LitNet Poetry Book To Be Published!!

Wouldn't it be a great idea? The thread title is just an attention getter, but it needn't be merely that.

I propose a book comprised of the best poems of LitNet members be assembled and shopped for traditional publishing.

There should be nothing democratic about it, except the freedom to submit. An editorial board, consisting of myself and a few others would make the selections.

LitNet may want to sponsor the project but might also want to recuse itself from the selection process to avoid the wrath of disappointed members. If a book of truly world class poetry could be assembled, it would be quite the promotion for the site, and might launch a few poetic careers.

As one reviews the poetry in various threads, separating diamond from river rock, it occurs that some of the better poets probably have much deeper pockets than they have shown. If this is actually the case, there might indeed be enough for a decent sized volume of world class poetry, say around a hundred poems.

All poems must meet the highest standard. It is important that the volume be stellar. A pretty good volume of poetry is of interest to no one. Only a great one is. It does not matter if forty poets or ten poets are represented. The only thing that would matter is that every poem meet the standard of "As good as anything going right now, maybe better."

Let me know what you think, moderators, members, owners, poets.

I think it is a good idea. I don't know what you mean by "traditional publishing". That assumes you have a publisher. Without a publisher, a feasible project would be periodic ebooks with print on demand options. Rights would revert to the authors after publication.

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Originally Posted by YesNo

I think it is a good idea. I don't know what you mean by "traditional publishing". That assumes you have a publisher. Without a publisher, a feasible project would be periodic ebooks with print on demand options. Rights would revert to the authors after publication.

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Yes, another mind will handle that aspect of it. The reason I like the idea of traditional publishing, is that it really does carry more authority, and one could become accepted rather than be blacklisted from it, by publishing a traditional book instead of joining the "traitors" that no one reads poetry on anyway.

No need to be shy, folks. Look at the proposal of the thread title as an opportunity to finally get yourself registered and become a member here, instead of lurking in the shadows anonymously. I see two or three members at a time on air and a couple of hundred wall flowers, most of the time.

I will nominate Loki and Yes/No as co-editors. They are two I know of who each have at least two poems I believe meet the high standard, so I would have confidence in their opinions. A small committee is better than a large one, with a unanimous vote required for selection, rational arguments of persuasion being not only permitted but expected.

Now, for the forum administration to jump on board and find us a famous publisher, fill our pockets with investment cash, or give the project a hearty public endorsement and--we'll be off!

Funny, I've already been thinking the same thing for quite a while, too, albeit not with hopes of finding a "traditional" publisher for such a volume. But I've always thought there were so many mighty poets and so many powerful poems in the poetry thread that it would be a shame not to try such a thing. Of course, each individual poet must agree to her/his poem being included, but apart from that, I don't see why this shouldn't be done. I'm saying this because I've already succeeded in "pushing" one of our most talented authors into at least launching an ebook version of her poetry quite a while ago, and at last she yielded, and I did the layout for free because I simply wanted her to be "available" in book form. As for the "traditional" publisher, however, I'm not sure whether one would be interested (their goal is to sell, and poetry doesn't sell, alas). I've always opted for the easiest POD-option with no upfront paying from my part for my own poetry up to now (don't want to name the company I'm referring to as not to make publicity for them).

As for the overall idea, I think it's a fantastic project; if anyone's willing to do all that work of selecting and finding a publisher and and and, then: go!!!

PS: you might consider contacting two or three of the mods, too. And maybe post a thread with a link to this one in the "Personal Poetry" section, if that's not against the section rules…

It´s a very good idea, but maybe I would leave it open of how many poems should be included. "The 100 best poems of LitNet" is a good round title but maybe on should concentrate on quality and variety first.

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Originally Posted by Danik 2016

It´s a very good idea, but maybe I would leave it open of how many poems should be included. "The 100 best poems of LitNet" is a good round title but maybe on should concentrate on quality and variety first.

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Leaving the number open would be sensible. 100 is a lot of smash hits. We need poetry so good that every page is a smash it. Even many renowned poets only produce them occasionally. Robert Graves probably never made the likes of another To Juan At The Winter Solstice. Beasts like Frost and Yeats crank out 20-40 and more of them. Many people may have one or a few, some a handful. Half a dozen great poems, as long as they are not all tiny, and a sufficent body of good work for them to reside in, should qualify anyone as at least a minor poet of note, since many recognized poets have built lofty reputations on far fewer. Some people fell into the right mileu. They taught at universities or had contacts at writing conferences or got a toe in the door through a friend with a reputation. They're a hell of a guy to drink with.

