doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Fun with Brown Rifles.

As a relative neophyte to the gun writing business (only a couple of dozen articles published so far) a totally agree with what has been said. Getting paid at all for your work is the first hurdle, and getting enough to make it worth doing, for all but the select few in the upper echelon of writers for major magazines is even more difficult. It really is pretty much a labor of love. I would like to publicly acknowledge the encouragement I received from Rudi Prusok and John Campbell to take the things I was interested in and researching anyway and submit them for publication.

Since I came from the realm of Biology, I was familiar with that style of writing, but more importantly the research that goes into scientific papers, so for my "major articles" I use that, then try to transfer that content into a more casual popular style of prose. I really appreciate the positive feedback I have received over the last few years from quite a number of you. And for those wondering about the collection of Steve Durren's and JD Steele's articles on the Roller, be patient, life got in the way and I still have to get that onto the front burner again.

Froggie

Sorry for the rant, I wasn't looking for sympathy, it's just when I hear about how easy it is to do a book, I immediately recoil.
And Mike, I hope you don't take my critique of your book the wrong way. My copy is in the only bookshelf I have with sliding glass doors along with my cherished author (friend) signed first editions. I consider Custom Gunmakers to be one of the most enjoyable gun books published in my lifetime and should set the standard for great research. But I also know how very much better the "Big Book" will be because of your experience.
Froggie, how would a fellow ever know your byline?

Years ago, I was asked to co-author a book. I was working as a computer programmer. I was known a bit for my skill. I thought, "Gee this is great!" Then the "contract" arrived. Who the heck wants exclusive movie rights to a book about the latest version of a compiler? Talk about stupid things to haggle over.

In the end, the publisher rejected the manuscript we submitted. The reason, the book was not thick enough. Their thinking was that thicker books are more noticeable on retail shelves and so sell more. My co-author wanted to "shop it around". He never did find a taker. 6 months later the software house released an updated version and the manuscript was out of date.

I know it is not the same, but I have found that even a low traffic website will generate in excess of 11,000 hits a month. While I could load it with banner ads to make a few pennies, it would not be the website I would want to visit. I do get the "it's on the web, it is public domain" clowns who complain about watermarks. It is simply the reality of our changing world.

Pete

Steve, Not to worry, criticism when true is not a bad thing. The best complement to date is a man who told me he kept my book in the bathroom. My book is what it is, a collection of magazine articles, I designed the cover and wrote a page of acknowledgments, PS did the rest. At the time I was spending a lot of my time dealing with folks who wanted a book. My daughter suggested I publish a book of the articles I had already written so I could get back to my research. I called Dave, he said OK and I went back to doing what I do. The next book of articles will along the same lines. As for the big book, who knows. Electronic publishing via CD-DVD or a pay-to-view website is not out of the question. For research I bought a complete set of all the National Geographic on CD-DVD and they are wonderful. This is the 21st Century so maybe I need explore all things. I have eight (8) filing cabinet drawers full of gunmaker paper files. Imagine if all of this was available on line.


“Froggie, how would a fellow ever know your byline?”

The internet has changed the way people interact with others and Steve brought up a valid point regarding the use of a nom-de-net or pen-names. IMO anyone who is serious about any field of research has to have their name associated to it so when, for example, someone thinks Ithaca they automatically think of Walter Snyder, Ballard -John Dutcher, 1903 Springfield - John Beard and so on. It’s a rare week that I don’t get several calls, emails or letters asking for information on an older custom sporting rifle. I'm glad I did not use "Sasquatch" which was suggested

Not to change the subject, but I too would like to know the answer to Brent's question; what is John Campbell doing now?

Vall, the last I heard, John Campbell was still writing, something to do with high end double shotguns, IIRC. If you can catch up with Dale53 he seems to stay loosely in touch with John.

Steven, my "real" name is Charles B. ("Charlie") Shaeff, III and the by-line I usually have is simply "Charlie Shaeff." Most of my stuff has been geared toward product tests and reviews in the SSR Journal starting when Rudi edited it, but I have also had a few research pieces, especially on old Lyman & Ideal stuff in both the Journal and the Single Shot Exchange. There's probably some more stuff out there, but it is best forgotten.

Mike, I truly understand what you are saying, since in many venues, nobody knows who Charlie Shaeff is, while those reading my published stuff don't associate it with anyone who would call himself the Green Frog. A real conundrum!

Charlie Shaeff
aka Green Frog

Michael,

Certainly that is why most people do the "pay and play" on the Internet Gun Club.

Imagine if Swinney's work was available for a fee on-line. Or all the back issues of The Gun Report. Or a dozen other magazines and journals.

I found an old article in The Gun Report that talks about "a common practice" of using indentured servants as apprentice gunsmiths in America. That one item alone needs to be substantiated, qualified or refuted. But no one knows, it is buried.

The recent on-line access of tax records has given me some very interesting leads. It seems one of the gunsmith's I am researching reports several tons of cast iron ingots in their possession during the Civil war....

I was surprised to learn that my site is now being used as a reference in a couple of ezine articles.

The last I heard, John Campbell was still publishing the former ezine Double Gun Classics, only now in paper form. Not sure if that is successful for him.

Pete

Pete,
I think most folks see the internet as a free and not a fee access to information and I believe that it might be a hard sell. I now subscribe to Ancestry.com (I believe you were the one that help pushed me in that direction)) because they have so much info I need at one place. They charge $20 month and for me it's well worth it, I can now do in minuets what took hours before. Times are a changing, I might have to as well.

For what it's worth I want a book. Smile.Whitey

The Ezine Double Gun Classics John Campbell is the same as the 1885 Winchester book John Campbell?