LITERATURE: The Great Story Continues

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on April 10, 2024 at 4:04pm: [开斋节互勉]

过去一年，有心人都辛苦了。

往前看，好像是“路漫漫其修远兮”；

但有心人能发挥“吾将上下而求索”的

大无畏精神，眼下这个

“尚未完成的马来西亚”，

正值得大家正面发挥创造力。

沙巴内陆穆斯林女孩乘上火车回乡（刘富威·婆罗洲民族摄影录）

延续阅读：

族群和解主题馆

思想决定行动，行动决定习惯；
习惯决定性格；性格决定结局。

陳明發博士原創·心靈•素質•能量

眼下很多捆绑，
是老思想命定的结局。

松绑要先从思想做起，
少一分浪漫与偏激
就是给理性与创意
多一个机会

多接触新思想、新技艺
就能减低冲突与毁灭的几率

能提升我们处事方式
以及解困机会的智慧
实际上早在这世界上
而且不止一家学说

这里就有三个例子：

联合国教科文组织·混融人性理念

用静能量对抗狂热

「第四权」：解困新闻学的新媒体策略

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 12, 2024 at 1:30pm: Professionally Generated Content (PGC)

Professionally Generated Content (PGC) is that content generated by the brand itself in order to let people know its brand and much more than they have to offer through images, videos, blog posts etc.

When compared to UGC, PGC not only ensures good quality content but also is equipped with good capabilities of commerce and operations. The PGC team can invest more time, energy and money in producing videos as they pay more attention to the quality content and the message being sent to the viewers and customers. They plan to be real and formal when it comes to promoting their brand, unlike UGC. PGC platforms usually attract a large number of viewers and customers because of offering the best of content and deals.

The content created professionally does justice to its name as it is very apt and aims to let viewers have complete information about their product or brand in such a manner that indeed involves them in knowing about it even more.

There is no worry of quality of content, the participation of fans as such or consumption of time like UGC as the brand themselves keeps a check on all of the above and thus performs accordingly.

The main issue with videos or content created by a professional production company is the perceived value given by high-quality content. PGC also holds a level of perfection when it comes to people working with the process as there’s a lot to research on and know about people’s interests and values and what they’d be looking for.

It takes efforts and hard work to create a platform that would attract customers and let the business flourish. Abiding the laws, keeping a factual check, interests of the viewers, participation percentage and a lot more is associated with PGC platform.

Though there are both pros and cons of UGC and PGC, we still wonder who’d be taking over the throne of Social Market and how would it be possible with time?

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 3, 2024 at 11:32am: How to write a book proposal by by Joanna Ebenstein

I have always loved books. When I was a child, our big weekly outing was a visit to the library where my sisters and I were allowed three books each. My mother, an avid reader, kept the house stocked with paperbacks sourced from a local thrift store, so growing up we had at our disposal everything from Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds to Simone de Beauvoir’s The Mandarins to Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. For fun, my sister Donna and I even wrote back-cover copy for books of our own invention. When we grew up, we planned to team up to write and illustrate books of our own.

Of course, that is not exactly how things worked out. But I did go on to work in the publishing world as a book designer, editor, and publisher. And, I also did end up writing my own back-cover copy, and later, my own books.

I learned to write book proposals directly from the editors to whom I pitched my first ideas. The first proposal I wrote was for a book about my favorite museum in San Francisco, Musée Mechanique, for Chronicle Books. It was not accepted—the sales team thought the project was too local-interest—but writing that proposal gave me the template and approach that I went on to utilize again and again, ultimately with much success.

What writing book proposals taught me is how to effectively communicate a book idea to a publisher. I came to realize that a book proposal is not a lofty, idealistic presentation of one’s brilliant idea, but rather a persuasive document meant to convince a publisher to spend their time—and, more to the point, their money—on your idea. As publishing becomes increasingly competitive and publishers less willing to take risks, a good, persuasive proposal is more important than ever before.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 3, 2024 at 11:31am: In the following guide, I will lay out what I have learned from both my personal experiences and through years of conversations with friends who have either published books or worked as literary agents. This guide is intended to help people at any stage of developing a book they would like to see in the world. — Joanna Ebenstein

What is a book proposal?

A book proposal is a document intended to convince a publisher that your project is economically viable for their publishing house. It needs to persuade its reader that your idea has enough commercial potential that the publisher should take the risk of putting money and resources into your book.

Beyond that, book proposals are also wonderful developmental tools. The act of writing one will help you clarify your thoughts and find a way to express your book idea clearly and succinctly. It will also help you understand the essence of your project so that you can communicate it with more ease.
When writing your proposal it is important to think about your audience. It is very likely that your proposal will be read by someone who does not know you or anything about your subject. With this in mind, how can you describe your project in such a way that it sounds interesting and compelling, and above all, economically viable? And remember, convincing this reader is only the first step. If they get behind your project, they will then have to convince the publisher’s sales team and/or finance department that it is worth the risk.