The book should not be all short poems, but not any over long ones, either. Around a hundred lines is probably the upper limit, but you never know what might come in. There are a lot of approaches.

A book of themed poetry is out of the question, if we want the highest quality. It is a good idea, but asking too much. We will be fortunate to reach our number of poems, lines or pages without restricting ourselves.

The process has to be done in secret. We cannot let the poems fight it out on the open forum, or what is the use of publishing a book? Some will have appeard on the forum before, some will have authors who have posted other poems or is a member. Updates can be posted and discussions generated.

It has to have the flavor of an anthology, a lot of sweep and scope. There is almost nothing better than going through an anthology of high quality poetry and finding the ones that really pound you.

I like the idea very much, and would certainly have no objections to some of my material being included (should any be deemed worthy enough).

While I'm flattered to have my name mentioned as a co-editor, I'm afraid I would have to decline. I've been an editor in the past, and swore never again! Editing is an enormous time-sink, and I'm not sure at the moment I've got anywhere near enough spare time to commit to it.

I think DieterM would be a good editor since he has experience with producing a book. One would need to have the owners of this site agree to use the name "Literature Network" as part of the project.

My view is that this should be an ebook with a print on demand hard copy. The poems would be selected democratically by having each poet submit five and then we would vote on them with a thread for each poet. Only poems with a certain amount of votes would be in the final book. That is how it was done with the short story contest and it would make it more of a lit net project.

I strenuously object to voting and democracy. I do not want to be part of anything that contains medicocre poetry because someone's feelings would have been hurt. That is baloney. You cannot assemble a first rate book of poetry smash hits like that. It has to be the best stuff, and only the best stuff period.Why produce anything else?

Everybody send in 5 poems, and you are going to get a book of smash hits that way? If the book is full of medicore poems, who is it supposed to promote? LitNet would sure be proud to have their name on that piece of garbage, wouldn't they? The project you are proposing would not be a thing more than a book of poetry produced by one of these vanity mills for old ladies who wrote a poem about their dog. The best of a mediocre poet is still mediocre. We love everyone, but we cannot have that. Failing in the selection process does not mean a poem was mediocre, it means the poem did not mean the standards of contemporary mastership, masterhood and mastrur... You see what I mean. Those are extremely high standards. No one need feel bad.

The selection committee should not be a democracy, either. Unanimous selections only. How else can you gaurantee quality? This means that as a member of the selection committee, I could be rejected myself, and would have no out but to accept the committee's decision. If one poet has ten poems chosen and another only has one selected, that is how best judgement went.

I don't know who DieterM is.

Dieter M(Moitzi) posted in this thread just above me.

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Originally Posted by Danik 2016

Dieter M(Moitzi) posted in this thread just above me.

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I had not seen the gentleman post before. He seems to have some savvy all right.

I think it's a great idea. Would make us put our best poetry forward, or write better poems.

Yes/No has not climbed aboard as an editor. The mods have not spoken either. I can see them biting their nails, for sometimes people really do fear success, as success changes what we are used to and comfortable with.

That's all right, mods, jump on the train. We will take you some place, and we are riding too. You can accept success. There may be prestigious prizes for the best hardback book of poetry of the year--I am not familiar with any prize structures--but a major prize would be one thing to keep in mind during assembly. If we are not shooting that high we are not shooting high enough, I believe. This is not a vanity book so everyone can show their grandchildren they were a published poet. This is as serious as it gets for poetry. We are coming.

Smash hits are popular.

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Originally Posted by YesNo

Smash hits are popular.

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Since we have already stated how high the standards are on a poetic level, that cancels in advance any concessions to popularity by way of relaxing those standards. Yes, all smash hits are popular by definition. The kind of smash hit we are looking for is also a quality piece. That just means it says something and it says it well, in a way that others besides the author can relate to. Sometimes people speak their feelings perfectly well to their own satisfaction, without realizing no poetry was made in the process.

The big test on any piece is to try reading it aloud to someone. If there are any spots where you cringe and wish you could leave that part out for now--or at least explain mid stream what you just said--the poem still needs work. Imagining reading it to someone is not the same same, and does not work. You have to actually read it to them.

