Today I Have to Illustrate My Pyramid Legends Book

10/30/2019

I had planned to write something long today, but yesterday I had quite a surprise when I proudly informed my publisher that I had completed the rough draft of Legends of the Pyramids a month early and they replied that they expected me to have all of the artwork for the book (the book I was not supposed to have finished writing until December) submitted to them this Friday, along with the captions and the page numbers (again, for the book I was not supposed to have yet finished) on which they should appear. So, today I am illustrating an entire book in 48 hours and scrambling to meet an arbitrary deadline for a book I apparently was supposed to have written backward to match the pictures, since I can see no other way to start with the pictures and end with a manuscript.

I have never found photographs to be terribly helpful in a book, but in my book they cannot be more than decorative since the entire story is about texts and written legends. I feel like I am wasting my time producing a list of pictures no one will ever really look at just so some marketer somewhere can add a line about illustrations to the book description.

Oh, and of course they expect me to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars buying stock photos and commissioning original illustrations, if their permission guidelines, sample image suggestions, and receipt/proof of purchase forms are to be followed. Fat chance of that. I am the king of the public domain, and in my entire life, across all of my books, I have only ever spent a total of $50.

27 Comments

Machala

10/30/2019 10:45:42 am

Ah, those perishing publishers ! Don't ya just love 'em ?

Jim Davis

10/30/2019 11:53:56 am

You've gone the self-publishing route before. What does this publisher bring to the table that makes the aggravation worth it?

Jason Colavito link

10/30/2019 12:01:23 pm

Prestige, a better quality physical product, a broader distribution network, and greater marketing clout.

That said, the fact that every single publisher makes me race to provide documents so they can then take six months to do less than I did in six weeks does make me a bit upset.

Machala

10/30/2019 08:24:48 pm

Jason, you're too young to remember or have experienced the days when publishers and editors actually assisted their writers. Believe it or not, there really was a time when authors were appreciated.

Doc Rock

11/4/2019 10:56:13 am

Machala,

University presses are their own unique little worlds. I have dealt with the editors and staff and a number of them. Some are very helpful and a joy to work with and others aren't, while others fall in-between. But as a general rule, it is expected that much of the grunt work in editing and indexing will fall on the shoulders of the author. The allotted time gets us back to my initial comments about editorial staff.

Rackham

10/30/2019 12:31:56 pm

You just learn the first lesson when dealing with deadline... Work fast but tell no ones you've finish your job because they'll take advantage of you. They probably surmised you were a very productive man, so they are now exploiting that flaw!

Good luck with the book!

Warren Anthony

10/30/2019 12:43:14 pm

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Yeah, well, I told the Captain I’d have this analysis done in an hour.

Scotty: How long will it really take?

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: An hour!

Scotty: Oh, you didn’t tell him how long it would *really* take, did ya?

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: Well, of course I did.

Scotty: Oh, laddie. You’ve got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker.

Jr. Time Lord

10/30/2019 04:19:05 pm

"Why does Good need a Starship?"

Spock

Warren Anthony

10/31/2019 03:04:54 am

Anthony: as the fertility specialist said about your sample, "Weak sauce."

Crash55

10/30/2019 07:20:48 pm

I find that is a good approach to any sort of planning. Never tell them the real time it will take to get it done. As soon as you do that is when the unforeseen raises it’s ugly head

Hal

10/30/2019 01:51:25 pm

Be sure to include illustrations of all the gay fantasies you have about alternative authors.

What?

10/30/2019 01:59:59 pm

Why? So you can get aroused looking at the pictures?

Hal

10/30/2019 02:03:45 pm

Ooooo. No, it’s for you.

Johnson & Johnson

10/30/2019 04:50:09 pm

Actually, Hal gets aroused looking at pictures of goats.

Seals or Crofts?

10/30/2019 03:46:08 pm

"Summer breeze, make me feel fine, foaming like the jizm in my mouth."

Why are you such a homophobe? Most of us here like and support Jason. Maybe you should go elsewhere.

Jr. Time Lord

10/30/2019 04:17:08 pm

H.A.L.

Hermaphroditic Alternative Lifestyle

Congratulations Worm. You have successfully sunk to the level of dankent. Now be a good little flower and go phuq yo'self!

Warren Anthony link

10/31/2019 02:52:29 am

J uvenile
R imjobs!

T ribadism
I s
M y
E rrand
L ove
O thers'
R ear
D oors

What?

10/30/2019 02:07:13 pm

@Hal

"Ooooo. No, it’s for you."

I'm a heterosexual woman so it wouldn't do anything for me. But I think I was right the first time.

Hal

10/30/2019 02:47:11 pm

We know who you are as fantasy is part of your website. Feder will never do you for the same reason gay Jason won’t.

Minnie

10/30/2019 02:23:24 pm

Best legend of them all is that Khufu had something to do with the pyramid:))))

An Anonymous Nerd

10/30/2019 11:10:29 pm

I have pointed you towards books, Internet sites, and videos that explain more about the reality of the Great Pyramid (and other pyramids) and why the mainstream explanations of them match the evidence a lot better than do your Fringe fantasies.

I only can assume at this point that reality doesn't interest you all that much.

-An Anonymous Nerd

Hal

10/30/2019 08:32:28 pm

Jason is so gay he’s blown every publishing agreement he ever made.

An Anonymous Nerd

10/30/2019 11:11:49 pm

The sad part is that it took Hal hours to come up with that.

-An Anonymous Nerd

Fellow Homophobe

10/31/2019 03:00:37 am

Hal, like you I hate gays by day and seek out rough trade by night. U up bro?

Homophobe hal

10/31/2019 07:26:34 am

Similar approaches to yours made me hate gays in the first place so begone you wanker loving perv!

I'm so sexually insecure and offended now

Reggie Cormack

10/31/2019 02:06:00 pm

We're living in 2019, people. Being gay just shouldn't be any sort of issue. Mr Colavito is talking about his new book so why should a post about that degenerate into name calling. Criticise his book when it's released if you find fault with it but resorting to endlessly being puerile and childish says rather more about you than him. Try and lift the level of your comments to show you are an adult.

What?

10/31/2019 02:31:32 pm

Hal doesn't have the intellectual chops to debunk this website so he has to resort to puerile name-calling. His retorts run along the lines of "Oh yeah, if Ancient Aliens didn't exist where did all the stuff come from?"

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Today I Have to Illustrate My Pyramid Legends Book

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