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What to do with a bestseller manuscript? by Mary Neal
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by duo | March 10, 2009 at 04:16 pm
409 views | 10 Recommendations | 11 comments
Lately, my family has discovered how very difficult it is for average citizens to conduct a justice quest in America and actually arrive at justice. Unless one is Caucasian, it may be something that only the rich can do. Of course, when I consider that more than half of the incarcerated mentally ill citizens are white men, women, and children like family members of some in my group, perhaps being white doesn’t help the mentally ill avoid being criminalized. They are just not killed as often during arrest attempts. Regarding Justice4Larry, it behooves us to therefore amass some financial assets and try, try again. Stuck at home to dodge stalkers is not very promising for huge earnings on my part, however. That is, unless one loves to write, like some of my family members and I do.
Writing was a hobby of mine as a youngster. Children used to pay me in elementary school to make up short stories with them as the protagonists. It was great fun and quite lucrative by kiddy standards! After adolescence, I wrote less short stories in favor of writing essays and editorials. Good writing skills were important in my various jobs, so for years I satisfied my urge to write by producing huge engineering assessments for project managers and corporate merger documents for lawyers. I wrote for entertainment infrequently as time passed and my schedule filled with the rigors of married life, followed pretty quickly by divorced life with children and full-time employment. The preverbal plat was full! Since beginning our justice quest, I discovered blogging, and it renewed my love for writing. Now is the time to think about that book I always felt was in my future. Who knew it would be about such grisly subject matters as pursuing justice for my unfortunate brother Larry would introduced into my life? I thought I would write children’s books with subtle moral messages. That goes to show you how life can take a turn.
Many people follow the Neals’ justice quest regarding the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal – family, friends, members of the online advocacy group I started, Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill, and others. Some people from my hometown even print out and save copies of each of my articles. I thought folks might also be interested in following my quest to publish a best seller (see how optimistic I am?). This is DAY 1.
I was quite reluctant to embark on the quest to publish my family’s justice quest story for many reasons, not the least of which are the wicked emails I get and the cars that follow me when I leave home! And how do I know the publishers won’t be just as reluctant to publish this horrible tale of New World Order vs. Average Family as mainstream media is? For that reason, we will research self-publishing as well. That's how Walter Mosley started, author of Devil in a Blue Dress. Either way, the dinner pot must be filled. And believe it or not, my elderly mom and I may have to pay court costs and lawyers' fees for daring to try to get open disclosure about Larry’s death and justice regarding our lawyers’ fraud against us. So, the book will pay people back for the privilege we enjoyed of at least seeing that Larry did not go quietly into that good night.
If you always thought about writing a book or two, come along! We will have fun together learning how it is done. On the other hand, if you are a published writer with free advice to offer, please put it in the comments field below this article, and be sure to tell your agent friends about my new quest. Online advice I found today says that getting an agent is job number one.
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FREE ADVICE
http://www.caderbooks.com/pubfaq.html
1. Do I need an agent to sell my book to a publisher?
Probably, but not necessarily.
Plenty of books are still found and bought out of what publishers called the "slush pile," (or manuscripts that sometimes are known more politely as having come in "over the transom," though rare is the transom in a publisher's office these days). Plenty, yes, but hardly the overwhelming majority. And those that do get bought this way tend to be the more modest purchases.
The large and well-known publishing houses deal almost exclusively with agents, and many simply will not look at a proposal that is not submitted by an agent. You have to realize that the average house is dealing with an overwhelming number of submission s. One of an editor's main jobs is to keep in close contact with a group of agents, letting them know what kind of books that editor is looking for, and getting them used to that editor's taste.
Ideally, a good agent will help you put the final polish on your proposal, and will get it directly to the editors and publishers most likely to buy your kind of book and most likely to publish such a book successfully.