Perhaps you should create your own journal or books and invite people to submit poems to them. That would not involve lit net as a whole. Then you could publish what you want to read.

.....

If you allow me a suggestion, it would be good to establish objective criteria. If you refer to high standards as opposed to garbish people may shy away.

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Originally Posted by YesNo

Perhaps you should create your own journal or books and invite people to submit poems to them. That would not involve lit net as a whole. Then you could publish what you want to read.

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Don't be silly, I am not going to start a journal. If we can get this thing going on LitNet, fine, otherwise I do not have time. I already prefer to spend my time writng rather than promoting. This it, this is my concession to all that workshopping, networking and appeals, that one million books and articles on the subject say an aspiring author must spend his or her time on. This is it, and it is for everyone with a shot. We are coming. I guess. Are we? You don't souind like you are coming or even breathing hard. Come along now. We musn't have you tearing down the enterprise and backing away before it is even started. What will the volk think of you?

I’ve given this project some more thought. I still consider it to be a jolly good idea because there’s a whole bunch of poetry gems hidden in the Personal Poetry section, and there’s a whole bunch of highly talented people out there who’d deserve to be published and read.

I’m flattered, YesNo, that you’ve thought I could play the editor’s part. But even though that would be a very rewarding “job” for anyone, I must confess that I’ve got the same problem Lokasenna and even desiresjab already mentioned – to be editor of such an enterprise is too time-consuming for one single person. Just take a look at the 653 pages the Personal Poetry section contains! If you do the maths, that makes over 16.300 poems at the very least (it’s probably more because some guys such as haunted or angliholic etc. have created threads where they’ve posted several poems)! Who could possibly sift through all this? Of course you can count on me for doing the layout part if the project gets to that point.

Anyway, I don’t think that a sole editor/selector is a good idea. If this is going to be a LitNet anthology, it should be a LitNet project too. Moreover, I only joined in 2010, YesNo as well, desires jab in 2014 – the Personal Poetry section goes as far back as 2003, so there must be many first-rate poems that we haven’t read but that another LitNet member remembers!

On the other hand, I don’t think that a voting system or a system where each poet submits some pieces of her/his own “production” is the solution either.

This said, how about getting things rolling? Debates are nice and comfy, but what if we actually got started? Here’s what I suggest:

1. First of all, establish guidelines and process. Things should be crystal-clear before we submit the project as a nice and tidy package to those who run the forums.
2. Contact mods and admin to put the project forward for consideration. I don’t think we can go anywhere without the site owners giving their “thumps up”. It’s not only a question of using the name “LitNet” but of making it a real “LitNet” project. If you agree, I’ll contact them and gently “haunt” them until we get an answer. If the answer is “No”, then that’ll be it. But if it’s “Yes”, we can get down to work.
3. Open a thread. Give it a title along the lines of “Treasure hunt” or something like that. Explain the whole project. Section for the thread to be determined at that point – probably the Personal Poetry section, I’d say, and, if the admin/mods allow it, secondary threads linking to that main thread in several other sections in order to draw attention to the project. Each of us might/ought PM their friends too and ask them to participate.
4. Main rule: people are asked to post a list of up to five poems they consider to be their alltime LitNet Personal Poetry favourites. No LitNet member should submit more than one list. People should be allowed to include one poem of their own literary production (but only one; mere selfpromotion is not what we’re aiming at).
5. Set a deadline. We’re in no hurry and want to include as many first-rate poems as possible so I’d suggest a date in autumn.
6. Create a reading & selection committee. I have no idea as to how members should be appointed, to be honest. Suggestions/names are welcome! What speaks for a committee is the fact that, if suggestions come flowing in as I hope, a single person would be overwhelmed by the job (most of us have daytime jobs, after all).
7. If a poem is submitted by several members, we can consider it to “have made it” into the final selection (unless committee members come up with serious arguments against the poem).
8. Once the final selection is made, contact the authors to ask for their permission to include their work in the anthology.
9. Create the book (layout, proofreading etc.). I am willing to do the layout. I also have quite an experience with proofreading English texts, but I think the book should be proofread by more than one person. We want high quality after all, and I am but a fallible human being. ;-)
10. Definitely it should be hard copy plus ebook. I suggest we use the services of that well-known big company whose name reminds of a South American river ;-) Not because I have shares in that company but because it’s really simple to use and thus convenient.
11. Question: what do we do with any proceeds of sales? We should have a clear idea before even submitting our project to the admin, mods and site owner(s). Specific suggestions anyone?
12. Promotion of the book. Again, all of LitNet should participate. Most of us have social media accounts. We should therefore create some sort of promotional wave all over Facebook, Twitter, google+, PinInterest and other whathaveyounot-dot-coms once the book is available for sale.

