult task of obtaining permissions to use material from books, webpages, and newspapers. Some material is in the public domain or federal government publications, which do not need permissions. The other category is fair use, which allows a portion to be used without the publisher’s approval. Now, the slope gets slippery. Fair use can be anywhere from 300 to 600 words depending on the publisher. As little as possible is desirable. It is a painstaking process. Permission fees can run up to $1,000.

I think I’m going to need a larger recyling container.

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Oh, the Joy of Editing

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Allen Mesch

The public has this image of the writer sitting at his desk or her computer composing brilliant prose. It looks effortless. Perfect writing at first touch of fingers on keyboard. Oh, I wish it was that simple.

As Charlotte Ahlin put it, “Letting the words flow freely and getting a first draft done is an excellent, necessary first step, but it’s just the beginning.” Yes, it’s just the first step in producing a final manuscript.

“If you’re a writer, you’re an editor. The great writers are thorough. They dissect their drafts ruthlessly and repeatedly.”

Here are some methods used by famous authors from the three sources at the bottom of this blog.

  • “Write drunk, edit sober” – Ernest Hemingway
  • “The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.” – Agatha Christie
  • “substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” – Mark Twain
  • “the road to hell is paved with adverbs.” – Stephen King
  • “If a sentence, no matter how excellent, does not illuminate your subject in some new and useful way, scratch it out.” – Kurt Vonnegut
  • “Avoid cliches, avoid generalizations, find your own voice, show compassion, and ask the important questions.” – Amy Tan
  • “… cardinal rule of showing and not telling the story – Anton Chekhov
  • “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” – Octavia E. Butler
  • “The final pass is when I read through a printed version of the chapter on paper. Reading on paper is necessary if you’re going to root out odd constructions or minor errors.” – Cal Newport
  • “When I’m done with the chapter, I print it and go through it with a pencil, and do the same for the entire manuscript when it’s done. I also read the finished work aloud.” – T.J. Stiles
  • “What I like to do is edit a chapter before I move onto the next one.” – Viet Thanh Nguyen
  • “For me, editing is as important as writing. No, probably even more important. I’ve never been able to sit down and write the perfect sentence. I re–write constantly.” – Andrea Wulf
  • “I edit every morning, every day. Cut cut cut cut cut cut — as much as I can. I want my stuff lean and mean, with no wasted words.” – Bryan Burrough
  • “I go from being kind to myself to being brutal. Every word is suspect, every sentence a potential embarrassment. Every idea has to be interrogated, every bit of dialogue examined, every scene put the to the test of ‘What does this contribute to the story? Why? Do I need this scene? What does it add?’” – Sabaa Tahir
  • “I print the beast, grab my sharpie, and go somewhere other than behind my computer. I read, mark, sketch, slash, draw arrows, and slash on the page.” – Joe Ballarini

Sources:

  1. 17 Of The World’s Best Writers On The Editing Process, Writing Routines, https://www.writingroutines.com/tips-for-editing/
  2. The Fascinating Work Habits of 18 Famous Writers (Infographic),
    https://geediting.com/curious-work-habits-18-famous-writers-infographic/
  3. How To Edit Your Manuscript, According To The Advice Of 11 Famous Authors, https://www.bustle.com/p/how-to-edit-your-manuscript-according-to-the-advice-of-11-famous-authors-7594285
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