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Besides the book manuscript, I’ve written a couple of plays with the material gleaned during the Justice4Larry quest. I had not written a play since sixth grade. It was thrilling when my principal was impressed with my Christmas play and allowed my classmates to perform it during our assembly before the student body and parents. I don’t care for the spotlight, so I did not take an acting role. But my fellow classmates did a fine job, and it was exhilarating to direct the rehearsals. Some of you may have read my poems: Dog Justice, Mama, and Empty Chair at Christmas. If not, I invite you to search for them here, and leave me a comment letting me know what you thought: http://my.nowpublic.com/user/51620/assignments
To this day, the only time I enjoyed being on camera was when I was an extra for Remember the Titans. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remember_the_Titans). Part of this Disney movie starring Danzel Washington was filmed in Decatur, Georgia, which is just spitting distance from where I live. We stood for hours in sub-freezing weather filming what was to be a fall scene. Every time the camera was ready to roll, they took our coats! Working as extras for that movie was a family project. I wanted my children and their friends to understand that when they kick back in front of a television, they are literally watching many people work very hard and earn huge amounts of money – while they merely watch. In any case, should our justice quest book turn into a film some day, I’d like Jackée Harry, of Sister Sister to be me! Wouldn’t that be a hoot? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister,_Sister_(TV_series)#Main_Cast ) Or maybe Queen Latifah! Both are big girls with amazing acting talent. (Writers are incorrigible daydreamers. Who do you want to play you?)
If “they” storm the house before the book is published or catch me one day if I get cabin fever and venture to the neighborhood Chevron station again, just contact the family. They have copies of my manuscripts and tapes. You know what happened last time I was confident enough to go to the neighborhood store. If you don't the films are at this link: http://my.nowpublic.com/world/cochran-firm-fraud-continues-unchecked-courts
If the stalkers don't catch me, my readers and I will pursue publishing together as we see how this chapter of the Justice4Larry quest ends. Starting a writing career or becoming a prisoner activist were certainly not my intentions when Larry died so horribly that even after five years of asking for records and accountability, lawyers and government entities shun open disclosure. Instead, they tighten the shroud of secrecy surrounding Larry's secret arrest and death a little tighter each time we ask, "WHAT HAPPENED TO LARRY NEAL?" Oh, what a tangled web we weave . . . I trust in God, who told me He had given me the spirit of Sojourner Truth. Hopefully, He also gave me her longevity. These folks are scary! I am not a psychiatrist, but they strike me as being sociopaths. Read about Sojourner Truth in my NowPublic article or at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth
We were so upset the day I wrote that Sojourner Truth article, I don't even want to post the link. It was a few weeks after the execution of Duanna Johnson, the transgender person who tried to sue Shelby County Jail after her police abuse video got international attention. I realized then why my stalkers might have been so persistent that they did not leave the Chevron station where they had my little grandson and me waylaid on September 27, although my niece had already come to rescue me and the customers were very alarmed. For some reason, the men were not concerned when I phoned 911 and the store's cameras were rolling. I guess they knew that like with Larry's death, no one would investigate. And no one has. Is this the new America? Hopefully not. Hopefully, some things have CHANGED!
What could be worse than the shooting death of Oscar Grant? The death by Taser of Inman Morales? The restraint chair death of Sean LeVert? The shooting deaths of Sean Bell and Ms. Kathryn Johnston? We all know the details about the ghastly deaths, but Larry's elderly mother is left to her nightmares regarding how her handicapped son may have died in police custody in the bowels of Shelby County Jail. Who would have thought that my brother, a lifelong mental patient, would be the subject of so many conference calls between important, rich folks? I bet he has been, don't you? That may be as close as we come to experiencing equal opportunity, Larry. Such secrecy and collusion usually only follow deaths of rich or famous folks. Details of Larry Neal's secret incarceration and death remain a big government secret, protected at the expense of justice and human decency.
(By the way, USDOJ, if you tried to call or email me during the last couple of days in response to my meeting request, I did not get the message. Please try again. It is sometimes hard to get past my cyber stalkers. (www.nowpublic.com/world/mary-neal-requests-meeting-usdoj)
The Father knows I am not inclined to continue rigorous effort without strong motivation. Obviously, God decided there is more work to be done exposing the problems faced by mental patients in America, 1.25 million of whom are incarcerated for behavior arising out of their disabilities, infractions against laws they could not understand or lacked the wherewithal to avoid, especially in the absence of psychiatric treatment. More needs to be done to chronicle the pain of their families as they watch their sick loved ones Tasered, shot, or marched off to prison, which improves profits for private prison owners. God sometimes sends little Davids like my family to deal with Goliath-sized problems, or at least point to the problems and say, “Do y’all see this?”
