Writing Local History Today

A Guide to Researching, Publishing, and Marketing Your Book

By (author) Thomas A. Mason, J. Kent Calder

Publication date:

11 October 2013

Length of book:

148 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

237x157mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780759119024

Writing Local History Today guides local historians through the process of researching, writing, and publishing their work. Mason & Calder present step-by-step advice to guide aspiring authors to a successful publication and focus not only on how to write well but also how to market and sell their work. Highlights include:
  • Discussion of how to identify an audience for your writing project
  • Tips for effective research and planning
  • Sample documents, such as contracts and requests for proposals
  • Discussion of how to use social media to leverage your publication
  • Discussion of the benefits and drawbacks to self-publishing
  • An essay by Gregory Britton, the editorial director of John Hopkins University Press, about financial pitfalls in publishing
This guide is useful for first-time authors who need help with this sometimes daunting process, or for previously published historians who need a quick reference or timely tip.
Mason (history, Indiana U.) and Calder (executive director, Texas State Historical Association) present this handbook for local history authors in four pointed chapters. The short first chapter impresses considerations of audience and its influence on style and tone. Chapter two covers the research process, including where to find records and how to use and evaluate different kinds of sources. Chapter three explains how to translate a large body of research into a readable text. The final chapter discusses the economic and design aspects of getting a book published. A large section of appendices provides sample contracts, submission guidelines, and a recap of book finance from the publisher's point of view.