At first I thought I had downloaded a dream then after the first couple of paragraphs my vision became blurry, I had to stop reading. It was overwhelming! It was the first thirty five pages of layout for my book I was viewing. Now I know how others have felt after years of writing then finally seeing their works in real time. Mine spanned over 15 years of research, gathering pictures and climbing out of bed at all hours of the night to place a thought in my manuscript.
Derek had asked me to write about my forthcoming book about a year ago but at that time i was not sure it would ever happen now i am assured by Amato Publications the real McCoy will be in hand by March.
In the beginning which was the year we sold Silver Hilton (1998) I asked a well-known author if he would be interested in doing our history comprising 37 years on the Babine. He was enthuised and began the project but, for whatever reason, nothing of consequence transpired. Next, I discovered we had a publishing company within 10 miles of Kelowna . The editor had an impressive blurb about himself on his website. Totally naive, I gave him a fair sum of money to edit my writings. He was genuinely sincere about it all so his editor began the task. After a long period of time he asked if she(the editor) could be a co-author reason being that it would be good for his company and me. I declined. It was an exciting at the time but eventually his true identity was revealed and he skipped the area leaving behind many debts.
Earlier I had contacted Amato Publishing but book sales had plummeted about this time and they were not able to finance a book without subsidy which i could not afford.
So, I sent my manuscript to a publisher in Victoria , BC who, without question, is one of the most reputable. It was immediately accepted and all was going well when i left to guide on the Damdochax and none of my emails were answered. So, I cut off communication thinking they had a change of mind although the emails were never received according to them. Probably the latter is what happened.
But, in the meantime i had been asked to present my manuscript to another company. The editor was impressed but it was not a good fit with their specialized publications. I understood. Later, the company owner assisted in making my book a reality even though it was with another publisher!
Once again, more determined than ever to have Amato publish my book, we had further discussions. Frank and i go way back and he really wanted to publish my book but the financial aspect was still making it impossible. In the interim one person, in particular, came to my rescue to whom i am forever grateful. Through his prolonged efforts a group was formed to do the subsidy.
Daren, a friend of my wifes lives nearby and has written and self published eight children books. I hired her for 100 hours to edit before sending the copy to Amato. Daren has a less than nil understanding of most of the content of my book but is a pro at reconstructing phrases to make them more understandable. I had to explain many outdoor terms one really stood out. When she saw “running a river” her words were: “What do you mean running a river nobody runs a river, you have to delete it nobody will know what you are talking about”! Things like that.
All this rhetoric and i have not mentioned what the book is about. Well, it covers a lot of events over 37 years so it includes how we got started, a question everyone has asked, history of the area, contributions from a dozen or so fishermen, family and friends, hardships and strokes of luck, wildlife stories, 216 pics plus 31 cartoons and even romance. And, of course, tidbits of humor.
Writing a book then getting it published is akin to winning a judgement then try to collect on it.