$14.95

The main reason I wrote my books is probably best expressed by Will and Ariel Durant, in page 102 of their book The Lessons of History:

“The historian will not mourn because he can see no meaning in human existence except that which man puts into it; let it be our pride that we ourselves may put meaning into our lives, and sometimes a significance that transcends death. If a man is fortunate he will, before he dies, gather up as much as he can of his civilized heritage and transmit it to his children. And to his final breath he will be grateful for this inexhaustible legacy, knowing that it is our nourishing mother and our lasting life.”

The comments by Will and Ariel Durant express my sentiments exactly; I couldn’t put it better.

Some people do not have the time to read any of my books and a brief synopsis of each book may suffice for them, or get them interested enough to read the book. In fact, when I tell people that I am working on a new book or that I just finished one, they usually
ask me what it’s all about.

Beyond this, people ask me how long it took me to write the book, or what prompted me to write it. If it is a story book, how much of it is fact, i.e. based on personal experience, and how much of it is fiction?

People are also interested in what an author has to do to obtain an ISBN (international standard book number) and a CIP (cataloguing in publication). To obtain an ISBN is fairly easy for me, because I use my consulting company as the publisher. I usually get it within hours of my email request. To obtain the CIP is more difficult. I have to electronically submit a sixpage application form, supplying all the pertinent information (publisher, contact person, planned date of publication, date CIP is needed, author’s name and birth date, ISBN, description, and title page, preface, introduction, table of contents, bibliography, index, if any – to be submitted as separate files). Then, I must patiently wait for two weeks to get the CIP data to be added to the information page of the book. To get the CIP, I must commit myself to publish at least one hundred books.

Another requirement is to send the book for legal deposit to the Library and Archives Canada.

The manuscripts are usually proofread by my daughter Nancy, some willing and able friends, and me. Also, while I am waiting for the CIP data, I scan the electronic copy for final formatting adjustments.

Finally, after the CIP data is inserted, a PDF copy goes to the printer. When the printer’s proof is ready, more proofreading is required, because the printer may have introduced some undesirable changes, like other fonts.

Publishing is onerous and time consuming, but authors usually do not mind.