I have personally found it very valuable—before sitting down to write the proposal—to talk to friends about my book idea. I observe what I end up saying again and again, or how the story unconsciously changes over time in response to their questions and feedback. When do their eyes light up? When do they get excited? Pay attention, and note the way that even without consciously intending it, you are crafting a stronger, more rousing pitch. Really seek out the parts of your pitch that illicit passion, conviction, and persuasion. Once you have fine-tuned your argument in this way, it’s time to sit down to write your proposal.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 2, 2024 at 8:29pm: What goes into a book proposal?

Before I begin, please note: The following guidelines are just that—guidelines. These are the contents of a sort of platonic ideal of a proposal, but in my experience, actual proposals can vary widely. So approach this as a set of suggestions, adding or removing elements as you see fit to make this the most persuasive document it can be for your project. If you know who will be reading your proposal, craft it with them in mind. If not, simply try to make it as clear and compelling as you possibly can.

As an example, I include here one of my own proposals, for my book The Anatomical Venus (click here to download the PDF). In this case, I had a relationship with the editor and they had solicited the proposal, so I was able to be a bit more casual and allusive than I generally would be. No sample chapter was necessary and, since an important part of the project was the visual aspect, I included lots of strong and enticing imagery to demonstrate the commercial appeal of the project.

What a book proposal should contain

1) Header

Start with the working title of the project along with your name, email, and phone number.

2) A brief synopsis of the book

Some people suggest a one-sentence synopsis; I have always used a one-to five-paragraph description of the project. This should essentially be your elevator pitch, so be sure to describe your book in a succinct and compelling way.

3) Longer synopsis of the book, if you feel it is necessary

This is a longer narrative description of the project. It should clearly answer the following questions:

What is the project?

Why are you the right person to write this book?
Do you have any special connections or access that is worth mentioning—for example, if this is a book about a museum, do you have a contact there? Have they agreed to work with you?
And, again, stress why this project is commercially viable. What is the audience for this book, and how can you reach them?

4) Chapter breakdown

Create a list of chapters with a few sentences describing what you will cover in each. If this will be an art book, you might also include a few images here; see my sample proposal for an example of how to include images. If you have an idea for a well-known person who might be a good fit for writing a foreword, include that, too. It helps sales to have a famous name attached to any book. And, you need not know the person—it can just be an idea for an appropriate person.

Note: Don’t worry about getting it all perfect at this stage. In my experience, the chapter breakdown often changes significantly between the proposal stage and the final book.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 2, 2024 at 5:08pm: 5) Sample chapter (some editors will not require this)

For non-fiction, include the text you would use as your introduction along with one or two sample chapters. If your project is fiction, instead of sample chapters, you should submit the first 40 to 50 pages of your manuscript, or, if applicable, the entire manuscript. In either case, the quality of the writing is important, but much more so in fiction. Also in the case of fiction, be sure to craft your early pages well to grab the reader and make them want more.

6) Book details

Here is a place to describe the details of the project. You might include approximately how many words you imagine the final book will be. If you are in including images, you might include a list of how many images you envision, whether the book will be color or black and white, and whether the images will be free to use or require a budget (for acquiring the rights to use them). If an art book, include some of the strongest images up front in the proposal, and perhaps a few pages of small images at the end of the document; you might also want to pepper a few images throughout the proposal to illustrate the text (see sample proposal).

7) About the author/biography

This should explain who you are, and make an argument for why you are the right person to do this project. Again, demonstrate that you can reach a buying audience with this book idea. This section should list any relevant articles or books you’ve already published, preferably with view counts and/or sales figures; a list of the magazines and other press outlets that have reported on your work; lectures you have given—basically anything that supports your argument that this book should exist and you are the right person to write it.

Remember, the reader of this document probably does not know you, and you want to make sure they can see that you are capable of doing this project and of effectively getting it out into the world. For this reason, you’ll need to be a bit braggy. I personally find it very hard to write such self-aggrandizing text; my solution has been to show a first draft to a friend who knows me and my work well, and ask them for suggestions of how to make it more convincing.

Publishers are also interested to know if you’ll be willing and able to do public speaking or television appearances to promote your book. This will inevitably come up later, so make sure to mention your experience here if applicable.

8) Platform/audience

Increasingly, publishers want to know that their authors will be able to reach an audience who will buy the book. This section should demonstrate your reach. List here your stats for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, a website or blog if you have one, etc. Also include the number of people on your mailing list, if applicable, and detail any other way you have of engaging with an audience.

