Great idea for a Chicken Soup for the Soul book!
- Thread starter Hound dog
- Start date
Big Bad Kitty
lolcat
Chicken bones for your throat :wink:
Big Bad Kitty
lolcat
Better yet, chicken bones CAUGHT in your throat.
Marguerite
Active Member
What exactly would you want going in the book? And how broad or narrow would we need to make it? A title would depend on having some idea here. My mind is currently going along the lines of a number of Barbara Johnson's book titles, she has some good ones. We can't steal those, but something similar would be good.
"Gift From God or Package From Satan? YOU Can Choose!"
I'll keep my thinking cap on, I should get some ideas. let's brainstorm for a bit...
Marg
"Gift From God or Package From Satan? YOU Can Choose!"
I'll keep my thinking cap on, I should get some ideas. let's brainstorm for a bit...
Marg
mrscatinthehat
Seussical
Marg how many times I have asked that question...
Beth
Beth
Big Bad Kitty
lolcat
LOL whymemom...chicken soup with bones. And beaks. And feathers.
Steely
Active Member
Seriously.........I would organize this in a heartbeat if we could have a real direction with it. We have so much to say on this board, I would love to compile it somehow.
But, what would the book include?
Things like the hilarious anecdotes of Star's difficult child going to work on a donkey?
Or would it be soft and encouraging antedotes to get us through the day?
Or both?
If some of you are really interested in this, let's brainstorm. We could use many of the posts that are already on the board, and it would be a simple compilation. Or it could all be new.
And where do we go once it is all compiled? A publisher, or?
But, what would the book include?
Things like the hilarious anecdotes of Star's difficult child going to work on a donkey?
Or would it be soft and encouraging antedotes to get us through the day?
Or both?
If some of you are really interested in this, let's brainstorm. We could use many of the posts that are already on the board, and it would be a simple compilation. Or it could all be new.
And where do we go once it is all compiled? A publisher, or?
SearchingForRainbows
Active Member
I've been thinking along the same lines for several weeks now. I just didn't know if I should mention it or not. I'm glad to see your post.
I'm constantly amazed at how many wonderful people are here. This bb has helped me so much. It would be great if we could write a book that might have the potential of helping parents like ourselves realize they're not alone. It would be great if SWs, psychiatrists, tdocs, etc. read it too - Sometimes I don't think some of the providers who have met my difficult children really have a clue as to what raising them is like!!!
I actually cried when I first found this site. I couldn't believe that there are so many others struggling with the same issues as I am. Aside from this bb and a few close friends, no one really has any idea of what I'm going through.
On a lighter note, I love Marg's Package From Satan!!! :rofl: Ok, Chicken Bones In Your Throat is pretty good too!!! :rofl: How about Choking on Chicken Bones Sent From Satan??? No, too long-winded and not catchy enough!!! I'm going to keep on thinking...
Anyway, I really think this could be a good idea. I would love to help as long as I can remain anonymous. WFEN
I'm constantly amazed at how many wonderful people are here. This bb has helped me so much. It would be great if we could write a book that might have the potential of helping parents like ourselves realize they're not alone. It would be great if SWs, psychiatrists, tdocs, etc. read it too - Sometimes I don't think some of the providers who have met my difficult children really have a clue as to what raising them is like!!!
I actually cried when I first found this site. I couldn't believe that there are so many others struggling with the same issues as I am. Aside from this bb and a few close friends, no one really has any idea of what I'm going through.
On a lighter note, I love Marg's Package From Satan!!! :rofl: Ok, Chicken Bones In Your Throat is pretty good too!!! :rofl: How about Choking on Chicken Bones Sent From Satan??? No, too long-winded and not catchy enough!!! I'm going to keep on thinking...
Anyway, I really think this could be a good idea. I would love to help as long as I can remain anonymous. WFEN
mstang67chic
Going Green
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: WeepingWillow</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Seriously.........I would organize this in a heartbeat if we could have a real direction with it. We have so much to say on this board, I would love to compile it somehow.
But, what would the book include?
Things like the hilarious anecdotes of Star's difficult child going to work on a donkey?
