Publishing Houses, Literary Agents, and Writers (oh my)

[DrChandeysson]

Happy New Year,

 

My Grandfather was one of the many Americans trapped in Europe on August 4, 1914.  The US State Department kept meticulous records of Ambassador Myron T. Herrick's attempts to free him.  But my Grandfather was French by birth and France desperately needed cannon fodder.  In 1915, after "shedding" the uniform of the Tricolore, he was forced into the RAMC and served as a physician. In 1917, he returned to the States, where he was subsequently drafted.

I have turned his story into (frankly) a pretty darn good manuscript.  My question for you is; what should I do next?  Are stories like his a 'dime a dozen' in this community?  Do you know of Publishing Houses or Literary Agents interested in this subject?  Are there Writers or Members with whom I should speak?  Does anyone wish to commit to reading my 200 page manuscript? 

 

2018 promises to be an incredible year for the Great War Forum.  Help me make 2018 an incredible year for sharing my Grandfather's story.

 

Sincerely, Mark Chandeysson, grandson of Dr. Pierre Chandeysson

@DrChandeysson and mchandeysson at hot mail

[seaJane]

I'm guessing you're in the US. If you weren't, I'd be recommending the public library for the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, although failing that you may find https://www.writersandartists.co.uk useful. I expect there's a US equivalent.

 

If you want to spend money on having your writing assessed,   https://literaryconsultancy.co.uk/mobile-landing-page/ are UK-based, operate internationally, and are reputable.

 

Otherwise, public library again, go and look at 808 in the Dewey Decimal Classification for writing skills etc.

 

Good luck!

[John_Hartley]

Welcome to the forum, Mark.

 

No, this is certainly not a "dime a dozen" story - there can be few men who served with French, British and American forces.

 

I can only suggest you contact specialist publishers and punt the manuscript towards them. I'm thinking of publishers such as Pen & Sword (who have published three of my four books), History Press and Helion. There are probably similar French and American publishers . From the American aspect, I only have the "Remains of Company D" on my shelves - publsihed by St Martins Press. You will know to which national market your book is likely to most appeal.

 

John

[Guest]

    Get a word-count on your MS- and then get someone to read it with a very critical eye-someone who may bring tears to your eyes but who you respect.

 

           The key to this is whether your grandfather did anything that holds a narrative together and fleshes it out for the general informed reader,who has some knowledge of the Great War. It may be that more work is needed on it  - facts have a habit of providing a good framework for narrative. I cannot speak for myself but there are a good many on this Forum who have the specialist knowledge to flesh out all sorts of little glitches and problems with the facts and their checking.

     A small example from what you have posted causes me a little concern-  I cannot see any reason why a French national would be released to the RAMC- perhaps it was a secondment-there were Anglo-French hospitals. Thus, on searching the online inventories of our (UK) National Archives I can find no record of any chap of your grandfather's name.  Check the facts, ask the questions of us here- perhaps toughen up the factual narrative.

     As to publishing- My guess is that an American publisher would be best-In a country of 350 million people, the chances of finding a publisher are greater. As a semi-retired  bookseller, I can aver that most things American don't turn on the UK reading public that much.  A look at UK publications on the Great War, especially Pen and Sword and Helion should give a guide as to what these successful publishers are looking for- length, language, style,content.  An amble round a very large bookstore in the States should give you a choice of recent publications that might be similar to your forebear's story-  then go for it-start writing to publishers.

    If commercial publishers prove elusive, then you may consider self-publishing or short-run printing from your own camera-ready copy. Not going to generate any income-so dreams of overhauling Warren Buffett are a No-No. Depends on what you want as your endgame.  There are many members of this Forum who have had books either commercially published or self-published-say,through Amazon. Modern publishing of the latter gives the choice  of physical hard copy (paper from dead trees) or online- Kindle or other "electronic blip" versions.

     Whatever happens, scrupulous attention to,effectively, an accurate camera-ready copy is the first goal.  And remember that camera-ready is not the same as just completed and typed up.

     And above all-GOOD LUCK!!