That’s as far as I got. Remember, I’m only suggesting things, everything’s still open to debate. But I do think we should roll up our sleeves and get things started.

Well thought out DieterM.

Using Your-Favorite-Poems-from-fellow-Lit-Netters: http://www.online-literature.com/for...ow-Lit-Netters might be a good start since the poems submitted for the thread are by those other than the poets who wrote the poems. This takes us back to July 2007 where some of the poets have since drifted away; although

I'd still be worried about the permissions of those who can no longer be contacted, or who no longer participate like paperleaves, hillwalker, hack, and PrinceMyshkin (and so many others, sigh).

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

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Originally Posted by DieterM

I’ve given this project some more thought. I still consider it to be a jolly good idea because there’s a whole bunch of poetry gems hidden in the Personal Poetry section, and there’s a whole bunch of highly talented people out there who’d deserve to be published and read.

I’m flattered, YesNo, that you’ve thought I could play the editor’s part. But even though that would be a very rewarding “job” for anyone, I must confess that I’ve got the same problem Lokasenna and even desiresjab already mentioned – to be editor of such an enterprise is too time-consuming for one single person. Just take a look at the 653 pages the Personal Poetry section contains! If you do the maths, that makes over 16.300 poems at the very least (it’s probably more because some guys such as haunted or angliholic etc. have created threads where they’ve posted several poems)! Who could possibly sift through all this? Of course you can count on me for doing the layout part if the project gets to that point.

Anyway, I don’t think that a sole editor/selector is a good idea. If this is going to be a LitNet anthology, it should be a LitNet project too. Moreover, I only joined in 2010, YesNo as well, desires jab in 2014 – the Personal Poetry section goes as far back as 2003, so there must be many first-rate poems that we haven’t read but that another LitNet member remembers!

On the other hand, I don’t think that a voting system or a system where each poet submits some pieces of her/his own “production” is the solution either.

This said, how about getting things rolling? Debates are nice and comfy, but what if we actually got started? Here’s what I suggest:

1. First of all, establish guidelines and process. Things should be crystal-clear before we submit the project as a nice and tidy package to those who run the forums.
2. Contact mods and admin to put the project forward for consideration. I don’t think we can go anywhere without the site owners giving their “thumps up”. It’s not only a question of using the name “LitNet” but of making it a real “LitNet” project. If you agree, I’ll contact them and gently “haunt” them until we get an answer. If the answer is “No”, then that’ll be it. But if it’s “Yes”, we can get down to work.
3. Open a thread. Give it a title along the lines of “Treasure hunt” or something like that. Explain the whole project. Section for the thread to be determined at that point – probably the Personal Poetry section, I’d say, and, if the admin/mods allow it, secondary threads linking to that main thread in several other sections in order to draw attention to the project. Each of us might/ought PM their friends too and ask them to participate.
4. Main rule: people are asked to post a list of up to five poems they consider to be their alltime LitNet Personal Poetry favourites. No LitNet member should submit more than one list. People should be allowed to include one poem of their own literary production (but only one; mere selfpromotion is not what we’re aiming at).
5. Set a deadline. We’re in no hurry and want to include as many first-rate poems as possible so I’d suggest a date in autumn.
6. Create a reading & selection committee. I have no idea as to how members should be appointed, to be honest. Suggestions/names are welcome! What speaks for a committee is the fact that, if suggestions come flowing in as I hope, a single person would be overwhelmed by the job (most of us have daytime jobs, after all).
7. If a poem is submitted by several members, we can consider it to “have made it” into the final selection (unless committee members come up with serious arguments against the poem).
8. Once the final selection is made, contact the authors to ask for their permission to include their work in the anthology.
9. Create the book (layout, proofreading etc.). I am willing to do the layout. I also have quite an experience with proofreading English texts, but I think the book should be proofread by more than one person. We want high quality after all, and I am but a fallible human being. ;-)
10. Definitely it should be hard copy plus ebook. I suggest we use the services of that well-known big company whose name reminds of a South American river ;-) Not because I have shares in that company but because it’s really simple to use and thus convenient.
11. Question: what do we do with any proceeds of sales? We should have a clear idea before even submitting our project to the admin, mods and site owner(s). Specific suggestions anyone?
12. Promotion of the book. Again, all of LitNet should participate. Most of us have social media accounts. We should therefore create some sort of promotional wave all over Facebook, Twitter, google+, PinInterest and other whathaveyounot-dot-coms once the book is available for sale.

