doc_williamson
New Member
We recently published a WW II diary of a fellow whose life was (in one sense remarkably, in another sense, naturally) like the hero of Catch-22, the Joseph Heller novel. This gentleman flew in B-25's from Corsica (same as Heller did a year or two before him), and had many of the same experiences as Yossarian, Heller's hero.
We published his diaries as a diary, no literary embellishments, and since he was a simple soldier (Staff Sgt, then Tech. Sgt) at the time, he's no Hemmingway neither. But following on the facsinating "real life" glimpses offered in such places as Ken Burns' "Civil War" series on PBS, we expected there would be some genuine interest among both historians and the general public for such an intimate picture of a life at war and in the aftermath. For that matter, it's also kind of a love story, since the thread of sanity that helps hold the writer together is his determination to return home to marry his sweetheart.
Even on the day he is presented with the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, and a SECOND OAK LEAF CLUSTER, to his AIR MEDAL, not to mention (okay, I'm mentioning it) a PURPLE HEART, he spends twice the ink on the menu of the day as he does on his brief account of the honors bestowed upon him. The story is almost the more remarkable for the fact that he treats it as remarkably ordinary most of the time, even though it was tearing him up psychologically.
What we'd like members of the forum to comment on is the level of interest in a book thus described, and any suggestions you might have as to how best to reach the potential readership for this type of book. Who do we approach for publicity? What organizations might want to spread the word about the book?
Thanks
Sincerely,
Stafford "Doc" Williamson
We published his diaries as a diary, no literary embellishments, and since he was a simple soldier (Staff Sgt, then Tech. Sgt) at the time, he's no Hemmingway neither. But following on the facsinating "real life" glimpses offered in such places as Ken Burns' "Civil War" series on PBS, we expected there would be some genuine interest among both historians and the general public for such an intimate picture of a life at war and in the aftermath. For that matter, it's also kind of a love story, since the thread of sanity that helps hold the writer together is his determination to return home to marry his sweetheart.
Even on the day he is presented with the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, and a SECOND OAK LEAF CLUSTER, to his AIR MEDAL, not to mention (okay, I'm mentioning it) a PURPLE HEART, he spends twice the ink on the menu of the day as he does on his brief account of the honors bestowed upon him. The story is almost the more remarkable for the fact that he treats it as remarkably ordinary most of the time, even though it was tearing him up psychologically.
What we'd like members of the forum to comment on is the level of interest in a book thus described, and any suggestions you might have as to how best to reach the potential readership for this type of book. Who do we approach for publicity? What organizations might want to spread the word about the book?
Thanks
Sincerely,
Stafford "Doc" Williamson