Ready to Publish?
In 2014 I made a mockup of the then final version, and then a ten-inch square lay flat book from Shutterfly that exceeded expectations. The sepia tones reproduced wonderfully, the binding thick and luxurious. The working title: Dust Spirits: 50 years channeling Taos Pueblo.The title was not to stick.
Most reviewer comments said my book needed to be printed, but I got no help to find a publisher. My hybrid work didn’t fit in defined niche, and every publisher now has a niche. One reviewer even said the poetry was superfluous! A historian demanded to know my credential to chronicle, admittedly from outside the subject culture. A book packager (a provider who takes care of design, layout, type, cover, printing etc.) looked down her nose at my design and refused to work with me unless she could start over from scratch. A Naive American advocate (she is White) told me without reading any of the text that both title and subtitle were wrong, that the word “channeling” suggested that I was speaking through and for Indians. Not political correct, and “dust” was possibly disrespectful. The one university press I was able to contact said both my photography and my writing would require a year to be vetted (me already an academic and nationally recognized master!)
The effect of wide ranging comments, faintly negative publishing prospects, and a sequence of joint surgeries, was that the manuscript languished, though not fully discarded, for several years. With newfound physical well-being in 2017, the manuscript of Dust Spirits rocketed to the forefront of my imagination along with the will to make it viable. I realized the story had to be mine, mine alone. My journey, my experiences, my feelings and connections. And of course 50 years had now become 60!
Final case bound cover design for Fragments of Spirit
I changed the title to Fragments of Spirit: 60 Years, A Photographer’s Recollections of Taos Pueblo, The Region and its Arts to clearly show that the content is all my own viewpoint. And of course 50 years had now become 60! Karl weighed in yet again, and advocated reorganizing the photographs and experiential text in chapters to further the format and readability as a story. He was right again. Chapter sequencing helped the story coincide with pictures into an actual plot line.
By late 2017 I figured I was about ready to publish. Wrong answer again! I found by accident and became a member of the excellent Colorado Independent Publishers Association. I immediately found out how much I didn’t know. Ok, so I’m a motivated, fast study. By the end of 2018 I figured I’d reworked the main text some 40 times, and certainly didn’t think I needed an outside editor. Big mistake; but I was cautious. A proof copy revealed many overlooked errors, and my final editor suggested many grammatical and meaning clarifications.
Gallery people are now very enthusiastic, and one owner states he believes the book will sell continuously over decades. What a journey!