I knew very little about Ms. Truth before the morning I awoke with the thought that God had given me her spirit, meaning her same zeal for denouncing wrongdoing boldly despite her humble circumstances. Reading about her did not determine my course, which I had embarked on years earlier. But it is comforting to be given new heroes I had little or no knowledge about until I was already on the justice quest regarding Larry Neal and so many other mental patients in America's correctional facilities. These include Dorothea Dix (what a beacon for human rights!) and as of last week, my hero list includes another woman who was called Mary Neal (1860-1944). She advocated for children's rights and other justice issues and helped poor kids learn to dance. Meet that Mary at this link: http://www.maryneal.org/about/1101/about-mary-neal/. I have not written about her yet, but I wrote about Ms. Dix several times - one of my favorite heroes. Here is a link: www.nowpublic.com/culture/happy-heroes-day-april-4-mary-neal.
Since the morning when Sojourner Truth's name was dropped into my spirit, I learned more about her. She was a soft-spoken woman who was not prejudice. She bound herself together with other justice seekers who were more powerful than she. Ms. Truth traveled extensively, boldly speaking about the great injustices of her time. She spoke on slavery and the subjugation of women, prison reform, and preached to the Michigan Legislature against capital punishment. Not everyone welcomed her preaching and lectures, but Truth had many friends and staunch support among influential people at the time, Wikipedia reports. It must have been nice to have such support, but as Ms. Truth's contemporary, Frederick Douglas, said, "One and God make a majority."
Frankly, I am selfish enough to wish justice did not require such effort and generate hard feelings, being a "peace on earth, goodwill toward men" type of person. In fact, I was attracted to write about the details of my family’s justice quest believing that parties would see the futility of trying to keep covered a wrongful death that literally thousands of people in the U.S. and abroad already know about. I nickname them "Pharaohs." Going against one's natural relaxed nature is challenging. Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done. The abuse and deaths of dogs should not be considered more worthy of investigation than the deaths of American citizens – no matter how black or handicapped we the people are.
Pharaohs, take another look beneath your Persian carpets! Larry Neal is not there! He escaped through citizens journalism, and you cannot catch him now. This unfortunate man who was totally dogged out shot past like the ghost of a greyhound escaping the pound's gas chamber, leaving Humpty Dumpty teetering in his quake. But Humpty did not fall off his wall yet. A single thread of hope for justice yet holds him steady.
In closing, I hope readers enjoyed and will benefit from the FREE ADVICE about book publishing provided in this article. This writer is hopeful of your feedback. Potential editors, although I have a tendency to ramble, I assure you it is not a compulsion. Furthermore, my editors will have license to edit liberally, including any deletions that may be needed for page count or other purposes. As an avid reader, I trust that many people will agree with me. This story is the stuff of bestsellers.
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Other articles by this writer are available at the Articles link below. Your comments are invited in the rich text comment area at the end of this article.
Mary Neal
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
Author's Page: http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=513396753
Articles: http://www.care2.com/news/member/513396753?sort=submitted
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
Care2: http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI
P.O. Box 7222, Atlanta, Georgia 30357
Message Phone: 770.651.8314
mneal000@yahoo.com
(Due to our seige, calls and emails may not reach us.
For surety, comment at an article I wrote, or use the mail)
No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck. ~ Frederick Douglass
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duo
Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States
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Recommendations (10)
Fred Miller
Friendswood, Texas, United States
azzayindia
mussoorie,distt dehradun, Uttarakhand, IndiaAnonymous user
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (11)
at 01:12 on March 11th, 2009
Publishers, here is a example of reader interest in this subject matter. Thank you NP and Care2! Without citizens journalism, it would be possible for government and big business to sweep much that we need to know under the rug. Mainstream media seems to be asleep.
This article made Care2News Network's Front Page today in the Politics and Govt. section.
Congratulations! The Care2 Community has promoted your submission to
the Care2 News Network Front Page.
In recognition for this outstanding achievement, you've
also been awarded a "Golden Note".
Thank you for contributing to the Care2 Community!
at 10:45 on March 11th, 2009
Larry loved reciting and had an almost photographic memory. He would recite very loudly, repetitiously, and quite eloquently the words of historic documents and various Bible passages. http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/larry/larry01.html. I suppose I had learned all of the words to many of Larry's recitations by the time I was eight or nine, so often did he do this. Larry's favorite was the Gettysburg Address:
FOUR SCORES AND SEVEN YEARS AGO, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Lincoln spoke of change.
at 16:54 on March 11th, 2009
FREE ADVICE
2.
