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Why I Can't Bring Myself to Finish My Next Book

3/21/2018

73 Comments

 
​Yesterday I reviewed Andrew Lawler’s new book The Secret Token, and to be entirely honest, it was a bit of a depressing experience. That’s because the book’s first half is set up much like a book I’ve been working on writing for several years now, though on a different topic. My book is a narrative history of the “white” mound builder myth, starting with the Spanish explorations and proceeding down to the famous Bureau of Ethnology report that closed the subject as a legitimate scientific question.  The structure and approach are remarkably close, though, in my obviously biased opinion, I feel that I have done a much better job mining my subject for the kind of rich, novelistic detail that helps to bring the past to life. I wrote it basically as a nonfiction novel. My cast of characters is also richer and more compelling, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Constantine Rafinesque, all of whom left elaborate paper trails that help to tell a fascinating story in an engaging way.
​So why was reading Lawler’s book depressing? It’s depressing because Lawler was able to shepherd into print a book that skims across the surface of its story, while I have been unable to find even a single literary agent who will reply to a query. Over the past few years, I have sent queries to dozens, maybe even a hundred literary agents, and no one has had a moment’s interest in my work. And it is not for want of trying, or of talent, or of topic.
 
Clearly, racism and white nationalism are hot topics now, and a book about historical white racism that ties in with pop culture, cable TV, and political kooks ought to be a slam dunk. Lawler’s own book about how an American myth feeds into political racism proves that the topic is hardly off-putting to major publishers.
 
My detractors will immediately object that agents recognize in me a lack of literary talent. Anyone who has read this blog knows that I can write, and write well.  The reviews of my earlier books ought to relieve any lingering doubt, but if not, the fact that I have ghostwritten, revised, or edited books and manuscripts for others that went on to receive placement with major publishers makes plain that my writing is not the issue. (Similarly, I have drafted the cover letters for wannabe authors that literary agents snapped up, so my letter-writing skills are not the problem either.) Yet somehow people who are objectively untalented writers with questionable command of English receive steady book deals. I confess to being baffled.
 
I have, over the years, done everything one is “supposed” to do to enter into the mainstream publishing field. After placing a few books with small publishers on my own, since no agent was interested in me at the time, in 2010 I acquired a literary agent who was a former editor at a publishing house and a foreign scout for major publishers and who represents several authors whose works you would recognize, including New York Times bestsellers. I followed his advice about setting the groundwork for a literary career. I established a website and built a large and dedicated audience, and I appeared on TV and podcasts to raise my profile. I worked with him to hone book proposals and write sample chapters for various books, and the result was jack shit. Despite his best efforts, not a single publisher, large or small, had any interest in anything I wrote or would write or could write. Well, that’s not entirely true. Skyhorse Publishing expressed interest and then slow-walked the process for three years before claiming to “forget” that they ever wanted me. I feel comfortable naming them because I have no interest in working with them after that fiasco.
 
My agent dropped me several years ago, and aside from automated rejections, none has ever placed me under consideration for my nonfiction work since then. Quite a few even refuse even to consider queries unless an author has a formal introduction from a current client. A major British historian who has BBC documentaries and several bestsellers to his name found my writing compelling and offered to introduce me to his literary agent. He tried for a full year to get the agent to respond to my query. He never did, not even to say no. I reached out to several prominent authors with whom I had worked in the past and asked after their agents. More than one simply refused to provide an introduction on the grounds that they didn’t want competition. I’d name names, but it would be unkind and would unduly complicate my life.
 
For a long time, I followed my ex-agent’s advice and said nothing, lest publishers and agents take offense. Well, a fat lot of good that did. I don’t see much point in pretending anymore for fear of giving the vapors to people who clearly have no intention of ever working with me.
 
This seems to be a recurring problem for me, and one that I am unable to resolve. When I graduated college, a professor thought I would be a great fit for National Geographic magazine and contacted a friend who worked in editorial there. I never heard a word from them. My hometown newspaper, for Pete’s sake, interviewed me for a reporting position and told me that they did it only as a courtesy to my parents because they had Ivy League interns coming in from Boston, so why would they want a mere local to report local news? The joke was on them, of course. The Ivy Leaguers quit after a year for more lucrative jobs, and the paper is shell of its former self. The paper here in Albany cut the reporting positions an editor had recommended I apply for when the chain that owned it slashed its budget. I worked with the New York State Museum for a year, and the museum director told me that he recommended me for a staff position, which of course never materialized despite months of promises that it was forthcoming. The museum’s director blamed state funding, and an inquiry from my state assemblyman (who in those days was a friend of my father’s) achieved nothing. For years afterward, the director would duck and turn the other way when I would see him around the Capitol.
 
I remember when I applied for an editorial position at a regional publishing house and made it all the way to final consideration when the hiring manager informed me that the owners of the company had personally decided to dismiss me from contention. I was a bit miffed at that, since I had spent so much time and made it all the way to the end of the hiring process, so I asked why the owners decided against me. The hiring manager told me that they thought I was too qualified, and they were really looking for someone less competent that they could mentor and train and treat as a surrogate child.
 
My very first job out college was even worse. I trained to be a Kaplan SAT instructor, passed their test, and was all set to start teaching when… nothing happened. I went to the for my assignment, and the staff had turned over and they claimed not to know who I was. The company later said that they had no record of me, and then that the deposed manager of my local branch had forgotten to assign me to teaching courses, and any number of other excuses. It wasn’t a scam; their paychecks cleared just fine until they stopped. Depending on whom you asked, I either never existed or fell through the cracks. But they kept advertising for new employees. They hired me and sent me through training, but they forgot about me so completely that they never officially fired me. As far as I know, I’m still technically employed there.
 
When I published Knowing Fear and A Hideous Bit of Morbidity, two well-received books about the horror genre that took years of research and dedication to bring to fruition, and which I was proud to have cited in dissertations and popular histories alike, the Bram Stoker Award for accomplishment in nonfiction studies of horror went to a book from the same small publisher, McFarland, in which the author literally copied and pasted 13 public domain newspaper stories about Halloween and called it a book. I didn’t even get nominated.
 