Or would it be soft and encouraging antedotes to get us through the day?
Or both?
If some of you are really interested in this, let's brainstorm. We could use many of the posts that are already on the board, and it would be a simple compilation. Or it could all be new.
And where do we go once it is all compiled? A publisher, or? </div></div>
I know a couple of authors that could point us in the right direction if this was done. One used to edit books for years and I'm sure would be willing to help if it fit into her schedule.
But, what would the book include?
Things like the hilarious anecdotes of Star's difficult child going to work on a donkey?
Or would it be soft and encouraging antedotes to get us through the day?
Or both?
If some of you are really interested in this, let's brainstorm. We could use many of the posts that are already on the board, and it would be a simple compilation. Or it could all be new.
And where do we go once it is all compiled? A publisher, or? </div></div>
I know a couple of authors that could point us in the right direction if this was done. One used to edit books for years and I'm sure would be willing to help if it fit into her schedule.
Marguerite
Active Member
I can help too. I sometimes work professionally, helping other people get published and liaising with printers, etc. I've already done a lot of legwork on the topic, although for my own stuff I'm avoiding the US market, I've been burned.
Booklocker could be a good start, at least for an eBook form.
But from experience - you need to know exactly what you want in it, before you call for title ideas or contributions.
It seems to me that the ideas at this stage are to collect funny stuff; serious (but helpful) stuff; the early stuff ("help! My kid is not working out and I'm new at this") and the stories of when they have reached adulthood - the good stories and the not-so-good.
We would also need to establish permission for content; ways in which the content could be assessed and okayed by contributors; many other things I'm still trying to think of. We would find a lot of problems along the way (you always do!) and would need ways of resolving them quickly and painlessly.
I agree, anonymity would be good; for those of us with pseudonyms already, they may be enough; or if we are concerned that our contributions all together could be giving too much away, then a different pseudonym for the book.
Ideally, a small committee to coordinate especially decisions concerning the basics and practicalities - do you want hard copy, or electronic form only? If you want hard copy, how do you want it to look? Do you want to find a mainstream publisher, or self-publish? How many copies to print? What about distribution? And what about costs, and profits?
We range over a number of countries although the majority of members are in the US. Each country's release would need to be handled differently, maybe even re-worked to make it more applicable (example - a lot of my posts would need to be cleaned up for a US market, removing metric references and Aussie slang and spelling).
How I usually work, for an anthology - you determine your parameters. Then you call for contributions. The contributions get vetted and assessed by a small committee and ONE person does the layout work. The committee decides how they want it to look (with input from others) and the committee gets to edit (proofread for spelling, grammar and content).
The committee members can speed up the work by each making enquiries in a different area but again, one person has to pull it together.
Keeping it as a team effort with good communication can make this a painless, productive process. For example, if you all go to different printers to get quotes, you need to begin with the same list of requirements, or your quotes cannot be compared.
For example, if I'm trying to find the best printer for a job but the job itself isn't yet finished, I have a standard 'book' I get them to give me a preliminary quote for - A5 size (a convenient size, also exactly half the standard paper we use in Australia), 140 pages, full colour cover perfect bound (that's standard glued paperback), on 80 gsm paper (again, standard for Aussie use), copy supplied as PDF file. I also choose a standard number of copies - 100, and 500. Two quotes from each printer.
It doesn't matter if in the end we decide to print a different size on different paper with more or less pages, I've by this stage had half a dozen quotes based on the same parameters, and I have already made my choice as to who to use. The final quote may be different, but it would be no matter who we used, and I've already made my comparison.
I first did this back in 1998, as part of a writing group. It was a very educational exercise. Another group did it in 1999 and after that I branched out on my own. I've done a few since then.
I don't know what the most efficient parameters would be for the US - I could fairly easily find out by talking to some printers, but this would be more easily done by people who live on the spot. I can always help and advise, but a US release should ideally be managed from the US unless you have an international budget!
