Thanks everyone.  My father was a good writer, and my mother is more joyful
than she has been in years and years.  We are having a great time getting
photos & letters, and his poetry (!) all worked together into a book
with his diary at the center. We "pt
 book now being produced by my father's CO. (BTW, the ship was "The
Talbot", and my father was a career navy diver & demoltions expert
called back several time later to train SEALS).  It's quite a project, and
it has needed to be done for a number of reas


At 02:28 PM 4/19/2003 -0700, you wrote:
> >>> Question: Am I right? Shall we call in the lawyers?
> >>Not just yet.  Negotiate first; then call in the lawyers if you and
> >>they cannot come to an agreement.  Don't let them publish.
>
>I'm with this one.  I say that you just might have a really popular book on 
>your hands, if you were to publish the diary/journal with photos and 
>reminiscences from others in the "Greatest Generation"
tradition.  Remember 
>that Civil War diary, the one I always intend to look for in the bookstore 
>but never remember to find?  This could be similar.  I'm not saying a 
>blockbuster, but it could have decent sales.  If you have your dad's 
>original, I'd get it typed by a service immediately and get the typescript 
>to that same publisher.  If you can work it so that his entries are intact, 
>but then someone else's thoughts are woven in around the entries--such as 
>the text of the book they're planning--it would be great.
>
>On the other hand, if the men are in their late seventies as my dad would 
>be if he were still on this side of the Veil--he was born in 1922, and most 
>WWII vets will be around that age or thereabouts--they might not last until 
>the New York publishing house could get the book on the market. If they are 
>going POD, they could have something out within a few months and have the 
>book in their hands to love.  Perhaps a private printing would not be 
>completely out of line, as long as it's a Kinkos-copied spiral-bound thing 
>and there's a disclaimer up front saying you aren't relinquishing 
>rights.  You could call that a draft, and everyone could receive a copy and 
>the instructions to please write any memories or thoughts that come to mind 
>while they read and send in those additions for consideration.  That way 
>the book would be even richer.  I dunno.  You might want to consult a 
>knowledgeable lawyer or literary agent first.
>
>Good luck with it.  I love reading that kind of thing.  I only wish my 
>family had kept diaries.  They were all too busy or whatever, I 
>suppose.  My aunt Jean writes every morning in her journals, but she swears 
>it's nothing but what she did and ate and planned that day.  If it had her 
>life in it, it'd be so spicy it'd probably immolate itself before she had a 
>chance to burn it.
>
>- - -
>The only thing that flies faster than an F-16 is your guardian angel
>- - - -
>Nine out of ten doctors recommend reading my books.  The tenth is a quack.
>Shalanna Collins  
http://home.attbi.com/~shalanna/>
>_Dulcinea: or Wizardry A-Flute_  (e-mail me 4 excerpt)  ISBN 0-7388-5388-7
>New!  I'm trying out a blog/jrnl
http://www.livejournal.com/users/shalanna/>
>

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