9) Market profile

Begin with a narrative: What is the market for this book? Establish that this particular book does not already exist, but similar books do. Now make a list of similar books and note the date of publication. For each book, write a brief synopsis, and what makes it similar or different from yours. The goal here is to demonstrate that your book is filling a gap in a viable market.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 1, 2024 at 3:29pm: 10) Format (if an art book)

Describe how you imagine the book will look. What size is it? What is the design like? You might use an existing book, preferably by that publisher, as a starting point. Do you see the book as full color or black and white? If you have design skills, you might also include a few sample spreads (a spread is two pages of a book side by side) showing how you imagine the general layout will look. If a photo book, be sure to include images as well, and detail if you have permission to use them, what kind of camera you used, and what resolution/quality the images are.

11) Selling venues outside of traditional bookstores

Do you know of specialty shops that would be likely to stock this book? Eg. Museum shops, or other specialty shops of various sorts? If so, list them here.

12) People who might provide a blurb

Do you have any ideas for well-known, influential, or famous people who might provide a blurb? If so, include a list of your ideas.

13) Preliminary schedule

How long after signing the contract would you need to deliver the final manuscript and, if applicable, all of the images?

The proposal is drafted: Now what?

Now that you have finished a first draft of your proposal, your book idea is solidified and clarified. So what’s next?

The next step I have always taken is to think about the right publisher. To come up with some publishers that might be a good fit for your project, you will need to do some brainstorming and research. Ask yourself: Are there similar books to yours out there? If so, who publishes them? Or perhaps you are already a fan of a publisher who you think would be perfect for your book?

Either way, once you determine an idea for an appropriate publisher (or two or three), try to find a way to connect 1:1 with someone who works there. I have always done this through friends-of-friends or colleagues, but many people use LinkedIn or other social media for this purpose. This outreach is worth the effort, as it helps immensely to have a human who you know will actually read your proposal. If this fails, you can always send the proposal by mail or email via the publisher’s website. But again, always strive to make a personal connection at any publisher over cold-emailing your proposal over.

You could also consider working with an agent to help you find a publisher. I work with an agent on some but not all projects. I found her through a good friend who worked as a literary agent. You can also find an agent by pinpointing similar books and skimming the acknowledgements for mention of an agent.

Having an agent has many advantages: they have personal contacts at publishing houses, ensuring your proposal will be seen and read. They can also help you craft a more convincing (and commercially appealing) proposal, negotiate a better deal for you (more money, better terms), and act as a middleman/buffer in interactions with the press. The disadvantage is, of course, they will take part of your earnings. （Con't below）

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on January 31, 2024 at 3:59pm: You might also consider self-publishing. The quality of self-published books has gotten very good, and online platforms like Amazon (love it or hate it) make it easy to get your book out into the world.

Another option is crowdfunding platforms. We used Kickstarter to fund our self-published Morbid Anatomy Anthology to great success, but this works best if you or your collaborators have solid design, production, and editing expertise, as you’ll be responsible for creating and distributing the book all on your own.

For those with no publishing knowhow, there is also UnBound, which is a crowdfunding platform that, if you raise the money, will design, produce, and distribute the book for you. Both Kickstarter and UnBound work on the subscription/pre-order model, in which you pre-sell copies of the book to fund the production and printing.

One final option is to use a service like Lulu to create and print one copy of your book exactly as you envision it. You can then present this beautiful, professionally printed piece to publishers in lieu of your proposal. I was hired to do this for a photographer friend, and it totally worked.
In summary…

To recap: A book proposal is a persuasive document created with the intent of convincing a publisher to take a chance on your book. It is also a wonderful tool for clarifying your project’s vision. In order to craft the most effective pitch possible, talk to people. Notice how you tell the story, and what people respond to. Lastly, the list of things I’ve noted a proposal should contain is not inflexible—rather, it’s totally up to you to be creative with it.

Before I sign off, here’s one final piece of advice: don’t give up! I wrote about five proposals before I published a book. Keep trying, and keep thinking and fine tuning your ideas. Be alert and responsive to what is around you, and if your proposals don’t get accepted right away, try to use each rejection as a learning opportunity.

Good luck! And thanks for reading.

About the Author

Joanna Ebenstein：Writer, Photographer, Curator

Joanna Ebenstein is a Brooklyn-based writer, curator, photographer, and graphic designer. She is the creator of the Morbid Anatomy blog, library, and event series, and was cofounder (with Tracy Hurley Martin) and creative director of the recently shuttered Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn. Her books include Death: A Graveside Companion, The Anatomical Venus, The Morbid Anatomy Anthology (with Colin Dickey), and Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy (with Dr Pat Morris). She is currently working on a book about Dutch “artist of death” Frederik Ruysch for MIT Press, and a coffee table book about art and anatomy for Laurence King. She worked as an art director and editor for Alta Mira Press, and as a designer and production artist for Scholastic Publishing. She works regularly with such institutions as The Wellcome Collection and Amsterdam’s Vrolik Museum, and her writing and photography have been published and exhibited internationally.