I could go on, but I won’t. At a certain point, though, I just get tired of trying. The only thing I’ve learned from the process is that there is no benefit in following the rules. The rules are designed to help the powerful avoid responsibility and to reinforce existing hierarchies.

I get frustrated, though, because I’m not in it for the money—though, of course, I can’t afford to work entirely for free. I wanted my books to have a larger audience because I write when I have something to say, not just to make money off them. But it’s increasingly hard to justify the effort to write deep and detailed books if the only publishers who will touch them are so small, and pay so little, that they are essentially unread. I devoted a year to writing Jason and the Argonauts through the Ages, and fewer people have read it than will read this blog post.  
 
So, the long and short of it is that I have about two-thirds of a really great book written and absolutely no incentive to finish it.
73 Comments
Matt
3/21/2018 09:13:30 am

Damn, if I was in the USA I'd be hitting you up to collaborate on a documentary series.

I'd also be using imperial measurements and laughably thinking I was living in the greatest country in the world while it crumbled around me. But I digress.

Mining your wealth of research and knowledge to make a comprehensive documentary series counteracting your nemeses I'm sure would find an audience.

Reply
Stickler
3/21/2018 03:59:15 pm

The U.S. doesn't use Imperial Measurements.

Reply
Joe Scales
3/21/2018 10:08:46 am

"The rules are designed to help the powerful avoid responsibility and to reinforce existing hierarchies."

Did you borrow that from the Fringe? I mean... that sort of plea sounds hauntingly familiar.

Now if I were to hazard a guess, I'd imagine you need to work on your people skills. Could it be your inflated self-valuation puts people off? If I had to be honest, and answer the age old question of who I'd rather go and have a beer with... it would probably be those who you attack, rather than you. That is not to say that I don't wholeheartedly agree with main points in regard to the distortion of history for profit by the frauds, liars and shills, and I appreciate how you point out the specifics in their regard; but you just don't seem to be that much fun.

Successful authors are often quite colorful characters. Raconteurs, so to speak. Sure, I could dwell on the technical, in that you often play fast and loose with your own interpretations and wear your politics on your sleeve, but those qualities aren't holding you back. No, not at all. So don't be upset when your perceptions of being correct or being competent aren't enough. Sometimes it's all about who you like, and often enough that's beyond our control.

Reply
Jason Colavito link
3/21/2018 02:08:33 pm

All rules are made by people with power for their benefit. That's been true since the earliest law codes. Hammurabi's code treated different classes of people differently, and those with more power had more legal protection.

Reply
V
3/21/2018 02:31:33 pm

Wow, talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Hint: calling people "not that much fun" and "inflated self-valuation" are deeply personal attacks, sir. Nobody wants to have a beer with a bully, and I'm afraid that's what you come across as right now. Personally, I'm going to go have a beer with the people who DON'T think that "you are factually incorrect" is a personal attack, and DO understand that "you're a jerk" IS.

Holy shit. The sheer chutzpah is mind-boggling.

Reply
Joe Scales
3/22/2018 11:58:22 am

Perhaps you have a better way of dealing with whinging other than giving it to them straight. I'll stick to my methodology, thank you.

Machala
3/21/2018 03:22:58 pm

Joe,
You said it far more eloquently than I could have.
I am by no means an intellectual nor an academic scholar but one thing I know - if you want people to buy what you're selling, then they must BUY into you, first.
Writing is like acting, - or even teaching - you are presenting an idea and a character ( real or imagined ) to an audience. You want that audience to willingly suspend their disbelief and to involve themselves in the play or the movie or the book and with the characters or the author. In order to do that, the audience has got to LIKE you. Yes, there a fictional characters we " love to hate ", as well as authors and actors who project themselves as "larger than life".
My advice to Jason would be what an old theatre director said to an actor: " Charisma, kid...what ya gotta develop is some charisma. Then go out there and sell, sell ,sell that charisma ! "<P>
I think I'd have a good time sitting in a bar somewhere in the world, having a beer or two with you. But, I'm afraid I wouldn't have as much fun with Jason. Sorry, Jason !

Reply
Doc Rock
3/21/2018 11:00:19 am

Have you looked into university presses that publish fiction?

Reply
Doc Rock
3/21/2018 11:01:59 am

Or nonfiction novels.

Reply
Jason Colavito link
3/21/2018 02:09:38 pm

University presses strongly prefer PhDs.

Reply
Doc Rock
3/21/2018 02:40:34 pm

They might prefer something by a Ph.D. But if they get a well done prospectus on a topic relevant to their interests it probably won't matter if you are a high school dropout.

Enid McConnell
3/21/2018 11:13:41 am

As a former editor at both scholarly and commercial publishers, my experience has been that you have to be either a celebrity or you (or your agent) has to know somebody who is willing to do you a favor by publishing you. Contrary to popular belief, the publishing world is not a meritocracy. On the other hand, sometimes lightning does strike...

Reply
Doc Rock
3/21/2018 12:00:30 pm

Enid,

I assume that you aren't referring to university presses, at least in the US.

Reply
Enid McConnell
3/21/2018 12:06:27 pm

Actually, I am...

Doc Rock
3/21/2018 12:17:04 pm

I recently had a university press agree to publish a book that I lead authored. I’ve also contributed several chapters to edited volumes published through university presses. I have dozens of colleagues who have published books through university presses. None of us were celebrities in any sense of the word and I don’t know of any instance where agents were involved. In fact you are the first person that I have ever seen even mention the use of an agent in publishing thru a university press, although I assume that it can happen with very successful authors.

expat link
3/21/2018 11:16:06 am

Have you tried Waterside Productions? It was my agency when I was in the non-fiction book biz and they took my calls fairly reliably.

https://www.waterside.com/

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Marko
3/21/2018 11:21:02 am

I'm really sorry to hear this, Jason. I see no good reason for your run of bad luck.

