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Monday, March 03, 2014

Judging a book

I'm about (at last) to submit my book to CUP.  I've spent the morning trying to chase the last loose ends (just one bit of bibliographica left to tie down) and then completing CUP's 'Marketing questionnaire'.  That asks me to detail any competitor publications on the market and note their strengths and weaknesses.  (Apparently 'I didn't write it' won't count as a good answer to either of these.)  It also asks me to list the major review journals and websites that might be bothered to include the book and their contact details.  I'm pretty sure CUP know how to contact The Classical Review so I left that bit blank.

This is the grim end of publishing, and I'm nowhere near yet the hell of XML indexing...

But all the same I've been cheered along by some of these:

 

If you're cleverer than I am then you could make them yourself.

The other big task is to try to find a cover.  I didn't have a picture on either of my first two books so I don't have much experience of this.  But I'm pretty sure I don't want just another marble bust of some beardy old philosopher or, perhaps worse, some picture from an ancient pot.  So, what else would do?  CUP might prefer a piccie that says 'ancient stuff' to someone browsing in a bookshop but they have relaxed that requirement before, so perhaps I have quite a free hand (provided the image can be used without exorbitant fees for rights etc.)

Here's something I like, Thinking Ahead by Yasuo Kuniyoshi.  It at least has something to do with what I've written about:

 
 Failing that, perhaps something very abstract would be best.  Any suggestions?
 

on

5 comments:

  1. Nathan Gower11:34 AM

    What's the title / subject matter?

    ReplyDelete
  2. James Warren11:36 AM

    It's called The Pleasures of Reason in Plato, Aristotle, and the Hellenistic Hedonists. Movie rights are still available.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nathan Gower11:49 AM

    I very much like the painting with that title. Far, far better, as you say, than the regulation Black Background, Stark Pot Illustration.

    And, re: movie right, I've a friend who works for Harvey Weinstein - I'd be happy to pass the script along.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cris4:59 PM

    Hi there,

    I think this is along the lines of what you posted, though it's not something abstract:

    http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/81512

    Certainly, you don't want anything of this sort, do you?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Scream.jpg

    Best,

    C.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Phil Horky2:27 PM

    Hi James,

    Wondering if the Lichtenstein 'Thinking of Him' might work, because it might be ambiguous whether she's sad or ecstatic in her fantasy:

    http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/0139.htm

    ReplyDelete