[Guest]

I would suggest that terms such as "cannon fodder" would turn off most reputable publishers of Great War related material. The Revisionist school has been chipping away for many decades and has now become mainstream. Similarly no one could be "forced" into joining the British Army in 1915. Conscription through the Military Services Act did not come into force until Feb 1916 and  then, only for UK nationals who were normally resident in the UK. 

 

While I don't doubt he served in the RAMC, the snippets in the summary don't quite fit the framework of the British Army's recruiting at the time (no conscription) so you may find it useful to run the manuscript past someone with a detailed knowledge of the Great War. I suspect he challenge will be finding someone who has sufficient knowledge of all three countries' armed forces. If he was a medic or doctor throughout, there are specialist medical publishers who might have interest. 

 

Peer review would be an absolute minimum. MG

Edited 29 December , 2017 by Guest

[Perth Digger]

Mark

Welcome to the Forum.

You may need to keep an eye on opportunities for publication in the UK, as I believe that many Americans are not very interested in the Great War (compared with the Civil War and World War 2, that is).

 

The US was neutral, of course, so he would have joined a British unit either through his French connection or by claiming to be Canadian.

 

There is a slight parallel with Dillwyn Parrish Starr, a Harvard footballer of some renown, who travelled to London in 1914, joined the American Volunteer Ambulance Corps and went to France, where he was with the British Red Cross (as a driver). He then joined the RN Armoured Car Division and was with them in France and Gallipoli. In 1916 he was commissioned and posted to the Coldstream Guards, and KIA in September 1916. There is a family biography of him on-line. He signed up as Canadian.

 

Mike

 

 

[Perth Digger]

Mark

Was your grandfather a US citizen?

[helpjpl]

Is this your grandfather?

 

Pierre I Chandeysson issued with an emergency passport at the US Embassy in Madrid on 12 January 1916.

Born:  20 August 1875  at St Paulet de Caisson

Emigrated to US:  abt 01 September 1895

Naturalized Citizen:  22 September 1906 at St Louis, Missouri

Arrived Cherbourg:  04 July 1914

 

This may be of interest - James Norman Hall, born Iowa, served with the British Army, French Air Service and the US Army Air Service. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Norman_Hall

 

JP

[Moonraker]

Welcome to the Forum, Mark.

 

Increasingly as the centenary progresses, I'm doing my "spectre at the feast" act (or, as you would render it, "specter" ) when it comes to queries such as yours. I think that the publishing industry (and perhaps the public at large) has had about enough of the Great War, except for events whose own precise centenary approach - the Armistice, the return to Peace, for example. (One of our members has recently finished her book on the carving in 1919 of the Kiwi near Bulford on Salisbury Plain.)

 

I strongly endorse the advice to get someone else to read your draft, which will take time, after which you may wish to make alterations. Then you have to approach likely publishers. Convention has it that only one is approached at a time; some may reply promptly, others may delay - especially if they do think they may be interested and would like an expert opinion.  Meanwhile the clock is ticking remorselessly, with diminishing chances of anything appearing in print in 2018.

 

Your best bet is to consider self-publishing.

 

Be very wary of "vanity publishing" - paying a company lots of money to produce the book for you.

 

Good luck!

 

Moonraker

[Guest]

I would recommend contacting Prof Mark Harrison. He was the Professor of the History of Medicine and Director of the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at the Universityof Oxford. He wrote "The Medical War: British Military Medicine in the First World War" published by the Oxford University Press in 2010. 

 

If you establish contact with him I am sure he would be able to point you in the right direction. 

[DrChandeysson]

Thank you to everyone who put “Pierre Chandeysson” into a search field for me.  The story of my Grandfather is not quite as glamorous as a Harvard Footballer. There was no volunteering, releasing, or recruiting, but rather conscription, desertion, and imprisonment. 

As member “helpjpl” deftly identified, Pierre, a US Citizen, deserted the Western Front through Spain in 1916.  He was arrested in the UK shortly thereafter for firing a gun in a Public House. Volunteer or otherwise, he is photographed multiple times in France in a RAMC Captain’s uniform in 1916-1917, which is consistent with his accounts.

