FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS about Heart of a Father
Q: What are the Archives and how can I access them?
A: Our posts are ARCHIVED and available to MEMBERS only. I felt the benefit of this would be that you all can go back to read former introductions or to look up things you might have missed. To visit our Archives (collection of former posts) Click Here . Click on the month for the Archives you wish to read.
Q: How can I post to the list?
A: As moderator of the listserv I had a choice of making the REPLY button send your message to the person posting the note, or to the whole list. I feel it is most appropriate for REPLY to go back to the originator of the note, not the whole list. If you would like to send a note to the whole list regarding a post, please hit REPLY ALL or simply type in this email address (do this to post an original note): BookHOF@egroups.com and that will send it to all of us.
Q: How many essays/poems can I submit?
A: You may submit multiple essays or poems for consideration, however, please remember that submission does not guarantee inclusion in the book. I will work with all of you to try to include all works, but we will be limited in space. If our list grows like the moms' book did (over 80 members) then I might have to turn down some essays for the book. Some of the mothers who wrote for The Heart of a Mother whose work was not selected will have their work published in the revised HLHS Handbook later this year and others will have their essays on my website in The Writer's Corner, so there are many places we can showcase everyone's work.
Q: Does my essay have to be perfect to be included in the book?
A: Part of the beauty of a project such as this is that we can put our creative minds together to make a better work than we could have done alone. Most of the essays in The Heart of a Mother went through 3-5 revisions/rewrites before it was "ready" to be put into the book. This means that an editor and contributor worked through the essay several times to make it as clear as possible. Then entire book went through an editorial process where things were tightened up even more. Finally, a professional copy editor went through the book two more times before it was sent to the printer. Any major changes will be discussed with the contributor. You do not have to have perfect English to contribute to the book, but clear, precise writing will reduce the number of rewrites necessary for your piece.
Q: Are there any Writer's Guidelines for the book?
A: I find it difficult to put restrictions on people because I don't want to limit or stifle creativity so these are just guidelines and are not written in stone. There may (and probably WILL) be exceptions to these guidelines:
Q: How will this book be published?
A: Publishers today have many more options available for publication than did publishers of years past. At this time we are considering doing the book in two general formats: 1) as an eBook and 2) as a regular book printed through a new process called Print on Demand. This means that we will be able to have color photographs, and video and audio clips in the eBook without the cost being too high. The books printed in a traditional format will be printed in black-and-white, except for the cover. The traditionally printed books we hope will be available at larger bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, and Borders Books and Music. It will also be available online at Amazon.com as well as other online bookstores. We will also check into the viability of producing the book as a DVD which would have the color pictures, video and audio clips and would only be different from the eBook in its ability to hyperlink to various websites.
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