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I’m going to write a book from our point of view. We need much more exposure. This will not be a book simply expressing our point of view, but one consisting of irrefutable facts that support our point of view.
It will include facts from various diaries written by the people who post here. I want to give the people who write those insightful posts the exposure they deserve.
I’ll need your input and encouragement to get the job done. Until we get exposure on a very broad scale, we’re like trees falling in the middle of the forest, “They don’t make a sound”.
This book will utilize facts from various diaries that will inform people of things they should know, but have eluded them because they are never mentioned by the media. These are things which are critical to their everyday lives. This will not be a political book, but a survival book for those who are struggling.
I will very much appreciate your comments and opinions about this.
18 Comments
Who was the deadpan comic who said something like, “I am going to write a book and today I finished numbering the pages?”
Kidding aside, two questions and a general comment: 1. What is the subject exactly? How people who read and write for FDL/MyFDL survive when they are struggling? Is that it, or did you have something else in mind. 2. What sort of broad exposure did you have in mind?
Now the comment, and this has to do with the mechanics of writing. Even Faulkner needed an editor. Everyone needs an editor. Just glancing at your five brief paragraphs above I see several issues related to style that are so problematic that not many people are likely to read your book. I am not saying this to offend you. I am saying this to be kind and to urge you to obtain and memorize Strunk and White’s Elements of Style.
Just as a random example, never, or at least try never to begin a sentence with a ‘dummy’ subject like “it,” as you did above. Little things like that do not seem like such a big deal but they provide no meaning.
Also, just thinking out loud here, you will need to be very careful with using other people’s work. I am not a lawyer or a copyright expert, but my understanding is that anything one writes, even on-line IS implicitly copyrighted. Wording without sourcing or incorrectly re-wording can and lead to legal trouble for you, in other words.
Just some thoughts. Thank you for bringing up the subject.
Oh dear, on re-read, I realized that I may have been too heavy-handed, and I am sorry if I was. I did not mean to be so. Your idea is good and interesting, but please give a bit more of your thoughts on the topic. (Mason read my comment above and claimed that I was “harsh.” Then, I accused him of calling me a bitch!)
Crane-Station, I bet you could tell my life history, and what I’m thinking by just looking at me; analyze that.
I think it’s a nice idea and one worth pursuing, though I know from personal experience that submitting a book for publication can be downright hellish. FDL is a great source for something that can’t be found in too many other places–criticism of the Democratic Party’s decidedly un-Democratic policies–so that would be the natural focal point for any FDL-related book. And yes, be scrupulous about crediting everyone properly (a style manual will help when you’re making citations and reference lists).
Crane-Station, check this website http://wp.me/p2vRlu-4 and tell me what you think. None of this made the news, yet it affected every single solitary soul in this country.
Jon73, I can’t possibly go through any more hell than I’ve already been through, and if I do, I can handle it. I would be most scrupulous in crediting everyone’s material that I used. My idea is to present a natural flow of facts, and let them speak to the people. I picture my audience as the people who have been most adversely affected by events which occurred in the last 8 years.
Best of luck with the project, then! Like I said, I think it’s an idea well worth pursuing.
Oh wow, now I am beginning to see the kind of information you are talking about getting out there. Good stuff (I have never understood commodities and transfer of wealth and the like, although it is something that everyone who struggles should know).
So, I think this would be a good beginning. Somewhere in my memory banks I think I saw this before. Did you share it, because I thought it was helpful.
I have very little experience with FOIA, other than the general observation that Freedom of Information is not as Free and Sunshine as one may think. Seems to me that an awful lot of stuff that should be freely available just isn’t. This may be an obstacle. I don’t know.
As for looking at you and knowing your life story, LOL, if I could do that, I’d probably be rich! All I can do is guess that you, me and us here at MyFDL have experienced some serious struggles, and your idea of getting together on it is a good one, thank you!
PS Your intended audience is large and that is good.
While I know what was done, there is somebody here who knows precisely how it was done, and I can’t find his post. That’s the kind of detailed information I’m talking about. There are some very smart people around here.
I’ve recommended this (and I see others have also), so maybe the answer will surface!
Your posts are always much appreciated, lakota.
Write the book … and they will read …
Recommended to all those who seek a better, more humane and sustainable world …
Even those who cannot imagine, yet, what such a world might look and FEEL like.
DW
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it ws the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it …, etc.’
Just sayin’. ;o)
Good luck lakota; write from your heart and mind; that’s what’s most important, imo.
LOL, good point! I think the quote was directed at the problem of writer’s block, but I cannot for the life of me remember who said it.
Its from Dickens – “A Tale of Two Cities”
And is one of my favorite quotes.
(among a good many)
I will write with the spirit of the people I’ve felt here at FDL, that’s with a feel for the most fundamental needs of those who are struggling to survive.
I appreciate everyone’s words of encouragement, they mean a lot. Wendydavis, you have a remarkable talent, I can always feel your words, and I will take your advice.
Since I have a book to write, I wont be posting, but I hope everyone keeps in mind where we can get a book that expresses the soul of FDL published, one that’s neither Republican nor current day Republicrat.
Do not, under any circumstances, worry about submitting your book for publication. In today’s world of books, 90 percent of all books are now self-published. Just write your book. Then find an editor to help you with your final draft.
After the writing is finished, then, it will be time to deal with publishing.
There are many ways to get your book published – you can do it yourself if you are basically savy with websites such as CreateSpace for actual print books and Kindle for ebooks – both housed at amazon, and SmashWords for ebooks that are distributed almost everywhere else. If you need help doing this, there are lots of fairly inexpensive places to get a graphic designer like Mother Spider Marketing to do your cover art (required by most of these sites) and to get your book formatted correctly for each of the submitting programs. BTW – submitting a book to each of these places is free if you can do all the stuff yourself. Mother Spider has a free ebook that tells you how to do all this stuff.
Anyway – just write! Don’t worry about the publishing until later – that can be handled easily with all of these resources available.
If you need more help with this later just email me at lokywoky at aol.
I have a bit of experience at doing this and would love to help out.