04/01/2009

Publish books and live smarter


Indulge me on this one and maybe I'll tell you a tale, a story populated by prancing pirates and sensitive cannibals. not likely ! At this publisher’s house we deal only with the big picture stories, important works of ultra educational literature. So word to the hopeful, don’t pester me with insipidity, if you have something that’s really good, I’ll look. If I send you a rejection slip, it’s going to have instructions for how to get an isbn so you can do this publishing thing for yourself. You see, that is what I’ve been doing, and now I have my own imprint. Publishers often whine about it being a tough business, and maybe that’s true, but at this point I’d like to weigh in on the discussion. It seems to me that the industry is polarizing, big house media conglomerates on one hand, and a plethora of little houses just trying to eek a living on the other hand. It seems to me that we all have to pull together a little bit. We have to produce lean, high quality material, we also must find inventive ways to bring our work to the public. A book is a form of treasure! This was true, when King Francis I established the original legal deposit library, it is just as true today. I sell books to stores, libraries, schools, and individuals; from my website, and out of my backpack. My house is as good as it’s titles. Would that our industry adopt my standards and practices, we might well save trees, and space in landfills.

I'm proud of my latest publication, ‘ Delicious Chicken Soup’ by Andrey Durbach. We had the launch at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks, and it was most successful. This childrens book for ages 8-188, teaches all people, young and old, how to make delicious chicken soup properly from scratch. In light of our current economic circumstances, I'd argue that this work is more important than the Gutenberg bible. This is not chicken soup for your soul, it is chicken soup for your whole, to nourish your body and keep you alive.

Reviews:
“Sublime, Literally”
-William Gibson
Globe and Mail Review
-Rebecca Tay
CBC radio
-Margaret Gallagher
Scout Magazine
-Michelle Sproule
Available:
at quality bookstores
and from my publishing house
http://libraryeditions.com
*wholesale to the trade

robertchaplin (at) lightspeed (dot) ca
-Copy Cats are Dirty Rats

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