I'm excited to tell you that we have moved into the next phase with the James Coburn biography, which is the final edit. The lovely people at Potomac Books have been utterly delightful and supportive.
We had some discussions about the possibility of changing the title, but we all agreed to keep Dervish Dust: The Life and Words of James Coburn - it really was what he wanted his memoirs to be called.
And, y'all the cover is going to be beautiful! An unusual image and really classy lettering and color choices. I will be doing a cover reveal soon, as well as announcing the new website for the book, where you will be able to sign up for pre-ordering news and what I hope will be some neat little gifts for the early purchasers. I will be showing some images that did not make it into the book on that new website, as well as some extra stories - so that will be fun for the fans. So far everyone who has read the book has been pleased overall.
In other news, I am writing a short film script with the intention of directing it myself. I will be looking at starting pre-production by the end of the year, and will be spending the next few months putting together a team. The current working title is "Authorized Personnel Only" but don't get attached to that.
And finally the other ongoing writing projects I have are still Mermaid Lake rumbling along and working with my husband on his upcoming new textbook about Production Sound - Sound Mixing the Coburn Way. This book will not only teach people about recording sound for film, but also have some neat stories from sets and James' travels.
About Photos and Images
In my naivete, I had no idea how tough and lengthy the process of securing permissions and licenses for photos would be. A writer is entirely at the mercy of other people's timelines. I tend to think that the Covid-19 pandemic added time too, as people were working from home, and some folks were furloughed leaving the ongoing workload to be taken on by fewer individuals. In the end we found a range of price points, and some very kind fans among both the photographers and studio licensing folk who gave us great deals, and have helped to make this book really fun. The easiest thing - working with photographers' agencies who have all the procedures in place, as well as the photos in high definition.
(The image on this post is one of Dad's last headshots - but it is not part of the book, which means I can use it here.)
It has been a learning experience about scanning quality - and more props to my daughter who knows how to do some of the graphics things like increasing image sizes for printing. Most of our images are in great condition and were able to be scanned at 600dpi - only some of the very oldest are damaged or blurry on the actual print that we have. But that sometimes adds to the authenticity of the family photo.
So the learning experience is don't leave this task until late, but start the process early, set aside some money in your budget for the purpose, and keep a good track of where you find images. Scan the backs as well if they have information on them, and remember to check your scanner settings. Lastly, it seems that publishers like TIFF files for images. Read your publisher's guidelines to confirm the sizes and settings required. You lose nothing by sending a higher definition image than the minimum.
You will be able to buy this book very soon! Yay.
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