If I were you, I'd work on either increasing the size of your audience, or "exploit" the audience you do have. I think you could promote yourself more either within fringe-history-science media or aim toward a slighter more general audience. I'd recommend doing more interviews (podcasts, even YouTube channels) and contributing more articles to magazines and journals, both online and in print. On Monday, the Archaeological Fantasies podcast re-released your interview with them in an 'encore' presentation. As a fan of podcasts, and of yours, I was thrilled to re-listen to this episode. I think you could do much more to promote your work both here on your website and on similar and like minded publications, and even popular outlets.

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Jason Colavito link
3/21/2018 02:14:05 pm

The trouble is that all of that stuff is a lot of extra work, and a huge time sink, with only a small chance of producing useful results. Magazines are the worst. They constantly want free work for "exposure." The paying magazines are just like publishers, and basically want celebrities and friends of the editor to write for them.

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Marko
3/21/2018 03:06:23 pm

I hear you. But if the publishing world is about 'who you know', doesn't it follow that, to succeed, Jason, you'll meet new people, make new connections? It's not the worst thing in the world, having to work free for 'exposure' (even if it is objectionable on principle)... Aren't you already working for free when you write for your blog?

Your recent book review of Steven Pinker's "Enlightment Now" was really brilliant. I really enjoyed reading it and it led me to appreciate you much more as a social critic. That review could have been published on Slate, Salon, maybe even The Atantic... If you want a larger audience, you could start writing for a larger audience (there are many ways to do this, and not all of them are bad).

Finally, I've been a fan for over a year, and it occurs to me that I've yet to purchase one of your books. In fact, it wasn't until Tuesday, after re-listening to that podcast, that I decided to browse through your books on Amazon -- I know it's no fun promoting your own wares, but you owe it to yourself to step up a notch.

Jason Colavito link
3/21/2018 04:12:34 pm

Oh, I spent years trying to break into various magazine and website markets, but to no avail. Yes, "who you know" would be about meeting new people, but you don't get entre into NYC and DC society without living there, and I decided long ago that I couldn't well give up real life to pursue a remote possibility of success. I mean, what would be the ideal outcome? It's not like a literary career does much to pay the bills.

Anonymous For Reasons
3/21/2018 11:43:15 am

It pains me to say this but there's a common denominator.

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Dudeleoid
3/21/2018 11:48:15 am

Jeez. I wake up this morning to you complaining about the exact same thing that has happened to me. I have five self published books and a great deal of alternative media attention but no one wants it because it debunks all the talking heads on the History Channel. That may be your problem right there. You refuse to jump on the bandwagon that has been created thus leaving yourself out in the cold. What you don't believe Phoenicians came to America in antiquity or that Baldar the Venusian has mated with your sisters? .....No soup for you....Your scorned unfinished book would likely threaten the logic of the entire season of new programming for both the Discovery Channel and History Channel and you wonder why? Still I would rather read your book so at least self publish it.

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Murgatroyd
3/21/2018 12:18:50 pm

The thing about publishers is that they're always on the look-out to devise ways of placing printing ink on paper in the manner most likely to shift the greatest number of copies: they don't much mind what the subject matter is, or who the author is, as long as the copies get sold. As Dudleoid rightly says, the reading public might be prepared to pay to read how " ... Phoenicians came to America in antiquity or that Baldar the Venusian has mated with your sisters ... " - but the fact is that far fewer people would pay to read about the debunking of such theories.

The real problem here is finding an answer to the question: "What would make a significant number of readers desperate to find out the real history behind the myth of the white mound builders?" If Jason could do that, he might get past the brick wall he seems to be up against.

Whatever happens, if I were him I'd finish the book I'd started ...

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Enid McConnell
3/21/2018 12:37:44 pm

Doc Rock--You misunderstood me. You don't need to be a celebrity or have an agent to publish with a university press; but usually, you do have to have a relationship with one of the editors or be otherwise known to them in some way. Very rarely does anyone get published by an "over the transcript" submission. Moreover, as you probably know, academia can be just as cutthroat as the commercial world...

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Doc Rock
3/21/2018 12:56:37 pm

Well, that's a bit of a shift from your initial statement. I agree that knowing an editor might help, but certainly not necessary. Otherwise revised dissertations or edited volumes by young scholars who have never even met an editor would never get published. But that happens all the time.

In my experience editors initially review a book prospectus based on the particular press's interests. From that point on the publication decision depends heavily on peer reviewer comments in a double-blind review process. In my experience this happens all the time with authors who have no prior relationship with the editor or reviewers.

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Enid McConnell
3/21/2018 03:18:13 pm

Not much of a shift, if you read my initial statement closely...

You describe the peer review process correctly, but getting over the initial hurdle is the problem if you're an unknown. You have evidently been more fortunate in your experience than most.

BTW: OOops! "over the transcript" = "over the transom" = unsolicited

Evidently too early in my day...

Doc Rock
3/21/2018 03:34:25 pm

Enid,

I've read your comments several times and am quite comfortable with my understanding of them.

I can only repeat, countless books authored by unknowns are published every year by university presses. No need to be a celebrity, no need to be the editor's drinking buddy, no need for some intermediary. University presses are based on publication of unsolicited projects by authors that are completely unknown to the editor.

I'm not saying that getting published thru a university press is a cakewalk, but nothing you have said thus far makes any sense at all. Would you mind divulging which university press where you worked as an editor? Perhaps they operate under quite different rules than most others.

Kal
3/21/2018 12:45:59 pm

Finish the book, advertise it yourself, and put up a YouTube weekly podcast on ancient mysteries and myths. Tell your next potential agent, this is part of the portfolio, but pick the best stories to show them.

Sometimes this means the most out there and sensational.

The detractors will not steal your ideas. You are a blogger. They are going to find their own ideas. Let them.

So what if that other story is similar. The genre is flooded with the seven basic ideas of fantasy or horror, or mystery.

