Yesterday I ordered an ISBN number and uploaded the interior
.pdf file of
Fit Company for Oneself, the second book in my series about
Line, Marty and Paul. Don prepared the cover months ago on Photoshop. Now I can
tell him the number of pages in the interior file so he can re-size the spine
of the book to match. The process is exciting and I am thrilled to put the work
I’ve been doing out into the world, letting the chips fall where they may. You can order a copy
here.
|
Washington Square, New York, 1969 |
For my own part, every chapter I’ve written was begun with
the same simple Word template. For the book as a whole, I found a template
which set up the pages with an alternating margin, the thin on the outside and
a thicker one on the binding edge. I set all the type to Garamond, except for
our “trademarked” Bernhard Modern Roman for the titles. I justified the margins
and put a few points of space beneath each paragraph, checking for widow and
orphan lines. This gives the reader’s eyes enough white space to relax, I
believe. Because I’m working exclusively with text, it was easy to add each
chapter to the book document and check it as I went along. With patience, it
comes right!
Hundreds of decisions go into such a project. I like the
cream colored pages, for instance, which are a little thicker. I think they
give off less glare and are easier to read. The photographs for the covers are
of the period, but suggest, rather than illustrate, what is in each story. They
are un-retouched, in keeping with realistic fiction which is true to the
spirit, if not the letter of the times.
Given Don’s and my abilities, I believe the books exhibit a
high degree of professionalism. I have had no money to give to this project
other than the time it takes to write the books. In culling and editing, I’ve
been helped by my brother and sisters, particularly Naomi and David, but the
errors in the text are solely my own. I haven’t felt I had the time to continue
to push for a commercial publication, but if enough copies are sold through
Amazon, I understand a commercial publisher may eventually approach us.
|
Nara, Japan, Commuters, 1968 |
Does my bias for real books show? A Kindle file is always
available as part of the publication process, but for me, it is kind of an
afterthought. What I love, and always have, is books! Especially paperbacks!
You can read a book in the sun, in the bathtub, dog-ear it and underscore it.
You can actually digest a book. It hangs around, a relic of your thoughts at a
particular time. You can pass it around, tuck it in a backpack, take it to bed,
read it on the bus or in jury duty. I know, you can do many of these things
with your phone or a Kindle. But books are so low-tech, so comforting, so
intimate.
My idea for marketing is simply photos of people reading the
books. People get into all kinds of positions when they are reading. Their
thinking faces are so interesting. The Hungarian photographer André Kertész
made a habit of photographing people reading. I include a couple of his
photographs here. I am hoping to thrust my books as they come out into people’s
hands and beg them to allow a photo to be taken. This may mean you, Gentle
Reader. I thank you for your attention, your patience and your affection.
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