Most of the time I deal with the printer over the phone and by email. I have rarely met the printer in person, usually emailing the completed laid-up book in pdf. Cover design is generally done separately but can similarly be emailed in. Quoting for full-colour gives the most expensive quote. If you decide to reduce the number of colours, you can greatly reduce the costs. So if you are using a line drawing, for example, you can cut the cover design back to, say, two colours (including the colour for the text on the cover) and you can if you want overlay those colours to cheat and get a third for free. If you choose blue and yellow, for example, you can overlay them and get green. But it does take a bit of fiddling at the design stage.
I could go on for ages, but it might put you off and I don't want to do that.
Depending on what people want and how committed we are, this could be a project which a mainstream publisher could pick up. But it would need to be done well (at least at the getting it together stage).
Ownership of the book is the important thing to work out, before getting started. It would seem to me that the easiest option is for the site to own the first publication rights, but you would need contributors to be OK with this.
There are US-based online groups which could help with useful advice.
So - whaddayathink?
Marg
Booklocker could be a good start, at least for an eBook form.
But from experience - you need to know exactly what you want in it, before you call for title ideas or contributions.
It seems to me that the ideas at this stage are to collect funny stuff; serious (but helpful) stuff; the early stuff ("help! My kid is not working out and I'm new at this") and the stories of when they have reached adulthood - the good stories and the not-so-good.
We would also need to establish permission for content; ways in which the content could be assessed and okayed by contributors; many other things I'm still trying to think of. We would find a lot of problems along the way (you always do!) and would need ways of resolving them quickly and painlessly.
I agree, anonymity would be good; for those of us with pseudonyms already, they may be enough; or if we are concerned that our contributions all together could be giving too much away, then a different pseudonym for the book.
Ideally, a small committee to coordinate especially decisions concerning the basics and practicalities - do you want hard copy, or electronic form only? If you want hard copy, how do you want it to look? Do you want to find a mainstream publisher, or self-publish? How many copies to print? What about distribution? And what about costs, and profits?
We range over a number of countries although the majority of members are in the US. Each country's release would need to be handled differently, maybe even re-worked to make it more applicable (example - a lot of my posts would need to be cleaned up for a US market, removing metric references and Aussie slang and spelling).
How I usually work, for an anthology - you determine your parameters. Then you call for contributions. The contributions get vetted and assessed by a small committee and ONE person does the layout work. The committee decides how they want it to look (with input from others) and the committee gets to edit (proofread for spelling, grammar and content).
The committee members can speed up the work by each making enquiries in a different area but again, one person has to pull it together.
Keeping it as a team effort with good communication can make this a painless, productive process. For example, if you all go to different printers to get quotes, you need to begin with the same list of requirements, or your quotes cannot be compared.
For example, if I'm trying to find the best printer for a job but the job itself isn't yet finished, I have a standard 'book' I get them to give me a preliminary quote for - A5 size (a convenient size, also exactly half the standard paper we use in Australia), 140 pages, full colour cover perfect bound (that's standard glued paperback), on 80 gsm paper (again, standard for Aussie use), copy supplied as PDF file. I also choose a standard number of copies - 100, and 500. Two quotes from each printer.
It doesn't matter if in the end we decide to print a different size on different paper with more or less pages, I've by this stage had half a dozen quotes based on the same parameters, and I have already made my choice as to who to use. The final quote may be different, but it would be no matter who we used, and I've already made my comparison.
I first did this back in 1998, as part of a writing group. It was a very educational exercise. Another group did it in 1999 and after that I branched out on my own. I've done a few since then.
I don't know what the most efficient parameters would be for the US - I could fairly easily find out by talking to some printers, but this would be more easily done by people who live on the spot. I can always help and advise, but a US release should ideally be managed from the US unless you have an international budget!
Most of the time I deal with the printer over the phone and by email. I have rarely met the printer in person, usually emailing the completed laid-up book in pdf. Cover design is generally done separately but can similarly be emailed in. Quoting for full-colour gives the most expensive quote. If you decide to reduce the number of colours, you can greatly reduce the costs. So if you are using a line drawing, for example, you can cut the cover design back to, say, two colours (including the colour for the text on the cover) and you can if you want overlay those colours to cheat and get a third for free. If you choose blue and yellow, for example, you can overlay them and get green. But it does take a bit of fiddling at the design stage.
