The Book Project - Discuss, Anticipate, Collaborate here

[patroclus]

Hi all --

I'd like to mention again that the volume of posts runs into the thousands of pages.  The question is not going to be what to put into the book, but how to retrieve and edit down the posts to fit any book.  As it stands, nearly 90% of the posts on the forum may need to be left out due to space considerations.

As a result it's worth saying again that the outline of the book will have to follow themes, not threads.  Until the ad campaign is done and the hosts can look at the big picture issues here, such as the size of the book, it's advisable not to commit to a single course of action.

In a project like this, one of the first steps is the book outline.  For a 450-page book, the outline might look something like this:


I.    Table of Contents
II.   Preface
III.  Introduction
IV.  Chapters
      A. The Uniqueness of Brokeback Mountain
      B.  Fans' Reactions
      C.  Audience and Friends' Reactions
      D.  Women and Brokeback Mountain
      E.  Gays and Brokeback Mountain
      F.  Characters in the Movie
      G.  Scene-by-scene Commentary
      H.  International Posters
       I.  The Art and Symbolism of the Movie
       J.  Brokeback Humor
       K.  Miscellaneous Posts
V.    Afterward
VI.   Posters' Biographies
VII.  Index


This excludes many threads in the forum, but the book is finite in size and limited in its scope.  Even a book of 450 pages would be hard-pressed to include all the worthwhile posts under these chapter headings, and the book may not even be that big.  Also unknown are the dimensions of the book.

Consider, too, that the book will have graphics.  At this time, in fact, there's still a need for people to work on the graphics side.  As Cara pointed out, this is where the template will be designed.  The template itself will further reduce the amount of print space available.  Until we know more about this, it's going to be hard to know exactly what can go into the book.

What we can think about for now is the organization of the project,  the procedure for grabbing the source material, and the steps involved in the first selection.

What do you mean, 'International Posters'? Is this book conceived as a fundamentally American affair, then?

[patroclus]

And you need a chapter about the 'the trouble with Oscar'. That was historic and gives it real bite - and perpetuates the critique of AMPAS.

[andy]

All of these ideas are great as usual but surely no one is suggesting a book by committee (a la Variety ad) are they? Sorry, don't have time to read all of the thread.

[TexRob]

What do you mean, 'International Posters'? Is this book conceived as a fundamentally American affair, then?

Hi Patroclus --

I mean primarily posts from non-English-speaking areas.  For example, we have threads going on in German and French, and posters from Hong Kong and Chile.  The intent of the chapter would be to throw the spotlight on the international nature of the the phenomenon. 

The editor's would decide what's best suited for a chapter like this, probably during the second stage of the selection process after the raw posts have been brought together.  A post from an Australian could easily go in the "Fans' Reactions" chapter.  But if the subject of the post concerned an Australian's experience of the film as an Australian, it would stand out better in this chapter.

[Vicky0uk]

What do you mean, 'International Posters'? Is this book conceived as a fundamentally American affair, then?

Hi Patroclus --

I mean primarily posts from non-English-speaking areas.  For example, we have threads going on in German and French, and posters from Hong Kong and Chile.  The intent of the chapter would be to throw the spotlight on the international nature of the the phenomenon. 

The editor's would decide what's best suited for a chapter like this, probably during the second stage of the selection process after the raw posts have been brought together.  A post from an Australian could easily go in the "Fans' Reactions" chapter.  But if the subject of the post concerned an Australian's experience of the film as an Australian, it would stand out better in this chapter.

In that way, therefore, we could look at the impact that BBM might have in Jamaica, say. Gay people have particular difficulties there and there was much protest about the film being shown. Ditto Turkey. And India where the heterosexual scenes were cut.

It would also be interesting to look at China where BBM is big on the underground scene because, of course, it was banned.

[TexRob]

And you need a chapter about the 'the trouble with Oscar'. That was historic and gives it real bite - and perpetuates the critique of AMPAS.

Hi Again Patroclus --

I'm divided about a chapter dedicated to this.  I'd love to drive home the point about the corruption involved in the Oscars, and people here have a lot to say about that.  On the other hand, we don't want to cast a negative pall on what should be an anthology of a positive experience. 

It has occurred to me to salt some of the Oscar posts into the other chapters.  Here, the editors would have to take great care, editing posts, for example, so as to avoid giving Crash any free publicity (and Lionsgate usually pays for that anyway ... ). However, this needs to be thought about carefully, as it goes to the question of what purpose the book should serve.

[TexRob]

All of these ideas are great as usual but surely no one is suggesting a book by committee (a la Variety ad) are they? Sorry, don't have time to read all of the thread.

I understand this concern.  Already, the ideas that brokebackbeauty has been organizing are being lost on newcomers to the thread.  At some point, the thread will be too big for people to read pages of detailed discussion on everything from A to Z.

When Pete turns his attention to this thread, perhaps the best thing to do would be to make decisions about each step, lock those decisions in, then go to the next phase.  The process depends upon a certain hierarchy of decisions, and revisiting the fundamental ones will throw the process into chaos.

[TexRob]

In that way, therefore, we could look at the impact that BBM might have in Jamaica, say. Gay people have particular difficulties there and there was much protest about the film being shown. Ditto Turkey. And India where the heterosexual scenes were cut.[...]