This all brings back memories of my early days in New York at Scott Meredith Literary Agency, whose clients included Morris West, Norman Mailer, J.G. Ballard, Arthur C. Clarke, P.G. Wodehouse and Philip K. Dick[1]. Working as a Proofreader, looking to move up the rung to Reader and then Editor, my first 'required reading' was a book by Scott Meredith himself called 'Writing To Sell'. This book (if available for sale or in a Public Library) has invaluable advice on the challenges facing prospective writers seeking publication. Many Publishing Houses used to consider this book the Bible of the industry.
What I learned there was that the sure-fire way to guarantee that anyone would read your book is to go through a complex process that involved requesting a Manuscript Submission Form. This was followed by a reply from the Agency, detailing the date, time and fees, for Submission of a Synopsis according to Agency-prescribed guidelines. After Synopsis Reading by a specifically assigned person, the Manuscript's worth would be judged and voted on for possible publication. Further meetings would be held until the manuscript passed a second phase of voting-up, editing and scrutiny (read : additional fees) and only then would the contract papers be drawn up for the Agency to begin negotiations with a Publisher.
Since part of my job was to Proofread Manuscripts and type Rejection letters to would-be authors, I can assure you that there were some ridiculous pieces of writing that I came across, from all around the globe. Plus, I was in the Front Office with 5 female workers who read the manuscripts aloud and often had a blast at some ignorant Pornographic writer's detailed description of coitus (my polite word for...). One weird, filthy-rich Arab Prince even believed he had the 'right stuff' and repeatedly demanded he be published since money was no object. Was willing to travel for meeting with Mr. Meredith (a.k.a. God to the staff).
I have a few true-life works waiting inside me........but enough about myself. It was fun reminiscing about the old days. The bottom line is, there are various stages and protocols involved prior to a book finding its way to the shelves in a bookstore. Bypassing those stages would require unquestionable clout, talent and chutzpah. This applies to e-books as well.
Have faith, Mary and don't ever give up !
at 23:29 on March 11th, 2009
Thanks for the good advice, Fred! What an interesting job! It reminds me of the article I was reading earlier at NowPublic about traffic congestion. Why do employers persist in having people go to work at an office to do jobs that could easily be done in their homes? Your job at the publishing house sounds like one that did not require your presence in that place. Especially in today's economy, employers need to get over their paternal (or slavedriver) mentality and assess how many of their employees could work from home to reduce space requirements and utility costs. Doing this would also reduce traffic and presumably some traffic accidents, save fuel, and help the enviornment.
I appreciate your sharing your advice about the stages leading to publishing a work. I suppose I really need an agent. Wouldn't that relieve me of some parts of the process?
at 14:10 on March 12th, 2009
Thanks for the appreciation, Mary. In fact the Board of Editors were always on edge because they weren't getting enough Manuscripts due to the hierarchy system and had to stay home (in the pre-tele-commuting days) sometimes for a week, whivh meant no money. Your perception regarding this is right.
I remember the long, long days in Blizzards and snow waiting to get on a bus from home in NJ to NY Port Authority, getting on another bus to the office and then repeating the process in reverse. But I still loved walking the streets and window-shopping and the lights. It was a circus to a newly landed immigrant like me. I never got tired of it,
Getting an agent in Publishing is as important as getting an agent in the Acting industry. The difference is at least they get to go to auditions where they might get discovered. A lot of research ahead for you in the days ahead. Making a brief introductory video and putting it on YouTube is probably the first step. Social networking would be a big help since there are plenty of folks who are seeking to join causes and Groups when there are no membership fees involved. Joining also means they have more 'friends' and maybe you'll get lucky and make the needed contacts.
Cheers !
at 17:53 on March 12th, 2009
Fred, that is amazingly good advice! I think I will make a YouTube video and read from Chapter 1 of the manuscript! I am sure that should bring in the agents. This story is something that makes folks want to know more. Sometimes when I would go to United States District Court to pick up my copy of pleadings I had filed, my copy was not in the bin for pickup, but had to be retrieved from folks who were busy reading it, likely. It is very interesting stuff - although it will take some time before it becomes simply "interesting" to us. For me, this justice quest has been denigrating, frightening, infuriating, frustrating, and oftentimes, quite ridiculous.
at 06:06 on March 16th, 2009
Thanks for picking up on this tiny bit of advice and I trust if anyone can stick with something, you can, Your story and quest may take many twists and turns but it can only be as permanent as you want it to be. Let us know when the video is up by posting short (NP-length) video updates here and on as many video sites as possible. Flickr, Google, Yahoo, AOL, Daily Motion, etc. are all available free of charge - if you can find the time !
