The next CP book...

Publishers (we are one) usually have several works in the pipeline in order to keep the time between books to a minimum.

Sinuhe is well along in its course (it is at the printer's awaiting his attention) and we need to consider how soon to begin the selection process for the next CP volume.

Be advised, however, that we will need to re-structure CP, as several of our volunteers who have so ably shepherded along the first book from the press wish to step down. This will need to be done before we actually start the process of selecting the second book.

After the results of the poll below are in, the question of structure will be taken up in greater detail at a time commensurate with the results of the poll. At that time, our options will be thoroughly examined and all members will have the chance to put in their two bits. But first, the poll.

The question before the members therefore is: Do we wish to re-structure, then begin selection process for volume no. 2 BEFORE Sinuhe ships? The alternative is to wait until AFTER it ships. The poll below asks for a Yes/No on the question as stated here.

POLL

Are you able to clarify how major or minor this restructuring would be? Something like turnover in advisory board members is to be expected, but if we were losing the support of Griffin / No Reply for example, I’d imagine a lot of infrastructure would need to be built up to even reach a preorder.

>2 NathanOv: Griffin is not going away, but I will let him address that himself. As to the degree of re-structuring, it is more a matter of form. We didn't want to get into the details in this thread, but as things are now, it is rather amorphous and we need to have a specific structure. If the members wish to proceed now, then we will discuss the re-structuring in detail in a separate thread.

Griffin will give you his thoughts on the matter in that thread, but for the moment, what we need to decide is whether or not we wish to proceed now or later bearing in mind that the longer we wait, the longer it will be before the second book is published. It's really just a matter of how long you are willing to wait.

>3 Glacierman: Ah, I misunderstood that it is a matter of restructuring AND proceeding with the current book, rather than simply going ahead with the restructuring early.

I hope with the relatively close vote that this gets circulated by email as well.

A few thoughts:

1. Sinuhe has set sail and very little can go wrong at this point. I'd say there's a 95 percent it fulfills without any major issues. How long that takes isn't certain. Six months maybe?

2. While we wait, there are quite a few who have expressed that they'd like to start the process on CP's second edition.

3. Before proceeding with a second edition, CP needs a bit of organizational restructuring and perhaps should register a non-profit. This deserves its own discussion.

There's nothing particularly controversial here. The question is whether there's an appetite to start this process now rather than waiting for Sinuhe.

I'm in favor of getting started on the next title, if only to help maintain the "vitality" of the press and keep people interested. I can understand waiting to see a finished product before starting another, but given the logistics I think it's a good time to start, seeing how long the full process is likely to take.

I am in favour of getting started on the next title as well. Thanks.

Did anything come of this? It doesn’t look like we reached a majority on LT, and I don’t remember seeing an email with the poll.

It sort of got side-tracked. We'll fire it up again soon.

I've been working on beefing up my proposal for The Awakening in case there is a second book, ha ha.

>10 jveezer: Good choice! I need to revisit my own dream list from the public domain to see what I'd offer up this time.

>10 jveezer: Very much an 'if' at this point, I think.

>12 ultrarightist: Definitely an "if" from my perspective. The original two volunteers both left, which is totally fine, but it sort of meant that Mark, Richard, and I had to pick up the slack. I don't think any of the three of us are volunteering for another round without changes.

What I want to see is:

(1) A smaller dedicated membership from the get-go. Starting with 200 members meant a very slow start, and, ultimately, the majority of those members were only interested in continuing their membership if the group selected the book they wanted. Consensus Press needs a smaller group which is more interested in the process than the outcome.

(2) Restriction of proposals to the public domain or works where the author has given permission to the proposer.

(3) A paid manager instead of a rotating cast of volunteers.

(4) Democratic decision-making around the title choice and design features, but not logistics.

(5) A printer and binder contracted from the get-go.

(6) A modest downpayment from the start.

With those six changes, Sinuhe would have been a bit more expensive, but in everybody's hands a year ago and we'd be halfway through #2 already.

Just my thoughts! If there's a group who wants to continue Consensus Press as-is, I'll happily bow out and just become an enthusiastic member.

>13 grifgon: Thanks for the insight and suggestions. I certainly do not expect you or the others to continue the time and effort it is taking to publish Sinhue on a voluntary basis in the future. It became apparent some time ago that the current model is not viable. All of your suggestions are sensible. I would add one: the membership establishes an NTE (not to exceed) amount for each title, either prior to or in conjunction with the title selection. This will help guide the design feature choices and limit expensive flights of fancy. As I wrote in one of the old threads, there was simply no way I was going to pay $2K for an edition of Canticle for Leibowitz with hand-illuminated initials.

I concur with Griffin. We've obviously discussed this a bit between and amongst us. With those changes, it should work just fine.

Well, I for one would like to see another book get done. The problems (for want of a better word) of the first publication should be far easier to navigate or eliminate.

All great suggestions in the thread, but I agree with >16 ChestnutPress: that nothing’s really standing in the way of a much smoother second edition provided someone has the time to get it rolling!

>13 grifgon: I think your suggestions are reasonable. I have to agree with >14 ultrarightist: on the maximum cost. I have no problem with buying a book whose text I'm not that interested in if this makes it easier, but there is definetly an upper limit on the price I'm willing to pay..