Foolish Questions

Just a quick preview of Rube Goldberg's Foolish Questions, which I'm planning to reprint sometime by the end of the year. I have a strong predilection for platinum-age comics (both strips and the often overlooked panels), though I stick to enjoying, rather than studying, them.

Champ Conference Book

A couple decades ago, more or less, a conference was held on the shores of Lake Champlain, with the pithy theme, "Does Champ Exist?" Speakers from all over the country and several eyewitnesses gave presentations on material related to the question of a large unknown aquatic creature in that body of water. Only a few recordings of that conference exist, one belonging to veteran investigator Gary Mangiacopra. Gary has transcribed the conference talks, which will be published in a book he and Dwight Smith are putting together. I am in the editing phase of the transcript (going over the audio recordings carefully to make sure the final product is as accurate as possible), and then will be editing the additional chapters. Gary and Dwight are now gathering up photos, etc., so I am hoping that this book will be finished and available by end of summer. This is a project they've been wanting to finish up for years, and now have the permissions and other material in order. Should be an interesting book for the lake monster enthusiast or the collector of cryptozoological historiana.

Declining Titles

No, not in terms of overall sales, but declining to publish offered titles...

Interesting (to me) is that I've had to decline at least 4 titles related to cryptozoology over the last several months. Now, personally, I'm very eager to publish new cryptozoology material, so I dislike turning down books, but I also have to look at the bottom line. This is a specialty market, and one that really isn't growing at present. The cz market appears to be cyclical, and we may be in a downturn, I'm not certain. But here are a few ways potential authors who are considering Coachwhip Publications can bypass some of the difficulties I note:

1) It needs to be non-fiction. Cryptofiction is very, very difficult to sell. (Juvenile cryptofiction is even harder.) You have to build up a fanbase, and most authors are not willing to put in the effort required for that; they expect the publisher to do the primary marketing. It also requires (in most cases) far more editing that I'm usually willing to put into a book. (And, the hassle of dealing with authors over necessary re-writes.)

2) It needs to be a book, not a booklet. I've learned from past experience that 100-page texts do not justify the retail price I need to set in order for both author and publisher to make a reasonable profit, while offering the book buyer enough value for money. I'm looking for books that are in the 180 to 300 page range. Now, I'll certainly consider shorter books if you have a ready-made audience and are considering ongoing regular direct sales (seminars, etc.)

3) It needs to be fact-based, not speculation-based. There aren't enough people in the cryptozoology market interested in your opinions (whatever those opinions are) to justify writing a book just on those ideas. (If you want to do that, try Lulu.com.) There has to be a concrete purpose for the book, something that gives the cryptozoology enthusiast something to work with for their own pursuits. This doesn't mean that you can't incorporate your ideas or speculation; just that it can't be the main focus of the book. Speculation also needs to derive from the data, rather than reworking the data to fit the opinion.

4) I'm not that interested in the paranormal. (No, cryptozoology is not paranormal. Anyone who thinks that, has a poor grasp on the etymology.) From a folkloric perspective, maybe. Natural mysteries, absolutely. But, I've found, unfortunately, that paranormal approaches have to be heavily edited for logical rigor, and I don't have a lot of time for that.