Thanks very much for the insight. It’s greatly appreciated.
Eric
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d like to think that my White Mane book was one of the good ones! For whatever itâ€s worth, allow me to share a few of my personal experiences.
In 2003, White Mane published my book entitled “He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightning: The Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly), September 1, 1862.†As a postscript to Second Manassas, this nasty little battle was fought partially in the dark, in the middle of a ferocious thunderstorm, and was one of the few Civil War fights where the bayonet was liberally employed, due primarily to much wet and useless ammunition. The book sold reasonably well and garnered positive press.
With regards to copyright protection, I was required to provide proper permission-to-use documentation for the three photographs I used that were not in the public domain. I was told these “permissions†had to be submitted before that part of the publishing process could commence, which I did. The same held true for the dust jacketâ€s 19th-century painting, which was privately owned at the time.
Being an avid bibliophile, one of the reasons that prompted me to consider White Mane was their use of sewn bindings and acid-free paper, as stated on the copyright page. I have a handful of White Mane books in my library and all, including mine, state the following on the copyright page: “The acid-free paper used in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longetivity of the Council on Library Resources.â€
As to editing, my original ms. was returned with a good number of grammatical and spelling errors corrected, as well as some sentence structure changes. I was told, but cannot confirm, that the ms. was sent out for a private review and that it came back with a thumbs up.
On the flip side, I know what you mean about not getting the courtesy of a response. Since I had a favorable experience with them, I thought I'd give them the right of first refusal for my next project. I inquired if they might be interested in publishing the book ( a regimental history) as it neared completion. I was given an enthusiastic "yes!", and to please submit the ms. when ready. This I did, but to my surprise and disappointment, I never received any type of reply. Zip, zilch, nothing. Even my followups garnered no response. Oh well.
Again, let me stress that this was just one guyâ€s experience and perhaps times have changed. Certainly others may have a different perspective.
Sincerely,
Paul
PS. Hope Susan is recovering nicely.]]>Like you, over the past few years I’ve seen several White Mane books that made me scratch my head as to how they ever got published. Books that featured very little primary source research, had undecipherable maps, blurry illustrations and the like. I am aware of the two map instances you write of and both left me dumbfounded. That said, I’d like to think that my White Mane book was one of the good ones! For whatever it’s worth, allow me to share a few of my personal experiences.
In 2003, White Mane published my book entitled “He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightning: The Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly), September 1, 1862.†As a postscript to Second Manassas, this nasty little battle was fought partially in the dark, in the middle of a ferocious thunderstorm, and was one of the few Civil War fights where the bayonet was liberally employed, due primarily to much wet and useless ammunition. The book sold reasonably well and garnered positive press.
With regards to copyright protection, I was required to provide proper permission-to-use documentation for the three photographs I used that were not in the public domain. I was told these “permissions†had to be submitted before that part of the publishing process could commence, which I did. The same held true for the dust jacket’s 19th-century painting, which was privately owned at the time.
Being an avid bibliophile, one of the reasons that prompted me to consider White Mane was their use of sewn bindings and acid-free paper, as stated on the copyright page. I have a handful of White Mane books in my library and all, including mine, state the following on the copyright page: “The acid-free paper used in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longetivity of the Council on Library Resources.â€
As to editing, my original ms. was returned with a good number of grammatical and spelling errors corrected, as well as some sentence structure changes. I was told, but cannot confirm, that the ms. was sent out for a private review and that it came back with a thumbs up.
On the flip side, I know what you mean about not getting the courtesy of a response. Since I had a favorable experience with them, I thought I’d give them the right of first refusal for my next project. I inquired if they might be interested in publishing the book ( a regimental history) as it neared completion. I was given an enthusiastic “yes!”, and to please submit the ms. when ready. This I did, but to my surprise and disappointment, I never received any type of reply. Zip, zilch, nothing. Even my followups garnered no response. Oh well.
Again, let me stress that this was just one guy’s experience and perhaps times have changed. Certainly others may have a different perspective.
Sincerely,
Paul
PS. Hope Susan is recovering nicely.
]]>It’s definitely not the right place, but I will be happy to answer your question.
I fed Ed some groundbreaking material on Wheeler that has never before been used. I presume that he made use of it in writing the book. If so, it will have some excellent material in it.
As for Ed’s books…there are good points and bad. Ed’s a terrific writer, and I enjoy his way with words. However, if you’re looking for tactical detail, you’re not going to find it in his books.
Eric
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