It might sound like a conspiracy to snuff out the bloggers, but it looks more like the mainstream publishers just want 'the hottest thing now' and don't care about a story that is 'a narrative thoughtful history' of a myth, and its origins.

Blogging and podcasts are great for getting the word out.

So many of the self publishers are just out to take people's money. You have to shop around looking for that.

It seems now the publishers want 'sensational and bizarre' and out there.

The fringe is not the mainstream., It only seems that way within it. The actual scholarly literary market does not care for giants and demigods, unless it's complete fiction.

They probably see you as the fringe as well.

Prove them wrong.

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Joe Scales
3/21/2018 01:28:35 pm

"They probably see you as the fringe as well."

While accessing this site on a business' customer wifi connection, I was unable to do so. It was blocked by the provider for "promoting alternative views". I suppose Jason's targets have been reporting him, as oddly enough, their sites were easily accessed through that connection.

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Joe Scales
3/21/2018 01:33:40 pm

Actually, it might have been blocked for "alternative beliefs", not views.

Gunn at Risk
3/21/2018 01:09:24 pm

Jason, I recommend that you do not finish your book on white racism. This would be a bummer, not much for anyone to be uplifted about. I, too, think you should veer off more into history-related subjects, steering away from the supernatural and horror.

If I might advise you further, I would also suggest that you publish and market your own books. There is very little lay-out now-a-days (in upfront book costs) and you can control the whole process. Amazon can help you get started, and you can pay a resonable price only for those services you need, such as cover design, etc.

"At a certain point, though, I just get tired of trying. The only thing I’ve learned from the process is that there is no benefit in following the rules. The rules are designed to help the powerful avoid responsibility and to reinforce existing hierarchies."

Why did that jump out at me? It reminded me of my own frustrations related to the proposed Norse Code-stone I discovered a few years ago. But, I must follow the rules.

I feel that the powerful here in MN (State Archaeologist and the MN Historical Society) are avoiding responsibility for the Code-stone site because, in part, they simply want to "reinforce their existing hierarchies"--which insist that the French were in this region before Scandinavians. In time, I believe, this will be seen as academic hogwash.

Jason, if I can get the authorities here in MN to budge on this Code-stone issue and something of an exceedingly historic value is discovered, I will consider hiring you to write a book about it. Or, maybe we can co-author the book. How about a catchy title like:

"Fear and Loathing in Minnesota: Savage Journeys to the Heart of Medieval America."

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Clint Knapp
3/21/2018 03:53:53 pm

Bob Voyles, ladies and gentlemen, making yet another pitch for someone else to do the work of promoting and proving his pet theory for him.

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Huh? What?
3/21/2018 09:14:31 pm

Isn't he the guy who tried to crowdsource $500? What a "looser".

Gunn at Risk
3/21/2018 09:29:19 pm

An unnecessary and personal cheap shot: Clint Knapp, ladies and gentlemen, not getting the simple joking idea that Jason would come into the picture AFTER something of exceedingly historic value is found...not an up-front pitch for someone else to do the work of promoting and proving my pet theory for me. Nice twist-try, Clint. But, in your terse, troll-like attack against me, you did manage to come across as not very savvy.

Concerned Sister
3/21/2018 10:34:04 pm

That sounds like something a demon would write. Are you possessed, Brother Risk?

Concerned Sister
3/21/2018 04:08:28 pm

That sounds like something a demon would write. Are you posessed, Brother Risk?

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Americanegro
3/21/2018 01:22:44 pm

Have you submitted to E.P. Grondine's publisher (pauses for laughter to die down). Speaking only for myself I'd be much more likely to read (buy) a non-fiction book than a "nonfiction novel".

The university press suggestion was a good one; University of Oklahoma Press published The Frightful Punishment, an account of Con Orem and the great glove boxing matches of the 1800s. It was bound in burlap. No, I tell a lie, it was University of Montana Press.

The lesson here is that university presses in the area(s) you're dealing with would be the better bet.

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Jason Colavito link
3/21/2018 02:06:27 pm

It's not a novel in any actual sense. I was trying to describe for my readers what the rather clinical publishing category of "narrative nonfiction" entails. It just means telling a story rather than academic style analysis.

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E.P. Grondine
3/21/2018 02:15:48 pm

Dear Dickwad,

You have no idea of my life, my stoke, my previous writings, nor why I did any of it.

As far as my book (and now the pamphlets) go, there are people of native descent who have called in sick to work to read it, and who keep it on their desks.

My book played some role in rescuing traditional Native Histories from the dust bin, and returning them to academic study. My book is used on a graduate level by geology students. It demonstrated comet and asteroid impacts, and turned them into a tool for anthropological work.

I will add that you want to use Adobe fonts, and set your price pint at $20 dollars. University presses are largely academic vanity houses, and do not offer much in the way of royalties.
Sales of 2000 copies are considered good.

By the way, "Man and Impact in the Americas" was simply an exercise to learn the tools for the commercial book "Man and Impact in the Ancient Near East". There are a lot more European readers than Native American readers, and if you add in the Bible, you are guaranteed sales.

Dickwad, there is a satellite I need to get launched, and I do not personally have a couple hundred million dollars lying around to do it. I also need to get some people fired, and since I still am able to type, I will continue to work on these problems.

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Americanegro
3/21/2018 02:31:11 pm

So now you call me "Dickwad" whatever that is? Coming from you I suspect it's a profanity.

AND NOW YOU TELL US THAT INJUNS FAKE CALL IN SICK??? Good to know for anyone who's hiring.

Heapum stellar performance, Chief.

I'm off to the bar now to "read a few E.P. Grondines".

E.P. Grondine
3/22/2018 11:22:53 am

"I'm off to the bar now to "read a few E.P. Grondines"."

That would do you very great good.

AN, I type these little notes with very great difficulty now.
I used to write 20,000- 30,000 words with few typos.
I have only fallen down twice recently.

E.P. Grondine
3/21/2018 01:52:41 pm

Well, Jason,

The primary fact here is that Andrew is a writer, who happened to end up working in an area which interested you.

