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Publish a 'Story Write' book


  • ShadowQueen12
    Jul 21 8:12 PM
    Reply
    I have an idea. Why don't we publish a book of all the poetry and the stories on the Story Write web site?

  • Barbara
    July 22
    Reply
    That would be a pretty large book! And would encroach on the copyright of a few people from fan fiction.

    Allpoetry published a few poetry books... still does from time to time. Poems are selected through contests and other things, and then included. Any submissions selected have to be near perfect, and free of any spelling or grammatical errors.

    A few individual authors have pooled their works and created their own books through lulu.com. Maybe you could get a few authors on Storywrite together for something like that.

  • tony333
    July 25
    Reply
    How to go about it I don't know.
    But I think its a brilliant idea!

  • Abstract Muse
    July 29
    Reply
    I like this idea.

    A girl I work with is having a story of hers included in an anthology 'The World of Myth' is getting published through lulu. I'll ask her how they got the ball rolling and check it out and let you know what I find.

    • Barbara
      July 29
      Reply
      lulu.com is a self-publishing/print on demand site. Fairly easy to use.

      As mentioned, a lot of authors will get together, create and design a book, and once it's to their satisfaction, they upload it to lulu.com, and then people buy copies, which lulu prints.

      • Abstract Muse
        July 29
        Reply
        Ok, I get it.

        So we basically have to put the book together ourselves beforehand the way we'd like it to be and then upload it to them. That means all the stories need to be genre related to attract interest.

        Hmm. So first we need to decide on a specific genre.
        As I said in my last post, not as easy as it seems. *chuckles*

        So come on guys. Any ideas?

        • CactusJack
          July 29
          Reply
          I smell a contest...
          *yes thats my answer for everything*

          • Abstract Muse
            July 29
            Reply
            Yeah, ...what the hell.
            Let's have a site contest for who makes it into the book.

            We still have to have a genre. I know what yours would be Jack.

            What do you think Barbara? Any suggestions?
            (As if we would listen.)

            No. We would, ..really. *smiles*

            I'll post it if someone else picks the genre and options.

            • ShadowQueen12
              July 29
              Reply
              I still say all the genres, expect for fan-fiction. Let's make it random.

            • Barbara
              July 29
              Reply
              In all honesty, I've seen maybe three stories on here that would be worthy of printing immediately... without any editing. The rest hold potential, and sometimes getting that potential out is like dragging a cat in to a dog pound.

              If you're interested in this, the best would be to check out lulu.com completely... the prices for different page counts, sizes, bindings and covers. Look at who is going to be publishing with you, and agree on how many, if any, of your own stories will be included.

              Making a group could help, but the participants all have to be on the same page (so to speak) on what is going to be done, and when it will happen.

              The genre is important, and the ability to correct the submissions is equally so. What age group are you looking to attract? After things are chosen, then the authors need to know if they have to pay for their own copy, or are the publishers (you and the group) going to provide them each with a free copy, paid for by... the publishers(you and the group). Now... who else is going to buy this book? ISBN number needed? That costs. Currently lulu.comis having a free thing on those, but there was so much small print involved that I slowly backed away without snagging one.

              So.... all this is decided. Now.... who sets up the book? Who can space left and right, and make the line/word breaks flow properly. If you set it up standard printing, then the binding runs the words because it needs larger margins.


              I could go on, but I'm probably giving you a look with this.

              • Abstract Muse
                July 29
                Reply
                Yep. You pretty much nailed the look. *chuckles*

                You've been here before haven't you?
                I wasn't even thinking of my own stuff. I just wanted to help out for the others. Now I'm not so sure. That's a lot more work than I was thinking.

                Sorry guys! I'll still help out but it's mostly up to you now. heh heh

                If I had a story I thought would make a difference I'd be all in there, but I don't right now unfortunately.

                What do you think Jack? Your the one who was all gung ho about it. Any ideas now? lol

                • Barbara
                  July 30
                  Reply
                  I had enough problems setting my own book up and figuring out other things. No way I'd attempt to do that with anyone I didn't know and trust with my life.

          • Andy Stephenson
            August 18
            Reply

            I think contests would be a good way of choosing.


  • SimplyTaylor
    July 29
    Reply
    ALL of the stories? I'd love to own a tome that huge.

  • CactusJack
    July 29
    Reply

    I hate to do it but...

    That would be like asking to have all the lottery tickets purchased in a year. You'd get about a dozen (if you're lucky) that are actually worth anything. The rest, well...do you recycle?
    Just hit the 'random' button for stories to see what I'm talking about.

