"Smoke Signal" Pioneers Park in Lincoln, NE by Ellis Burman
A publisher said, “Utterly delightful.”
“Utterly, utterly.” I love that word. Stephen King says not to use adverbs, that is ly words. Nope, nope, nope. Use them. I find “utterly delightful,” lovely, beautifully delicious, stupendously satisfying.
I signed a contract with a publisher yesterday, August 6, for The Frog’s Song.
I said when I got a book published I would send smoke signals. This is a preliminary Puff, for the book, more than likely, will not be out for 24 months.
I told daughter number one that I thought it took 9 months to publish a book, like having a baby. “This one will take 24 months.”
She said, “That’s having an elephant.”
Ms. lovely publisher said we might pare the time down to 12 months depends on the editing and such.
While the editors and I hash out the content, the Publishing House will decide the title and the cover art—can’t wait to see what they come up with.
However it turns out, it is our Island experience, our One Year on The Island.
That 24-month time frame with the publisher will include six months in which the completed work will be in the hands of advance reviewing agencies such as Booklist, Foreword, Publisher's Weekly etc. Those agencies require six months before official release.
Whatever, I’m going with it.
I will try to stay alive to see the end result.
Will people be buying books in two years?
This morning I bought a used book for 50 cents. That amount wouldn’t cover the cost of the ink. Self-publishing a paper-bound book costs around $8.00. Perhaps a publisher can beat that. It’s a numbers game.
As you know, a digital version doesn't cost much to release, or to buy. The wave of the NOW.
The Frog’s Song, now referred to as, “The Work,” will come out as a printed book and as digital.
In two years I will build a bonfire, use a huge blanket, and send signals that rival clouds.
The Photographer's Note for the statue titled “Smoke Signal.”
"It is one of the most widely known landmarks of Pioneers Park in Lincoln, NE by Ellis Burman. Smoke Signal" was created by Burman with funding from President Franklin Roosevelts’ Works Progress Administration Program.
"This program helped provide jobs and stimulate the economy during the years of the Great Depression. When Burman applied and was found eligible for WPA funding, he suggested that a huge statue of a Native American be placed in Pioneers Park.
"He formed a 15 ft tall clay model working in an unheated vacant building at the fairgrounds.
"The winter weather of 1934/35 combined with an unheated studio caused Burman a few delays because the clay kept freezing.
"When completed, a mold was made and reassembled at the park site. Cement was poured into the mold and was colored with red oxide to give it a bronze color.
"Smoke Signal" weighs a whopping 5 tons. The entire bill for materials to the City was only $50. "Smoke Signal" is a memorial to Nebraska Tribes and depicts a Native American pulling a blanket away from a fire to produce a smoke signal - a signal devised to communicate across the vast expanses of the plains.
"When the dedication took place in 1935, it drew a huge crowd, with over 100 native Americans attending. In full dress, Chiefs from the Omaha, Winnebago, Sioux, and Ponca Tribes atop their horses lined the hillside to face the sun as it set. It is reported that the celebration and gathering of Native Americans lasted several days beyond the dedication, and that those who remained feasted on buffalo meat from the park herd."