That’s as far as I got. Remember, I’m only suggesting things, everything’s still open to debate. But I do think we should roll up our sleeves and get things started.

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Thanks for the thoughtful response. I had about given up on anyone taking it more seriously than fine lip service.

I believe we should not worry about poems from old members a decade ago who may not be findable anymore. Getting permission would be too much work. If they are still alive and interested, they will find their ways back.

Realistically, we may be able to martial ten poets from among ourselves now. Five or six poems from each, and there is a book. We are not going to find thirty or fifty people who can write a world class poem. If we are unable to produce fifty world class poems we should scrap the project in a hurry.

It really does appear to me that the admin is going to take no interest whatsoever. For the moment we might save our breaths. I offered the people free critiques, but few have taken the offer. Most people interested in literature are not trying to create it. That is the way it has always been.

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Originally Posted by tailor STATELY

Well thought out DieterM.

Using Your-Favorite-Poems-from-fellow-Lit-Netters: http://www.online-literature.com/for...ow-Lit-Netters might be a good start since the poems submitted for the thread are by those other than the poets who wrote the poems. This takes us back to July 2007 where some of the poets have since drifted away; although

I'd still be worried about the permissions of those who can no longer be contacted, or who no longer participate like paperleaves, hillwalker, hack, and PrinceMyshkin (and so many others, sigh).

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

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I looked at some of that thread a while back. It was not good, as far as I got, which was only about 4%. Let the people submit what they think is their best, we are not drag boats. That being said, if someone knows of a special poem somewhere in the archives, we will try to obtain it, of course. I know of several.

@tailor STATELY: the thread you're talking about could be a good start although I'd still prefer to start a new one for the book – if only to create some new interest because that thread has been very quiet as of lately. I know that many people have left this forum and I share your *sigh* where PrinceMyshkin and hillwalker are concerned because I always enjoyed reading their input, no matter if it was some new bit of their own production or if it was a comment on one of mine; didn't get to know the other two ones.

Now where permissions are concerned, things are simple: poems without permission (for whatever reason) shall not be included, full stop.

@desiresjab: I hear you re. "world class poems". What I had in mind was not to ask people to write specific pieces for the anthology we're discussing here but to use whatever world class poetry can be found in the Personal Poetry section. And my main concern is about resources. We could "martial ten poets" as you say, doing it just the two of us, say. That would mean the whole book would rely on two people with regards to their personal taste, the time they can spend on the project, the network they have built when it comes to promoting the book etc. What good would it do if we published a world class poetry book and no one knew about it?

I for one will ask my LitNet friends if they could spare an hour or so and join our project (there are only eight people listed as my friends, however, three of whom at least having left the forum). Hawkman for instance is someone who not only has written several pieces I really enjoyed but who has a very fine-tuned sense for other people's poetry too. Moreover his taste is different from mine. I love Jerrybaldy's view on poetry; I enjoy Delta40's stand. We shall have variety, I think. I wouldn't want the book to only reflect my taste or yours.

I can already devise two sections of the anthology: one made up of a selection of poems specially submited by the poets and another maybe bigger one made up of a selection out of the archives both voted by LitNet members.
As there probably are people that are not used to evaluate poetry it would be good to establish some objective criteria (the originality and quality of the images, rythm, rhyme, adequate form x content, use of language, etc.)
In time, I myself could help with the selection but I am not going to submit any poems. English is my third language and I feel much more at home with prose than with poetry.
What I can´t devise as now is where the funds for the project are coming from.:confused5:

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Originally Posted by DieterM

@tailor STATELY: the thread you're talking about could be a good start although I'd still prefer to start a new one for the book – if only to create some new interest because that thread has been very quiet as of lately. I know that many people have left this forum and I share your *sigh* where PrinceMyshkin and hillwalker are concerned because I always enjoyed reading their input, no matter if it was some new bit of their own production or if it was a comment on one of mine; didn't get to know the other two ones.