If you look at it, people will vacation on the Outer Banks, and will read about the Lost Colony while there. That is the market that Andrew adressed.

There is a much better book on the "Lost Colony" that covered the English "Entrada", their through pissing off of the local peoples in their search for gold, and the inevitable result.

(The author had also assembled the ethnographic materials on the Oconachee; I read the book in Halifax, North Carolina, but as my notes are in Illinois, I can not provide you with full reference to it.)

That book is academically far better than Lawler's, but that is beside the point. It did not enjoy wide commercial success.

Jason, I am amazed at your daily output, and enjoy your coverage of the "fringe". But I am certain that my piece on Richard Kieninger will end up with better commercial prospects, both for its humor and sex. .

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KH
3/21/2018 02:23:43 pm

I am sorry to hear that, Jason.
As someone who has also struggled with career frustrations, I can sympathize. Hopefully it is some small conciliation that your blog is one of the best of it's kind. I read it every day during my lunch break, and I always chip in when fundraiser time comes.

I know I'm not the only one who appreciates your work, so please, keep up the good fight!

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Machala
3/21/2018 02:48:42 pm

Jason,
Several observations on you and your endeavors to get you book finished and PUBLISHED !
U.S. publishing has vastly changed since I started writing - back in the Dark Ages. More emphasis was placed by the publisher on the writer and the editor than on the agent. In fact, if there is a Hell, then there is a very special place in it for "Literary Agents" !

In my own case, nepotism was on my side. I was able to find an outlet for my writing because I had an godmother who was a well-respected magazine writer and editor for a major publication in New York City, She was my mentor, best critic, unpaid agent and entree into the publishing world. I was fortunate to have her help and encouragement.

I have NEVER had an "AGENT" of any stripe get me work !! Over the years, a combination of luck, chutzpah, determination, and contacts, along with a modicum of talent got me some very interesting jobs and enabled me to publish much of what I'd written.
I'm not saying this to brag but rather to say to you that IF you really WANT something, then you have to get it yourself and NOT rely on others to do it for you. Too many aspiring writers, actors, musicians etc. sit back and wait to be discovered OR think that their previous body of work will garner future opportunities. That won't happen ! If you want to open the doors of success, then you've got to stick your foot in them. You have got to be aggressive.

I don't write for a U.S. market anymore and haven't for years. Most of my contacts in the business are either dead or retired, so unfortunately, I cannot offer any help in that regard.

All I can tell you is to stop feeling sorry for yourself, get off your ass and finish the book and stop worrying about it getting about a public or a publisher. If its any good, it not only will get published but find an audience.

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Kal
3/21/2018 03:34:54 pm

Mr. Colavito.
This site is not blocked from the internet here, and there is likely no vain attempt to discredit this site, but just are several other sites like it, and the publishers choose the easy to access one, the ones to sell whatever product they're pushing.

Self publication may be a way, but much research should be done. The publishing world has evolved, some day devolved, into a lot of people 'trying to be famous', a lot of content being 'like everyone else' and a lot of the cheapest stuff making the most money.

Usually when it is bad easy money content, like shows about ghost hunting, island treasure, or pawn shops, the networks like that because it is easy to make and market.

In some cases, people have stopped thinking. They're just looking for the next sensation.

This blog is a niche known to only a few, a vocal few, but a few. If you still know the dude from Ancient Aliens, Mr. GT, give him a call. Maybe he can help. Probably not though.

You seem to make interesting stories about Greek myth. That's something.

Also, the horror story histories are interesting, like your lengthy topics on Lovecraft. I find the history of horror research here interesting. Thought of making a part time video blog on that? You could.

The Ancient Aliens reviews are the most searched for. Have you thought about pitching to NatGeo TV and to History 'as a fringe' person, but then turn around and be a critic? That could be interesting. Maybe it won't sell, but it would be one way to get some notice.

You need a hook people will be interested in. You have several on your blog.

If you could make mound builders only a chapter in the saga of native American myths and such, but not the whole story, it might be better.

I suspect getting it out there has less to do with a conspiracy be detractors, and more to do with the blog appealing to a marginal but vocal group, the fringe, and there is just not that much material they haven't seen, so yours has to stand out.

Maybe if the published world is going to pretend the old standby 'you need an agent, or an agent needs you', then market and sell your own stuff. They will come to you later. It isn't just you. The fringe world is very, very niche and inundated with easy stories.

Maybe the 'white mound builders' title is what is being flagged by some sites, ironically 'as racist content' when you intent is to do the opposite.

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Doc Rock
3/21/2018 04:58:15 pm

This thread is pretty much turning into an episode of The Price is Right where an audience of people is just yelling random answers. So, some food for thought and then I am off to happy hour and gonna try to forget that this never happened.

First, some "feel good" book publishing stories.

The manuscript for "Confederacy of Dunces" was shopped around to a number of publishing companies who wouldn't touch it. It ended up being published by LSU Press. Won a Pulitzer and has thus far sold about 2 million copies.

James Lee Burke's collection of short stories: The Lost Get-Back Boogie was rejected 111 times. LSU press published it and the book ended up being nominated for a Pulitzer.

A friend of mine put a lot of time and effort into his M.A. thesis. A revised version of it was published through Oxford University Press.

Beyond those warm and fuzzy stories consider the following:

If you look at the websites for university presses and some publishing companies, they freely accept unsolicited submissions. That's what they do. However, you need to do the following:

1.Have a well-researched and well-written manuscript, or portion of it. In fact a lot of presses don't even want an entire manuscript submitted initially. Keep in mind that just because you think a manuscript is great, it doesn't make it so. Kind of like thinking that you have the most beautiful baby in the nursery.....

2.Do your research and find a press that specializes in the genre of writing that you do. There are presses that are willing to publish a book that is a highly technical analysis of a Native American language only spoken by about 300 people. The vast majority of presses wouldn't touch it.

3.Follow the directions that their websites provide for submissions. Don't give them an excuse to shoot you down.