Today Morbid Anatomy can be visited seasonally in a 1870s former gatehouse at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. You can find out about upcoming events and happenings here.

(This article written by Joanna Ebenstein with illustrations by Darren Shaddick；Source: https://thecreativeindependent.com)

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on January 22, 2024 at 11:03am: Creative Europe: Books and Publishing

Overview of the sector

Publishing is one of the largest cultural industries in Europe, with a total market value estimated at €36-38 billion. According to a 2022 report of the European Publishers Federation, the entire book value chain is estimated to employ more than half a million people. The European book sector is incredibly rich and diverse, with more than 575,000 titles published annually.

However, many readers across Europe do not have access to the richness and diversity of European literature. The primary reasons for this are the linguistic and geographical fragmentation of the market. Literature from many European countries are rarely able to translate into the wide array of languages that make up its landscape.

The book sector has also accelerated its digital transition to address the changing habits of the market, so that it can broaden its readership and make the diversity of European literature more accessible.

Like many other culture and creative sectors, the publishing and book industry is working to contribute to the European Green Deal transition and rethink the ways industry contributes to the ongoing climate crisis.

The COVID-19 crisis has further amplified these trends and the need to support the recovery and competitiveness of the book sector.

Support for the book sector in the Creative Europe programme

The main objectives of the Creative Europe programme regarding the book sector is to reinforce the circulation of works in Europe, diversify the audience for European literature and strengthen the competitiveness of the publishing sector.

Creative Europe supports the book sector through horizontal funding schemes (cooperation projects, European platforms, European networks, Culture Moves Europe) and through sector specific actions such as support to Literary translation/Circulation of European literary works, the European Union prize for Literature and more recently the Day of European Authors.

In addition, policy actions such as the Open Method of Coordination (on Multilingualism & Translation in 2020-2021 and on Libraries in 2024) enable discussions with the sector, stakeholders and with EU member states and provide policy orientation on key issues.

Literary translation support (Circulation of European Literary Works)

The Creative Europe programme provides funding to organisations operating in the book and publishing sector to encourage the translation, publication, promotion and distribution of European works of fiction, mainly from less-represented European languages. The financial support covers 60% of the total costs of the projects. Most of the promotional activities (authors’ visits, festivals, readings…) are organised in cooperation with booksellers, libraries or literature festivals to reinforce the local/national book ecosystem.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on January 22, 2024 at 11:02am: The first Creative Europe programme (2014-2020) supported more than 400 projects in the book and publishing sector, with over 3000 translations of literary works, from more than 40 source languages into more than 30 target languages. More than 2/3 of the supported translations are from lesser-used languages (European languages other than English, Spanish, German and French), which shows the real value of the Programme to safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity.

Read more about Creative Europe support to literary translation (2021-27)

Since the beginning of the 2021-2027 programme, 90 projects have been selected for the translation and promotion of more than 1,000 books across Europe.

Find out more about the funding scheme “Circulation of European Literary Works”

Cooperation, networks and platforms

In addition to supporting literary translation, the programme co-finances a variety of cooperation, networks and platforms funding schemes’ projects. The following past or ongoing projects are some examples of how Creative Europe supports the book sector throughout the value chain from the author to the reader.

Talent development

CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) trains and connects 30 emerging authors, 80 emerging translators and 6 emerging literary professionals offering a bigger opportunity to small languages and to drive change.

Poetry promotion

The Versopolis platform created in 2017 has grown over the years to include 23 poetry and literary festivals in Europe. Together they have promoted more than 200 poets from 32 different European languages and over 1,800 of their poems have been published on the website.

Book fairs

The project ALDUS (European Book Fairs’ network) is an international network of the largest book fairs in the world (Frankfurt and Bologna), several national fairs and publishing associations, with the ultimate goal of further professionalising the fast-changing European landscape of publishing.

Booksellers

The project RISE by the International and European federation of booksellers is a three-year project aiming to upscale, reinforce and maximise the capacity and resilience of the European bookselling sector.

Reading

The project Libraries of Emotions brings together various organisations from across Europe to promote a new and innovative way of reading and encourage bibliotherapy sessions in European public libraries.

Inclusion

Every story matters is a project whose aim is to increase the creation, availability and promotion of inclusive books for children and young adults in the EU.

Multilingualism

The main objective of the LEILA project is to create tools and structural dynamics to promote the discoverability of works published in the Arabic language.

（Source: https://culture.ec.europa.eu）