Now where permissions are concerned, things are simple: poems without permission (for whatever reason) shall not be included, full stop.

@desiresjab: I hear you re. "world class poems". What I had in mind was not to ask people to write specific pieces for the anthology we're discussing here but to use whatever world class poetry can be found in the Personal Poetry section. And my main concern is about resources. We could "martial ten poets" as you say, doing it just the two of us, say. That would mean the whole book would rely on two people with regards to their personal taste, the time they can spend on the project, the network they have built when it comes to promoting the book etc. What good would it do if we published a world class poetry book and no one knew about it?

I for one will ask my LitNet friends if they could spare an hour or so and join our project (there are only eight people listed as my friends, however, three of whom at least having left the forum). Hawkman for instance is someone who not only has written several pieces I really enjoyed but who has a very fine-tuned sense for other people's poetry too. Moreover his taste is different from mine. I love Jerrybaldy's view on poetry; I enjoy Delta40's stand. We shall have variety, I think. I wouldn't want the book to only reflect my taste or yours.

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The reason I want to include more by our poets than can be found in the poetry section is because I believe by and large that people have not shown their best but only things they are working on. Their best pieces would be held back in hopes of legitimate publication.

I would like to see this project happen. I would like to be part of it.

What happened to those lost members? Did they die, or did they just give up? It seems likely this project would interest them.

Since someone has to act first, I do not mind doing it. I feel I should start the thread right now that you suggested, just to get things underway. But maybe you or another should do that. I will try it, and if the thread does not take off, then maybe another thread will.

What will happen? Will the selection process take place publicly right there in that thread, or outside of it and privately?

Here we are back over in the original thread as per Dieter's sagaciaous suggestion, where some may want to resume the hows and whats discussion of the LitNet Poetry anthology, or whatever it shall be called.

To avoid confusion, I'm adding the other thread, which contains a lot of submited poems.
http://www.online-literature.com/for...96-submit-here
Seems we are all a bit lost how to go on from here. Giving the impossibility of a meeting with all those who are interested in the project, maybe the one idea would be to put up some basic issues like the format of the book, etc. for vote.

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Originally Posted by Danik 2016

To avoid confusion, I'm adding the other thread, which contains a lot of submited poems.
http://www.online-literature.com/for...96-submit-here
Seems we are all a bit lost how to go on from here. Giving the impossibility of a meeting with all those who are interested in the project, maybe the one idea would be to put up some basic issues like the format of the book, etc. for vote.

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I like your participation, Dani. You are throwing out a lot of good ideas. But possibly the first thing to do is elect something of a staff. This staff would have some authority to make certain moves on its own, so as to facilitate matters. There is no orderly way for an unknown number of members to vote on hundreds of submissions, without the process descending into chaos. Only an editorial staff can handle this.

Of whom the editorial staff should consist is the question. Let us make this qualification. Your name has to be nominated by another, before you can be considered. Then there will be votes on that. Does that sound feasible?

Of course we do not know the size of this staff, do we? We do not know if someone has to have submitted a poem, to be considered, either. I nominate Dieter to come give us some direction.

Throw out some names, Dani boy or girl. I am assuming Dieter, because he was already nominated once by Yes/No, and does not need to be nominated a second time, to my way of thinking, at least. I think perhaps we might make the additional stipulation that an editor has to have submitted something, to try and stimulate submissions, if for no other reason. If it does not stimulate submissions, we can always drop it. Behind the scenes strategizing, eh?

I think we need to take an actual, official step of some kind.

Thanks, DJ. I agree with the official step. The problem is who is to take it.
The first thing I suppose would be to decide by vote, what kind of book we want and who is going to to what.
But I am only suggesting.

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Originally Posted by Danik 2016

Thanks, DJ. I agree with the official step. The problem is who is to take it.
The first thing I suppose would be to decide by vote, what kind of book we want and who is going to to what.
But I am only suggesting.

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Yeah, how do we know it is official just because we do it?