I could go on for ages, but it might put you off and I don't want to do that.
Depending on what people want and how committed we are, this could be a project which a mainstream publisher could pick up. But it would need to be done well (at least at the getting it together stage).
Ownership of the book is the important thing to work out, before getting started. It would seem to me that the easiest option is for the site to own the first publication rights, but you would need contributors to be OK with this.
There are US-based online groups which could help with useful advice.
So - whaddayathink?
Marg
SearchingForRainbows
Active Member
WhyMeMom, thanks for the laugh:rofl:!!!
On a more serious note, even though I have absolutely NO experience whatsoever in this area, I think the book would be a great accomplishment!!! I think it would help not only other parents, but on a personal level, I know it would make me feel like all these years of HE77, etc...have served a purpose. Does this make any sense at all???
With Marg's experience, Mstang67Chic's contacts, and all the rest of us who want to help, maybe we can actually accomplish something ... And, who knows - Maybe there are other bb members who will read this who also have experience in writing - I'm already thinking - MidwestMom???
Well, got to go - I'll be keeping an eye on this thread...WFEN
On a more serious note, even though I have absolutely NO experience whatsoever in this area, I think the book would be a great accomplishment!!! I think it would help not only other parents, but on a personal level, I know it would make me feel like all these years of HE77, etc...have served a purpose. Does this make any sense at all???
With Marg's experience, Mstang67Chic's contacts, and all the rest of us who want to help, maybe we can actually accomplish something ... And, who knows - Maybe there are other bb members who will read this who also have experience in writing - I'm already thinking - MidwestMom???
Well, got to go - I'll be keeping an eye on this thread...WFEN
mrscatinthehat
Seussical
If what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, how strong do we really need to be???
I think we have all asked this a time or two. Something of a sub title really.
Beth
I think we have all asked this a time or two. Something of a sub title really.
Beth
SearchingForRainbows
Active Member
I'm still thinking... Our Journey To Happiness Despite Shattered Dreams, New Beginnings, And Uncertain Futures...
Ok, I know this is far from perfect, BUT, I'm going to do some of my thinking here... Also, as Marg said, it's way too early to think of a title...
Also, we need artists!!! TerryJ2??? Timer Lady???
Beth, Keep those great ideas coming...
Ok, I've really got to go now. I'll be checking back later. Are we crazy for wanting to do this??? WFEN
Ok, I know this is far from perfect, BUT, I'm going to do some of my thinking here... Also, as Marg said, it's way too early to think of a title...
Also, we need artists!!! TerryJ2??? Timer Lady???
Beth, Keep those great ideas coming...
Ok, I've really got to go now. I'll be checking back later. Are we crazy for wanting to do this??? WFEN
tiredmommy
Well-Known Member
Chicken Soup for the Detached and Weary Soul.
SearchingForRainbows
Active Member
TM, Love that title!!! WFEN
Steely
Active Member
OK!
So are we serious??
If so, we need to create a board (within our board :laugh: ) for certain people to be responsible for certain things.
I, for one, would love to organize and lead, create, write, edit, or compile. I can do any of it.
We also would need a "director", a legal type person to verify with different board members that we could use their posts, a coordinator, maybe a treasurer, a liason who works with editors, publishers, etc.
So if we are serious let us start a new post and get this organized!
So are we serious??
If so, we need to create a board (within our board :laugh: ) for certain people to be responsible for certain things.
I, for one, would love to organize and lead, create, write, edit, or compile. I can do any of it.
We also would need a "director", a legal type person to verify with different board members that we could use their posts, a coordinator, maybe a treasurer, a liason who works with editors, publishers, etc.
So if we are serious let us start a new post and get this organized!
tiredmommy
Well-Known Member
WW-
You going to need to pm Cheryl (runawaybunny) if you want to formally include the board in this endeavor. There are some unanswered questions:
-Who covers the start up costs?
-Who gets the profit (assuming there is one)?
You going to need to pm Cheryl (runawaybunny) if you want to formally include the board in this endeavor. There are some unanswered questions:
-Who covers the start up costs?
-Who gets the profit (assuming there is one)?