    Now that that is out of the way, sign me up! lol

    • Barbara
      July 29
      Reply
      Well.. it could be a bathroom book, and the 'other stories' could be useful if the roll runs out.


      • CactusJack
        July 29
        Reply

        I was trying to be nice with 'recycle' but...yeah.


  • Abstract Muse
    July 29
    Reply
    Hmm. Something else just occurred to me.
    Cheryl said their anthology only has four or five stories.

    So aside from 'where' we publish it, we'll have to choice 'who' would be included. The number of stories would be determined by their length. Something else to think about. Not as easy as it first seemed.

    Ok, so I'll still check out lulu and let you guys figure out the hard part. *chuckles*

  • ShadowQueen12
    July 29
    Reply
    We can choose all genres, expect for Fan-Fiction. It can be a mixture of stuff. The stories have to be original works that been on Story Write before.

  • ShadowQueen12
    July 29
    Reply
    I thought about it & I changed my mind. Why don't we just do horror & dark fantasy?

  • Kylia Skydancer
    July 29
    Reply
    Well, there's a group on AP who publishes out a Poetry book for the site every year. Maybe we could find out what they do and emulate the process.

  • yoshi97
    July 30
    Reply
    Another dark issue that needs to be considered ... Any story published in such an anthology would be pretty much unsellable elsewhere, as most places that publish a story (for pay) want first publishing rights.

    Now, if everyone is thinking *we'll get paid by selling the book* understand that slab of pie will spread pretty thin even amongst just 6 people, as a typical Lulu book is lucky to sell 2000 titles when the authors are not well known.


    • Barbara
      August 16
      Reply
      I've made $1.50 profit over two years with my books. (Imagine what would happen if I didn't have friends that bought 'pity copies'.) Then again, I don't have ISBN codes, or even actively promoted the novels.

  • bowmore bill
    August 6
    Reply
    I think as an idea it has some merit, even if it is only to give a selected few a confidence boost.
    Ps, i do not by the way, consiider my own writing good enough to be selected for such a venture.

  • Andy Stephenson
    August 18
    Reply

    Realistically,

    The book is not likely to sell to anyone but the writers themselves, their friends and families. So, you can publish at Lulu.com for free, but copies are purchased at cost. There are quantity breaks, but someone would have to act as publisher and distributer. Lulu will drop-ship from one to as many copies as wanted. The more purchased by an individual or at a time, the lower the cost. There is a remote chance of some outside sales, but not likely a significant amount.

    Basically, should we do this, it is only to have copies of a book with a story in it for ourselves, families, and friends. One person acting as publisher and distributor would be sufficient as well as probably efficient. The orders placed through that person and then manufactured and drop-shipped by Lulu.

    Editing and choosing the stories: The stories could be of different genres, but probably GP-rated. Different sections of the book devoted to different genres, perhaps three or four. Since we would be our own market, it doesn't really matter beyond quality, what kind of stories we put in the book(excepting fanfiction). To divide the work of editing, there should probably be three or four editors with an agreed on format compatible with Lulu(I've only done a CD there). Contests could be held, genre specific, until the editors have chosen the stories for the book.

    I see this as workable, but as Barbara suggested, there would probably need to be a group devoted to the project. As I see it, one to act as publisher and distributor through Lulu.com. Three or four editors willing to host and judge contests until the material is collected. I can recommend people on the site who could do the job as I am sure most of you can, but they'd have to volunteer. I'll supply points for the contests, but I am not the best editor and I don't think I could be the publisher/distributor, though I might consider it.

    Also, there should be a written release allowing us to publish the stories from each of the writers stipulating that they retain all rights after publishing. I think if there are any public sales, the amount would be insignificant, so I think any royalties should go to the person acting as publisher/distributor. I'll volunteer to help organize the group. This would be fun, but it is also work. I can see it being completed in 2 or 3 months.

    • Abstract Muse
      August 19
      Reply
      You've done some research haven't you? *chuckles*

      You make two good points. Most likely it will only sell to people here and friends and such. It will also take a concentrated effort from a select few people to make it happen. Keeping that in mind, yes it could work.

      If nothing else for now, it would be good to go ahead and go through the selection process to find the stories and authors to be included while we figure out the details. Both parts of the equation will take some time. We also need to keep in mind the overall book length while looking at individual story lengths.

      As for my friend I mentioned earlier here that is being included in an anthology, they have backed away from Lulu for now and are looking at other publishers to find a better alternative. I'll let you know what they come up with.
      So let's see who's interested in taking on this endeavor.



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