So I am more interested in UK arrest and sentencing records from January 1916-April 1916.  I never said he was a hero.

Thank you again for all of your advice. I agree that the facts build the foundation upon which the characters and their stories can safely rest.

Yours faithfully - Mark 

P.S. – And I will never use the term “cannon fodder” again. 

[Perth Digger]

Mark

Well, that sounds different! It may well attract a publisher.

[CROONAERT]

2 hours ago, DrChandeysson said:

... The story of my Grandfather is not quite as glamorous as a Harvard Footballer. There was no volunteering, releasing, or recruiting, but rather conscription, desertion, and imprisonment.... 

 

Don't forget 'draft dodging' too! (He was declared 'insoumis' - after missing his September 1896 intake - as from June 1897 whilst living in (?) Canada.).

 

I've just been browsing his French records  ... it might not be as glamorous a story as the Harvard guy, but it is most definitely as interesting (if not more so)! Good luck with finding a publisher, I really do hope that you get your granddad's story into print as, if the remainder is as interesting as the French bit, then I  look forward to eventually reading it!

 

(Out of curiosity, do you know exactly why he deserted in January(?) 1916 after managing to land himself a (relatively) safe job within the French Army back in October 1915?)

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[Ron da Valli]

You could try the self publishing route. I have published a number of books that way. I used Create Space a part of Amazon. It is free to use or you could pay for expert help. T

here are full instructions to get you through each stage. 

 

https://www.createspace.com/

 

[seaJane]

Be aware that if you go the self-publishing route you will also have to be your own sales department and publicist

[DrChandeysson]

Everyone – Thank you.  Mr. CROONAERT, can you tell me how you obtained his French record?  I would love to be able to corroborate his diary where he says he served in the 7th Company 120th Territorial Regiment and came under enemy fire.   If he, in fact, had a non-combat job (as your post implies), I need to know!  On a related note: The Chicago Tribune lists Pierre Chandeysson, a public figure, as suffering a number of combat wounds including a missing thumb.  All false.   

And yes, he knew all too well he was insoumis.   He left for Canada at age 17 and thought he would be fine returning to France 20 years later.  He was wrong. 

 

[John_Hartley]

17 hours ago, seaJane said:

Be aware that if you go the self-publishing route you will also have to be your own sales department and publicist

I went down this sort of route with a company offering "assisted self publishing" - basically you pay them to produce the book, recouping your costs hopefully from sales. With that company (Reveille Press), you have the option of taking a load of copies, at "wholesale" prices and selling them yourself, or having them sell/market them for you, as a traditional publisher would, paying you royalities . I went with the second option, not wanting to become a bookseller. I have no issues with their technical competence in producing the book but having them act as a traditional publihser has not been a success and, to be frank, has left something of a sour taste in the mouth. The primary difficulty has been the total inability to get information from them - to the extent that I have absolutely no idea how many copies it has sold since publication in 2013, nor have I ever received a penny in royalties. Emails have gone unanswered, the book isnt even advertised on Amazon (although it is on the company's own website). Perhaps, needless to say, I've written this off to experience and would advise the OP to be very careful in choosing a business partner in this field.

 

[Moonraker]

American (?) website reviewing self-publishing services.

 

Moonraker

[Ron da Valli]

Create Space is a part of Amazon so your books will be available through them. You can select various distribution outlets. You can even set your own price.  I have 10 books being sold this way and regularly receive royalties ( although not huge!) into my bank account. I know where and when my books have been sold. I accept that I am responsible for plugging my book and take this on willingly. It works for me. It's the cheapest and easiest option, although they do offer a professional service if you prefer but obviously at a cost. 

[ss002d6252]

17 minutes ago, Ron da Valli said:

Create Space is a part of Amazon so your books will be available through them. You can select various distribution outlets. You can even set your own price.  I have 10 books being sold this way and regularly receive royalties ( although not huge!) into my bank account. I know where and when my books have been sold. I accept that I am responsible for plugging my book and take this on willingly. It works for me. It's the cheapest and easiest option, although they do offer a professional service if you prefer but obviously at a cost. 

