Hello everyone On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 11:40 PM, Ham Priday <[email protected]> wrote: > Greetings, Dan -- > > > Thank you for taking the time to chronicle the story of LILA'S CHILD. Since > Lila's Squad predates my history with the MD, I never quite understood how > this book came about. You've now filled in the gaps for us.
Hello Ham You're welcome and thank you for your reply. > >> Like you, Ham, I did all the work myself. No editor. >> No graphic artist. No help. I admit it is rough. >> I self-published with AuthorHouse back in 2002. ... >> >> I didn't do the work for anyone other than myself. >> I saw something that needed doing and I did it. That's all. >> I've been planning for years to re-edit the book but it is >> such a chore to get back into it again I just don't know if >> I have the wherewithall. One day, maybe. >> >> ...A few people have found value there. And that pleases me. >> But again, that's neither here nor there. > > I would say that the value you've provided is both "here" and "there". And > any realized value enhances the lives of us all. Dan: Well, thank you again. That was my hope. >Ham: > Most personal projects are 'a labor of love', and in the literary arts > anyway, also tend to be a 'work in progress'. I, too, have considered doing > a sequel to 'Seizing the Essence', but only with a tradebook publisher, and > then only if the thesis were to catch on with a significant number of > people. "Exposure" by reviewers is what I need at this juncture. Dan: Have you sent out any 'galley' copies to reviewers who you'd like to expose to you work? I sent out a few but heard nothing in return. It might be worth your while to track down other philosophers with interests similar to your own, send them a copy of your work, and then follow up with a letter of inquiry. Ham: > Incidentally, Xlibris just asked me to invest another $500 to exhibit my > paperback at a NY book trade fair. I turned it down on the premise that a > publisher has as much stake in the sales of a book as the author does, and > should therefore be willing to assume the cost of an exposition they are > sponsoring. Dan: Yes, marketing can be expensive with no guarantee of any return on investment. AuthorHouse has various marketing arrangements as well. One that intrigued me was a professionally written review in the NYT Book Review section. The price was prohibitive at over $3000 but the exposure might be worth it. Roughly 2500 copies of LILA'S CHILD have been sold over the course of 8 years. I have never done any marketing other than my participation here. Sales have far exceeded my expectations... When first published, I figured we'd might sell 300 copies. Period. I know the book will never be a best seller. But I do find it gratifying that others find value there. >Ham: > Congratulations on making LILA'S CHILD available, Dan. It's a valuable > resource for anyone interested in Pirsig's Quality thesis. Thank you, Ham. And congratulations on the publication of your book, Seizing The Essence. Well done! Tell me, where is the best place to get a copy? Thanks again, Dan Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
