Authorship |
How
to Publish a Book
Anyone who seeks to publish a book
will have to deal with the requirements of book publishers.
These publishers are all listed on the internet and can be found on any
computer. Some publishers are only interested in cookbooks, others in history
books , others in psychology, etc. Therefore all prospective authors need to
begin by asking publishers in a short letter whether or not they may be
interested in the author’s manuscript. Before doing that, an author must
be certain that he is in command of the English language. Since English is a
subject causing more failures in high schools and colleges than any other
subject, it is reasonable to give some thought to our knowledge of English
grammar, sentence structure, syntax, and vocabulary. It is certain that no
publisher will accept a manuscript written in poor English. In fact, authors
need to write at a superior level which nevertheless is understandable to
prospective readers. If a book is aimed at the general reading public, it is
unwise to use unusual words, Latin or Greek phrases, or difficult formulas. In
any case, publishers who answer a letter of inquiry positively then
want the author to supply the following: The
probable length of the manuscript. The
competence of the author. This means that the publishers want to know why the
author believes he has the necessary background to deal with the subject of the
proposed book. Also
required is an overall outline of the entire book as well as a brief, two
sentence description of each chapter. A table of contents needs to be included,
and, in addition, a list of books which may compete with the present proposal.
An
introduction and two finished chapters are also required. Since
all of this is needed to induce the publishers to issue a contract, it is
evident that the author needs to have the entire project in his mind before it
is even written. Here is
the principal obstacle to writing a book. Many would be writers cannot
conceive of the whole manuscript before it is written. Yet, that is
necessary if the book is to be accepted. Because
manuscripts are now written on computers, a knowledge of computers is vital to
write a long manuscript. Unless the author has a good understanding of
computers, he needs to find someone willing to deal with the unreliability of
these devices. Computers cause endless difficulties in writing anything and will
need a large amount of corrections and adjustments in the course of writing
three hundred or more pages. Here
is an example of the contents of my thirtieth book. American
Judaism in the 20th and 21st
Centuries By
Gerhard Falk Preface Introduction The
Jewish Religion in America The
Jewish Family The
Feminization of the American Jewish Community Jewish
Education and the Education of American Jews Social
Stratification in the American Jewish Community Jews
in the American Military American
Jews in Politics Jews
in the American Movie Industry American
Jewish Song writers The
influence of literature on the American Jewish community American
Jewish inventors and scientists American
Jews in Sports The
Future of the American Jewish Community Bibliography Index 1. Gerhard Falk, The Jew in Christian Theology, McFarland, 1993, p. 5. Each
book also has a bibliography. That is an alphabetical list, by author, of all
books or articles consulted. The bibliography is at the end of the book. The
word bibliography is Greek. The
ancient Greeks imported wide palm leaves from the city of Biblos in Lebanon.
These palm leaves were dried. Then the Greek authors wrote on the dried leaves,
rolled them into scrolls, and saved them by the name Biblos, which became Bible
in English. Now that you have some idea of how you can write a book, keep in mind that there is one more requirement needed to publish a book. That requirement is PATIENCE. Of course, the computer will cause all kinds of trouble; of course you will forget an important argument until you remember it later; of course you will spell an author’s name two different ways, etc. But it will be worth it. When you see your name on the cover of a book you have written, you will be thrilled and happy and ready to do it again. Shalom u'vracha. If
you wish, you can go to Google Scholar, insert my name, and see a list of my
thirty books, forty-three journal articles, and more. Dr. Gerhard Falk is the author of numerous publications, including The American Jewish Community in the 20th and 21st Century (2021). |