I would also agree with Create Space - I found it very easy to use.

Craig

[CROONAERT]

8 hours ago, DrChandeysson said:

Everyone – Thank you.  Mr. CROONAERT, can you tell me how you obtained his French record?  I would love to be able to corroborate his diary where he says he served in the 7th Company 120th Territorial Regiment and came under enemy fire.   If he, in fact, had a non-combat job (as your post implies), I need to know!  

 

 

From the Gard online archives... http://bach.anaphore.gard.fr/matricules/search

 

Incidentally, he did serve in the 120 RIT... ... but only from 13th August to the 21st October 1914. On that latter date, he transferred to the 163e RI with whom he saw the vast majority of his active service (mainly) on the Woevre sector. On 15th October 1915, he was transferred to the 19th Escadron du train des equipages militaires - 19 ETEM - (basically the (rough) equivalent of the Army Service Corps) before being declared a deserter on 6th January 1916.

 

Below is an image of his record... if you need it higher res version, use the above link or PM me and I'll email you a copy...

 

Dave

Edited 30 December , 2017 by CROONAERT

[Guest]

On 12/29/2017 at 14:45, DrChandeysson said:

Volunteer or otherwise, he is photographed multiple times in France in a RAMC Captain’s uniform in 1916-1917,

 

    BUt a mystery against British record indices. There is no Chandeysson listed as receiving any commission or medals for service as a Captain.  The rank of Captain in the British RAMC usually denotes at least one year's service before getting bumped up to Captain.  Nor can I find any reference to him for any offence in the UK.

    Wartime inter-allied agreements  mean that a French national would have been returned to the French-let alone one who was a deserter.    Are you sure picture of him as Captain RAMC are actually British Army RAMC  or,indeed, taken anywhere near the war. There is a Pierre Chandeysson popping up in Missouri and thereabouts in 1917. Is that him??     Possible he got back to the States and came back to Europe on attachment to RAMC as many American doctors did (133 US doctors won the Military Cross as front line medics during the war-before and after the formal entry of the US)

      However it pans out, it is best to get the facts right.  Might need a bit of work!!

[CROONAERT]

6 minutes ago, voltaire60 said:

 

    BUt a mystery against British record indices. There is no Chandeysson listed as receiving any commission or medals for service as a Captain. 

 

Thinking about it, there is actually one quite celebrated man who had similar three nation service who, after working with the American Red Cross in France, transferred to the French Army then, after being invalided, served as a Captain in the Canadian Army Medical Corps before, finally, transferring to the AEF with whom he was killed in 1918.

 

As Pierre Chandeysson initially lived in Canada and, in 1914, even though he was living at St.Louis, Missouri,  had some links with Chicago (not a million miles from Canada), I wonder whether it was the CAMC rather than the RAMC with which he served?

 

Dave

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, CROONAERT said:

As Pierre Chandeysson initially lived in Canada and, in 1914, even though he was living at St.Louis, Missouri,  had some links with Chicago (not a million miles from Canada), I wonder whether it was the CAMC rather than the RAMC with which he served?

 

   Possible- But I checked the  Archives Canada website as well- with no results. I suspect that there has to be an answer based on one of 3 possibilities:

 

1) He was an inveterate liar who never left the US after deserting from the French Army

 

2) He served under another name- unlikely as doctors are usually checked.

 

3)  He served RAMC as an Ameican doctor, of which there were many.  But his name should at least be on some American listing.

 

      More likely to have served as an engineer with AEF than doctor.  There is an engineer Chandeysson served 12th Engineers.

Edited 31 December , 2017 by Guest

[helpjpl]

The Washington Times, 11 June 1917:

Capt. Harry S. Crossen and First Lieut. Pierre L. (sic) Chandeysson, medical reserve corps, are assigned to active duty and will report to Col. Curtis McD. Townsend, corps of engineers, St. Louis. Mo, for duty in connection with the securing of enlistments for the nine regiments of engineers, engineer officers' reserve corps.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/79915575/

 

JP