Huh! Don't come and ask me for directions – I barely know my left from my right, lol… No, seriously, I'd say those who are already on board should stay on board, namely you, desiresjab, and you, Danik, as well as YesNo. I'd nominate heartwing as well if she accepts this because she has given us quite a lot of background information about copyrights and so on. I know she said she was more into prose but I reckon the worst poetry critic am I – normally judging poems by a "I like it"-"I like it not"-scale. Anyone who comes up with good new suggestions can hop on board too. There's someone I would have loved to see on board but he has made it very clear that he doesn't want anything to do with the project. I take the entire responsibility for that because it's been me who has thrown him off by my rash and stupid move of submitting one of his poems without asking. It's a loss for the project, I'm quite aware of that, but what's been done has been done…

Btw, desiresjab, I read your input on the Submission thread ("I see some fine poetry being posted these days from numerous people"). Why wouldn't you leave a comment in the concerned threads asking the authors whether they'd care to join and whether you're allowed to suggest their poem? That might make people react… Just an idea.

I know I haven't submitted much new stuff from my fellow LitNetters lately but the problem is I want to ask their permission beforehand (won't make the same mistake twice) and haven't got an answer yet. But I'll do what I suggested above: I'll leave a comment in the threads of my favorite poems and ask them there.

Btw, I've had second thoughts about including photography (suggestion by Danik). Two technical problems should make us abandon this idea, I guess. First, even many of my clients (who should be in the know however) do not understand the difference between high resolution and low resolution photos. This difference, in very simple terms, is that you can't print low res photos if you want a neat & professional-looking result. So I'm afraid many photos might not be sufficiently high-res for print, and it would be heartbreaking to accept a wonderful photo only to tell people later "Sorry, it's a no-go". The second problem is financial: as soon as you include color in a book, the sales price goes up immensely. Meaning a book including color photos would be too expensive for potential buyers. Just my 2 euro-cents of thinking, though.

Why can´t it just be a manual or a handbook of how to analyze different kinds of literature in-depth? From epics to diaries. Literature in all shapes and sizes. It wouldn´t require colored photos, and it would reduce the cost. There is certainly a demand for it by, primarly, students, but also other entousiasts who want to analyze literature. The examples in this manual could partially consist of texts that have been published on this forum.

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Originally Posted by tomfyhr

Why can´t it just be a manual or a handbook of how to analyze different kinds of literature in-depth? From epics to diaries. Literature in all shapes and sizes. It wouldn´t require colored photos, and it would reduce the cost. There is certainly a demand for it by, primarly, students, but also other entousiasts who want to analyze literature. The examples in this manual could partially consist of texts that have been published on this forum.

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How to analyze them? That sounds like criticism needing scholarship. Maybe that would be better in a second project.

Has a manual or handbook to analyze literature ever been released in general so far?

Since this forum is dedicated to literature, there could be something everyone here can contribute with in some form or another. If the final product more informative than what is currently out on the market, a publisher make print it. The other alternative would be to self-publish it online.

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Originally Posted by DieterM

Btw, desiresjab, I read your input on the Submission thread ("I see some fine poetry being posted these days from numerous people"). Why wouldn't you leave a comment in the concerned threads asking the authors whether they'd care to join and whether you're allowed to suggest their poem? That might make people react… Just an idea.

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Local ordindance. No door to door drumming. Don't worry. The engraved invitations came in the form of links to the poems of others we provided earlier. The practice became so laborious that I asked all hands at poesy to consider themselves invited to the submission party. No need for booster shots. This is a party you cannot crash. Crashers welcome. That is about as far as you can go. You durst not beg people to come to your party, or even the crashers will not show up. Hmmm...In fact, they are late right now.

Given the effort and expense it is to launch such a project, I still envisage a book that would be as representative as possible of the whole LitNet community and not only of the poets, although they probably are the most numerous.
There are 4 kinds of major contributions on this site: poems, prose (mainly short stories), visual art (mainly photos) and discussions (religious, literary, scientific, general themes ). Unfortunately there can be no discussion part, as there are only threads, no essays. As for the photos I understand Dieter´s points, but I wouldn´t put the idea completely down before having a good look at the thread "Pictures taken by you" which is one of my favorites.Many pictures there go far beyond amateur photos. Maybe we could find a compromise there.
Something that I think is not a LitNet product, at least not up to this time, is a literary handbook. But there are already several good ones in English.

Dieter has already said there is very little expense, as long as we stay away from high resolution color photos. We incur all kinds of expenses if we print photos, is how I took it.

No one is saying there are not other artists on the forum. Keep it simple. All it serves is to confuse the issue. It has proven difficult enough to get the poetry going now we are supposed to introduce all these additional difficulties. That is the way not to get the project done.