4.The success rate for manuscript submissions is very low. Just because 10 presses in a row have shot you down doesn't mean that the 11th (or 111th) won't give it a thumbs up, resulting in a well-received book.

5.Related to #4, don't be thin-skinned. Editors or reviewers can be royal dicks sometimes. One person's trash is another person's treasure, though. What one reviewer thought wasn't fit to be used for toilet paper, another will love.

6.Nine times out of ten, if you can't get something published by a legitimate press, you have ignored 1 or more of the above. If you are the 10th then welcome to Life Sucks 101.

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Machala
3/21/2018 06:47:24 pm

Doc,
Excellent advice.
You mentioned two books that had very tortured times trying to find a publisher. Thelma Toole ( John Kennedy Toole's mother ) was 'la Fuerza mayor' in getting "A Confederacy of Dunces" eventually published but not without the famous rejection of the manuscript by Robert Gottlieb and Walker Percy convincing LSU Press to publish it.
James Lee Burke's debut with LSU Press in 1986 also came through the intercession of Walker Percy.
I cannot say enough good things about LSU Press. They have maintained an integrity that many other publishing houses - commercial and academic - have lost.
One last thought : " GEAUX TIGERS ! "

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Only Me
3/21/2018 05:21:21 pm

Jason, have you considered the possibility that some of your past troubles with fringe personalities may have had an impact? If I recall, you've been threatened with legal action on more than one occasion. I know you've talked openly about it to be honest with your readers.

I may disagree with you politically, but I've always found your work on this blog entertaining and informative. Hell, your parodies of America Unearthed were fantastic!

Maybe your publishing woes are a sign of the times. More people are turning to alternative media for news and Hulu or Netflix for entertainment.

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Jason Colavito link
3/21/2018 08:51:33 pm

Oh, sure. I've had editors come right out and say that they wanted me to write fringe history books or pretend that aliens or Atlantis could be behind it all. While I don't know whether agents or publishers look into legal claims, TV producers who have expressed interest in me have basically conceded that their production companies won't work with me for fear of crossing the History Channel and its lucrative gravy train.

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Americanegro
3/21/2018 06:11:16 pm

"So, some food for thought and then I am off to happy hour and gonna try to forget that this never happened."

See? An alcoholic would never say that.

"If you look at the websites for university presses and some publishing companies, they freely accept unsolicited submissions. That's what they do."

You're saying people receive mail.

"1.Have a well-researched and well-written manuscript, or portion of it."

That's what the article was about, Drinky.



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David Bradbury link
3/21/2018 06:25:18 pm

You should perhaps have followed the example of independent historian Kirsten Seaver, whose major monographs have been published by Stanford University Press:
https://www.intelius.com/people/Paul-Seaver/Palo+Alto-CA/0cgmtnt9z9a

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David Bradbury
3/22/2018 09:25:41 am

In general, it might be worth researching the backgrounds of authors published by different presses. Using the obvious one as an example, going through the first few pages of SUNY Press's current catalogue we have:
#"The Mystery of the Albany Mummies" by Peter Lacovara and Sue H. D’Auria. First obvious point to note is the word "Albany" in the title; the mummies' arrival by purchase in Albany is almost a footnote to the real story, but it establishes local interest. As for the authors, back in the 1980s they both worked in the Ancient Egyptian division at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and their first book together "Mummies & Magic" was published by the Museum in 1988. It may also have helped that Lacovara is now director of The Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Heritage Fund, "a private, non-profit organization with a mission is to support research and conservation on Egyptian history and culture."
#"The History of Here: A House, the Pine Hills Neighborhood, and the City of Albany" by Akum Norder. Another Albany book, and Ms Norder happens to be an editor on the Times Union, which has already provided a fair amount of free publicity.
#"Adriaen van der Donck: A Dutch Rebel in Seventeenth-Century America" by J. van den Hout. The topic is still New York State, but Julie van den Hout is working in the university library at Berkeley, where she graduated as a mature student in 2015. Last year, she became a minor figurehead for their Digital Humanities Project, which is creating a digital resource from material on New Netherland in their Engel Sluiter Historical Documents Collection. The book is, in effect, promotion for the project.
#"Dancing with Ophelia: Reconnecting Madness, Creativity, and Love" by Jeanne Ellen Petrolle. The author, who gained her PhD in 2004 at the University of Illinois, is Associate Professor of English and Cultural Studies at Columbia College Chicago, where she has been working since at least 2000 (when she was described as an Assistant Professor) having received her M.A. from Southern Illinois University in 1993. Her books and journal articles have reflected a fairly eclectic interpretation of her academic role. She was co-editor with Virginia Wexman of "Women and Experimental Filmmaking," published by University of Illinois Press back in 2005, but her first book as author was "Religion without Belief: Contemporary Allegory and the Search for Postmodern Faith" published by SUNY Press in 2007 (the allegories in question included 'The Matrix', 'The Truman Show' etc.).
# "We Have Not Stopped Trembling Yet: Letters to My Filipino-Athabascan Family" by E. J. R. David. The author is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage; his first book was "Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino-American Postcolonial Psychology" published in 2013 by independent academic publisher Information Age Publishing ("IAP's goal is to develop a comprehensive collection of materials that break down and define specific niches that lack high-level research material in the fields of Education, Psychology, Management, Leadership, Educational Technology, Mathematics and Black studies").
# "Over a Barrel: The Rise and Fall of New York’s Taylor Wine Company" by Thomas Pellechia. Another New York State topic, and the locally-based author is an expert on both the production and history of wine. He began his writing career with magazine articles, worked his way up to regular newspaper columns, then to popular-scholarly books on various aspects of wine, the first of which seems to have been "Garlic, Wine and Olive Oil: Historical Anecdotes and Recipes" (published in 2000 by California's Capra Press, who have always had an interest in wine books alongside their impressive literary output) in which some of the anecdotes were about the author's own experiences; a neat bit of self-promotion.

