Folks,

    Thanks so much for a response to my queries.  For some unknown reason the original message and any possible replies never made it to my email.  I apologize for the tone of my previous message, however, I have been getting rather frustrated.  This surely explains why it seems I never received any assistance since, on my end, it seemed I asked and never got any response.  I hate to "stamp my feet", but was sitting here looking at a stack of books on my desk, trying to decide which one I want to work on, and wondering why (if everyone is so hot to have ebooks) no one will give any info on getting started on one.  I apologize for the following reply not being directed at anyone in particular, but so many of the comments come from everyone, I'm just going to dive in.  Your replies are much appreciated, especially if you have bothered to type them twice! Now for just a few replies of my own...

 

 

>There is no PG membership.  We just have a bunch of volunteers who
>contribute what they want.

Yes, I know it is not a "membership" per se.  I merely mean "joining" you as in getting together and DOING this, not as in to become a member of an organization.

 

 

>http://www.gutenberg.org/faq/
>It goes into much detail about many aspects of volunteering
>for PG, among other things. It could be a little overwhelming
>because of the amount of information it contains, but
>such is the trade-off.

 

Okay, I suppose my mistake was in not exhaustively reading the entire FAQ line for line.  I read the answers to what questions I thought would direct me to info on getting approval for copyright, and about format.  (Although I have to admit it had me a little confused.)  I did spend some time on it, though, so please don't chastise me for being too impulsive or scatterbrained to know to go to the FAQ first.  I'm not quite as dumb as I look! (Well, maybe almost...)

 

>If you are looking at preparing a text yourself, any word processor
>or text editor that can output standard plain text ought to be
>suitable. I could tell you what I use, and others on this list
>could do the same, but they would likely all be different.

 

I guess my questions should have been:  What format is the output BEST delivered in?  and What programs do all of YOU use? (To compare them or see if I already have the software on my system.)  Although I am a big fan of our language, I sometimes feel like I am speaking a foreign one!

 

>Are you using the interface found at:
>http://copy.pglaf.org/
>Or are you emailing the images directly to someone?

 

Two parts of this little goof seem to have come to light...

The first is that the link on the OLD Project Gutenberg page did NOT take me to a page where I could submit via a form.  It pulled up an email to someone who (when I emailed the scans) had an auto-reply which seemed to say that they were not the person to send it to, etc.

 

The second is that this may have been the correct person, but if they were on vacation and had that auto-reply, then I misread it.  (I'm perfectly willing to take the hit on that... It happens.)

 

>Doing a whole book yourself as a first project is very
>much an uphill struggle. In the "old days" it was not
>uncommon for well-intentioned people to come to PG
>and then give up part-way through their first attempt.
>These days, it is usual to direct people to Distributed
>Proofing first, as that is a good place a to learn
>the basics of what we do, and can give you a start that
>can make your first book much easier.

 

Okay, well, I intend to do just that, dive in with a book.  Maybe it is overwhelming to some, but I have no trouble with typing.  Besides which, I don't know how to make my scanner's text-recognition software run, so...  I assume that (save typos) there will be less proofing required of a work which is typed as opposed to one which is scanned, anyway.

>It also might help to realize that Project Gutenberg is
>a rather decentralized volunteer organization. Those of us
>involved all have "real-life" jobs and concerns to worry
>about, and still spend many hours doing our best to
>make PG work, though it sometimes is frustrating to
>do so. If you do feel that you are being ignored, please
>believe that it is not intentional.

 

Yes, I know full well that people have "real lives".  I have one myself and really don't need more things to take up my time.  I have 2 children who are teens in need of special education in a school system that does not take their needs seriously and in which high school students don't receive special education services.  The elder one has a brain injury which makes her forgetful and frequently angry, so it is not easy going.  I also work for myself selling collectibles over the internet, have an 80 year old mother living with us who requires my care, and have 2 houses to maintain (as my husband does not know the right end of a hammer).  So, do I NEED to do this, well, not as a way to fill up "idle time", but I do need things (like typing) that I can do without hassle as "therapy"!

 

 

>So, to sum it all up:
>Recomendation:
>Go spend a week or so proofing pages at distributed proofers.

I will look over what is there, but I doubt that I'll spend that much time at it.  Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

 

>And do take it one step at
>a time (ie, asking about copyright clearances, and how the
>mailing list works, and file formats all at once might not
>be a good choice.)

 

I'd rather not constantly pester the list with elementary questions such as these.  The logical progression is to get the clearance, find the correct format before I start typing, and begin working.  I don't see any merit in "baby stepping" through about 25 digests filling up everyone's mailbox.  I'm certain that you all have more entertaining things to do than hold my hand for a few weeks while I get started.  Besides which I am ALSO certain that, once I get started, other questions will demand answers here, anyway.  (So, trust me, I'll be baaack!) 

 

As for asking how the mailing list works, I asked no such questions.  I merely stated that for some reason (which has since come to light, the probability that AOL or the aether ATE the message in which my original query appeared) my message (and your replies) never came through on my end.  (Yes, I know, that was HORRID English!  Excuse me!)

 

 

Anyway, this has turned into a cursedly LONG message and I apologize profusely.  It is kind of you all to take your time to straighten me out.  I hope that I do not have too many more elementary and annoying things to ask of you. 

 

Again...THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!

 

 We now return you to the ongoing drama of the "Bowerbird Saga"...  Have at!  Lay on!

 

Cathy Waters