Hi Vicky0uk --

Yes, that's the idea.  There's a detailed post about the cuts made to the Indonesian version as well.  The chapter would help non-Americans stand out from the long shadow we Americans tend to cast.

[peteinportland]

Let me step in for a minute and give a few thoughts:

1. I think we all envision this first book as a collection of personal essays about how BBM affected the writer of the essay. This would be all sorts of stories from a spectrum of people. The essays would be culled from this site from ones already written to people writing one just for this book. We could also ask for submissions from people who are not yet members. Obviously, no one would ever have their posts here published without permission. Period. Each author would be intimately involved in the editing and shaping of their own essay.

2. I would envision we would use print on demand technology. I have good resources in this area. POD publishing means a book is not published and shipped until it is ordered. People can order it from us, at any bookstore, at amazon.com, anywhere they would order a normal book. Set up fees usually run around $1,000 and the publisher takes care of the shipping and handling. Our team produces a publish-ready book and cover art.

3. I would think this book would sell many copies through our site to our members. We can also explore many options of others who might want to sell the book: websites, GLBT bookstores, gay publications, movie sites, art house bookstores. If there is enough general interest, a major publisher might pick it up. Proceeds from the book would go back into this site for site projects and site maintenance(we have a number in the works of all sorts).

4. in the next couple of days, I will start a call for submissions thread and announcement. I will also help you folks revise your wonderful assignment list and help you agree on some specific tasks for each assignment. My hope is that we can have this book ready to sell within eight weeks. Maybe I am crazy, but POD technology makes it a much easier and faster process.

5. After this book, we might consider a book that looks at the technical aspects of BBM--something more scholarly that deals with theme, symbolism, imagery, character, score, editing, and all of that great stuff. That type of book would sell to our members, libraries, universities, and serious BBM types. But that is down the road. let's see how the process for the first book works.

Thanks for all your thoughts, idea, and efforts. You folks already have so much of this organized!

[TexRob]

I don't know if we already have a publisher in mind for the book, but I'd be willing to talk to my uncle about it.  [...]  I'd be happy to talk to him about this book once we have the basics nailed down if you'd like for me to do that.  Amy

Hi Amy --

As far as I know there is no publisher.  Pete will likely take up the question when the second ad campaign finishes.  You're recommendation might turn out to be a valuable one.  Thanks for the heads-up.

[aevkc]

I don't know if we already have a publisher in mind for the book, but I'd be willing to talk to my uncle about it.  [...]  I'd be happy to talk to him about this book once we have the basics nailed down if you'd like for me to do that.  Amy

Hi Amy --

As far as I know there is no publisher.  Pete will likely take up the question when the second ad campaign finishes.  You're recommendation might turn out to be a valuable one.  Thanks for the heads-up.

No problem.  Just let me know.  Amy

[TexRob]

I think we all envision this first book as a collection of personal essays about how BBM affected the writer of the essay. This would be all sorts of stories from a spectrum of people. The essays would be culled from this site from ones already written to people writing one just for this book. We could also ask for submissions from people who are not yet members.

[...] In the next couple of days, I will start a call for submissions thread and announcement.

[...] After this book, we might consider a book that looks at the technical aspects of BBM--something more scholarly that deals with theme, symbolism, imagery, character, score, editing, and all of that great stuff.

In light of Pete's comments, here's a revised suggested book outline:

I.    Table of Contents
II.   Preface
III.  Introduction
IV.  Chapters
      A. The Uniqueness of Brokeback Mountain
      B.  Fans' Reactions
      C.  Audience and Friends' Reactions
      D.  Women and Brokeback Mountain
      E.  Gays and Brokeback Mountain
      F.  Worldwide Posters
      G.  Viewers' Essays
V.    Afterward
VI.   Correspondents' Biographies
VII.  Index

Chapter A might be a short teaser chapter containing especially dramatic personal accounts, and designed to draw the reader into the book.

The technical discussions alone would easily fill up a second book and would appeal to a more general readership.

[KittyHawk]

TexRob, I like your outline. There is an additional piece I think we should consider including:  Resources - resources such as this forum, of course, and then national and possibly regional support organizations.  I've been struck by how many people posting on the forum state that they feel very isolated and have no support network of their own. I would like to think we could help provide some suggestions for sources of support. I first felt this was especially necessary for those in remote or rural areas, but it seems many big city posters have a similar need.

What do you think?

KittyHawk

[peteinportland]

ORDER THE DVD and help support our site

Just click on the link at the top of the news box to pre order the DVD through Amazon. If you buy it through the link on our site, Amazon will donate 6% back to us. They have it for the great price of $16.98, and if you order $25 or more you can get free shipping!

Also, anything you order from Amazon by clicking our link in the news box means we get 6% of your total order as a donation to the site. This is at no extra cost to you. If you have already ordered the DVD from Amazon, you can cancel the order at no cost to you and then reorder from the link in the news box. It is an easy and great way to support the site and our current and upcoming projects.

You can also send the link from the news box to any friends who want to order the DVD.

Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JOFQ/davecullencom-20/104-3707596-8442342?creative=327641&camp=14573&adid=0MQNQHJ8Y4W2B13MRFX0&link_code=as1

Thanks for your support!

[berdache1]

Brilliant idea, folks! I could help with the editing