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Titus Pullo
3/21/2018 09:49:50 pm

Jason,

As an old guy about to turn 55 I'll offer an experience and what I learned about hitting dead ends in pursuit of something you wanted after you did above and beyond what others who reached your goal did. I always wanted since I could remember to be a military pilot. I did the whole nine yard, majoring in aerospace engineering, getting a ROTC free ride only to see my vision go from 20/20 to 20/400 in a year. "no way kid" I was told. Didn't matter if I had the aeroE degree, I was a college runner, got a private pilot lsicense and so on..it wasn't going to occur.

Your told set your mind to it kid and it can happen. Sort of...life is more like a series of rivers flowing...you jump in one going in the direction you like and sometimes it gets you to where you want to go, sometimes it doesn't. And you need to either jump in another one heading in a new direction or find one taking you down the direction you want. the hardest thing I had was moving on to something else..a new path. And even when I found one my desires changed over time. I can't count the times I have had to reinvent myself in the corporate world.

You are a good writer and bring together a really interesting background in anthro/history/literature. Your research skills are excellent. But maybe the path you want is obsolete or your going after getting in a crowed pond when a raging ocean is closer than you think.

I listen to podcasts all the time. Look up a guy named Tom Woods. he is a libertarian but don't hold that against him. He had some best selling books but now does a podcast and he uses this interesting thing called free "e-books". Basically s short summary of a book or just a quick 10 pages of an interesting subject. Why spend so much time/effort on one book and then fight the publishing world when you could write 20 or 30 of different and interesting topics and then use a podcast to promote...monetize the site..sell your brand. I listened to you on archfantasies you have already are a brand. Your are known for your niche!

I don't know what you do for a living..assume you have a job outside this...but you have channels you can exploit today with podcasting and youtube and who knows what else.

And you have a base of listeners already...all of us who come to this site daily.

When you reach a dead end you can get pissed about it or turn around and take another road.

Best of luck and keep you head high. I heard Auburn High Grads never quit (or IC for that matter).

Mike

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Americanegro
3/21/2018 10:49:35 pm

I applaud my non-Masonic brother Titus's suggestions. Today's article was like a bath in Lake Me. We've all had days like this. Bothering other people with it is not the solution. That doesn't mean I don't want Jason to continue on his successwalk. But if he doesn't use Adobe fonts I will deny every hearing of him. That is a sine qua non. And in addition to a plethora of piñatas I have always curated a cornucopia of sine qua non.

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javy lopez
3/22/2018 08:18:22 am

I always find it a puzzlement that some authors manage to get published, when their writing is (in my opinion) amateurish and silly, the story premise is ridiculous, the endings are forced and contrived, and the entire flow is disjointed. Yet, they continue to get business.
I think a big part of it is they pander to what people want; right now it's all conspiracies, alternative history, and mystical explanations for very commonplace, or easily explained, things. That feeds the beast, and is what makes money. I mean, just look at what passes for "plots" on television shows or movies, for goodness sake.
I can't blame publishers for playing to their audience's baser instincts; they exist to make money. Right now, it looks like people seek "affirmation", not "information". They don't want to learn, they want their pre-existing beliefs to be "validated".
I'm not an author; but I love to read, and it's difficult to really find anything that captures my attention anymore. Really well-written prose, that grips the reader and makes the story compelling, is extremely hard to find.
All I can say is, keep trying. Maybe your entry into the publishing world will require you to write something with a broader (baser) appeal, even though you find that distasteful; after that, once you have a "success" under your belt, you can maybe start getting the works you want published.
One thing for sure, you can never underestimate the willingness of the public to pay for crap. Just looking at the reviews for that abysmal, absurd, offensive TV series "Knightfall" should provide proof of that.
You have the advantage over most in being a good "writer"; take solace that a Bad Story well-written is often preferable to a Great Story poorly written will.

Reply
E.P. Grondine
3/22/2018 12:15:18 pm

"They don't want to learn, they want their pre-existing beliefs to be "validated"."

Let us consider the success of "The Martian". For many people, their religious needs manifest through a utopianism, a religious enthusiasm for manned flight to Mars.

Author writes book keyed to that market, sells millions of copies through Print On Demand, property ends up being made into CGI movie.

Jason writes with a frantic mania about whack jobs, but never shows how nutty they are all in one place. Any wonder why he does not "sell"?

Reply
Ghost of David Brinkley
3/22/2018 01:45:17 pm

More goddam nonsense.

Huh? What?
3/22/2018 09:47:17 pm

"frantic mania"?

E.P. Grondine
3/22/2018 12:48:44 pm

My current writing project is a little pamphlet on the Native American remains in the Charleston-Marietta area. The pamphlet will have very limited sales, no profit margin, and has to be better than fry bread.

But my readers and friends will love it.

What Jason does not understand is that Lawler is a writer. It has been pointed out multiple times that most archaeologists can not write worth shit, which leaves Lawler with great stories to apply his writing talents to, and pretty much guaranteed employment for he rest of his life.

Moving on, if Jason was a good writer, he could use the Print n Demand services. But his stories would have to be fun, interesting, and entertaining, all of which a preachy fictional story about American racism fails at.

This piece about the writing market caused me to reflect on the Netflix effect: guess what, people will avoid advertising if they can, and this is having a massive ripple effect on Hollywood and New York, and has many people very scared. It also has extreme implications for the cable operators, and everyone is scrambling.

Both news and sports increase in importance as advertising vehicles. Turner is desperately trying to come up with a new great comedy, while Fox is relying on crime tales involving the rich and famous, with sex and drugs if possible. Google already has its own Netflix, but absolutely no idea how to monetize it. We are also seeing entirely new production houses turning out product for the new distribution channels.
And a need in Hollywood for really good writing.

Jaons, there were no "moundbuilders", and the entire creation of this entirely fictional people was and is deeply racist. Different peoples used earth to build structures for different purposes at different times.

So instead just take all the nuttiness of these whack jobs, throw in the opportunists, and there you go - from your existing blog materials.

By the way, William Gibson stopped blogging long ago.