And thank you so much for Recommending my story about the murdered Benin Blogger....
at 07:04 on March 16th, 2009
Twists and turns and turns and twists! I have been a prisoner in my own home for safety's sake since late summer 2008. How's that for a twist? We may even have to do an old school demonstration like I have not attended since the 1970's when we marched every year on April 4th to get MLK's birthday recognized. (Apr. 4 is the date of his assassination. I guess it was chosen for the demonstrations because Jan. weather is usually horrible.)
I'm curious about your comment, "only as permanent as you want it to be." If it were up to me, it would never have been necessary to embark on a justice quest. I thought we lived in the land of equal justice for all and that the authorities would do whatever investigations were needed after Larry's wrongful death and demand accountability of responsible parties. We certainly thought our own lawyers would. Please explain how it is only as permanent as we want. It would be good to not need continuation.
All of your advice is much appreciated, and so was your account of Kate's life. She was a young hero.
Mary
at 07:54 on March 20th, 2009
My sentence :
means that if you give up, then your story will be buried along with others like it, unless the baton is picked up by one of your family or other supporters. Not everyone may have the same drive and motivation as you do regarding keeping the case visible. This sounds very negative, but I think by now that you should know that there is not immediate equal justice for all. Often the legal participants in the case have passed away or relocated or retired and their replacements are too busy within the overcrowded legal system to really get much accomplished.
That said, if my sister were legally wronged to the point that Larry was, I could see myself making the case my life's work to the exclusion of almost everything else, besides earning my living. Then again, sad fact of life, nothing I ever encounter could come even remotely close to your situation as an African-American female.
By the way I don't know how this works, but I see that your message was posted on Mon. 16th when I replied to all my NP notifications, comments, Recommends and private messages on that day since I was off from work. But there were no updates regarding this thread in my Inbox hence I did not reply.
So yes, it certainly is suspicious all around the web......
at 15:56 on March 20th, 2009
Thank you, Fred. I appreciate your advice and information, too. Yes, I know that Internet media has what I call "intelligent glitches." They occur at very specific times and regarding particular work.
Regarding our Justice4Larry quest, I am just as motivated by the plight of other acute mental patients in America as I am by injustices to Larry. We found that Larry did not merely fall through a crack in the safety net designed to prevent sick people from prosecution for inappropriate behavior. We assumed that was the explanation for a long time. It was shocking to learn that there actually is no safety net to prevent acute mental patients being punished as criminals. Instead, the prison system seemingly feeds on them. As a result, sick citizens and their families suffer in the criminal justice system, although jail cannot punish people into a state of mental health. Tasers cannot do it, solitary confinement cannot do it, and neither are mental patients helped by ostracizing them and ridiculing their handicap.
Once the situation became clear, our Justice4Larry quest became a passion to help other mental patients who suffer similar cruelty and promote public safety by demanding early intervention for patients who don't recognize their need for treatment. Larry is dead, and it is too late to save him. But Jeremy Smith is still alive! Read about Jeremy's situation on this petition. See the shock and outrage the public conveys when told that a paranoid schizophrenic citizen suffers years in solitary confinement following a simple assault.
Petitio for Justice for Jeremy and Other Mentally Ill Prisoners
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/JusticeForJeremy
Our mission has been successful if more people now recognize the human rights problem inherent in criminalizing mental illness and voters insist that "equal justice for all" soon becomes a reality for these sick citizens and their suffering families.
Thank you for your feedback, Fred!
at 19:17 on April 17th, 2009
I guess my cyberstalkers don't want me to sell my manuscript. They don't let me past page 1 on my Yahoo mailbox any longer! LOL! I can sit and hit "next" for five minutes and get nowhere. Also, for every piece of mail I open (especially from prisoner rights groups) and every email I send, the screen goes blank and I get a Yahoo error message 2, 5, or 14. Perhaps no one told my cyberstalkers that agents and publishers still prefer to communicate via mail. These folks are a mess! What are they going to do with the upcoming Human Rights for Prisoners March?
www.nowpublic.com/world/human-rights-prisoners-march-planned-mid-may-atlanta
Maybe they will just say, "Game's up. Democracy is officially over." Otherwise, all of this censorship over the last four years will have been for nothing. Amazing Pharaohs.