Reply
Jim
3/22/2018 02:47:19 pm

"My current writing project is a little pamphlet on the Native American remains in the Charleston-Marietta area. The pamphlet will have very limited sales, no profit margin, and has to be better than fry bread.
But my readers and friends will love it."

For God's sake don't do it !
All your friends will probably quit their jobs just to read your pamphlet over and over and over and over and over again.
Oh well if it's better than fry bread at least they will be able to eat, mmmm fry bread with lots of bologna.

Reply
E.P. Grondine
3/23/2018 11:38:06 am

The pamphlet will only take about 3 hours to read. I will share a tip with you: big type and lots of pictures works well.

Kal
3/22/2018 01:53:15 pm

Note: Andy Weir's self published book, "The Martian", was picked up by Crown and made into a movie later. It is the exception, not the rule, in publishing, but a sign of the times. It is changing. He lectured as suck in a 2017 writer's workshop in San Jose. He also said he was a scientist first, and happened to know people, which also helped. He said do what you love, have a thick skin, and keep practicing, and don't worry about other ideas out there. You have your own. Nobody is going to take them until you are famous.

As others commented, mound building in itself is not all that interesting, but making it a chapter of a greater exploration of native American structures, in some sort of academia, could be interesting.

The best stuff you do here seems centered on reviews of fringe shows. The legends are interesting. As someone commented, your blog has a lot of great hooks for story ideas, even novels, as there is plenty you've researched.

Have you considered an adaptation of the Atlantis ones, or the Lovecraft ones?

Engage the fringe, as you have your thumb on the pulse of them, and then do something to attract also a mainstream audience.

Mr. Weir went through several publishers too. He got lucky. No reason you can't also.



Reply
Kal
3/22/2018 01:54:55 pm

I am no blog writer critique expert, for I have accidentally put "suck" when I meant "such". Freudian slip? No, the book is very good, as was the movie. Apologies.

Reply
Americanegro
3/22/2018 02:03:34 pm

By the way, no one was talking about William Gibson old man.

Reply
E.P. Grondine
3/23/2018 11:47:35 am

Dear Dickwad -

William Gibson is a great writer, who generously freely shared his insights into writing and markets.

Any good writer could peruse Jason's blog and assemble all of the nutttiness of the whackadoodles of the fringe found there into a pretty good book. Instead, Jason throws himself into a frantic effort to keep up with their daily nuttiness, and they have an infinite supply of it.

Reply
Americanegro
3/23/2018 12:14:41 pm

Again with the "Dickwad" Chief? Remind us, who's your publisher?

An Anonymous Nerd
3/22/2018 08:22:03 pm

1 - Most writers never publish anything, get paid for writing, appear on radio, appear on television, are cited by their enemies, or run popular Internet sites. You've done all.

2 - Bad stuff being published and bought is depressing, I agree, but it's not new.

3 - Posts like these just attract trolls. Avoid them.

4 - You're damn good at what you do and I should like it if you continue doing it. You're providing a valuable service.

5 - Finish the damn book. If you don't finish it you KNOW it'll never be published just by definition.

-An Anonymous Nerd

Reply
EsoterX
3/23/2018 08:06:12 am

Hi Jason,

While you and I disagree on most everything, I would never claim you aren’t a talented writer with insightful perspectives and a heck of a smart guy. Your commitment to your work is undeniable, and I have little doubt that if you shrug off the latest round of rejections, something will eventually pan out in terms of publishing your latest book should you choose to finish it. Everyone seems to have advice to offer you, but I won’t be so arrogant as to imagine I can offer you any, except to say, screw them all. You chose a difficult field to work in, especially at this moment in time, but the pendulum swings back and forth. This isn’t consolation when you have a mortgage to pay and a powerful need to actually eat. While we rarely see eye to eye, I still think yours is an important voice and it would be a shame if it was silenced due to the vagaries of the market. Hang in there.

Reply
Pacal
3/23/2018 04:16:43 pm

15 years ago I wrote a book about a fairly arcane subject. I mainly wrote it to satisfy my curiosity and have little interest in publishing it. and besides by now I suspect it is out of date.

Since Jason you write for a living, unlike me, writing to just satisfy your curiosity is not really a option. however given the work that you've already put into the book. I do think self publishing would be a good idea or you could simply make it available on the web.

Reply
Gene Rhea Tucker
3/26/2018 01:57:19 pm

I'm normally a lurker (and I think you're often too eager to think fringe believers are all conservatives; many are liberals). But, I thought I'd come out of the woodwork and comment to suggest a university press. You won't really make much money, but I'm sure that one would print your manuscript. (You don't need an agent either.) Some university presses publish some neat stuff on fringe theories. Take the University of Alabama Press's "Ancient Ocean Crossings: Reconsidering the Case for Contacts with the Pre-Columbian Americas" by Stephen C. Jett (which, if you haven't seen, I'd suggest you take a look at). And, from previous experience, I know academic presses love to get fully formed manuscripts to look over. Good luck, and keep on writing.

Reply
John
3/27/2018 09:58:10 am

Try archaeopress in Oxford, UK. They will almost certainly publish your book.

Reply
T. Franke link
4/1/2018 02:33:49 pm

Thank you very much for revealing your efforts, failures and your thoughts about it. My experiences with publishing books are not different in Germany.

Books about Atlantis have to be either crazy books with exploding volcanoes on the cover, or academic publications which declare Atlantis an invention, funded by public academic printing funds (not by finding much buyers).

Serious books with complex evidence apparatus (footnotes, bibliography) simply do not sell. Most buyers want to believe, as it seems, not to know.

Reply
Emily
5/6/2018 07:13:23 pm

You write too well, think about things too deeply, and don't have elite connections. You don't perfectly fit into any predetermined mold and refuse to force yourself to. This is actually a huge problem throughout all of publishing, fiction and non-fiction alike.

I recommend self-publishing on the internet plus Patreon. That probably sounds unappealing for scholarly works, but with your ability to build an audience, I believe it could make you a living.

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