'The Fracking War' to be published in November

WATKINS GLEN, New York - The final draft of the manuscript of The Fracking War should be available via Kindle - and other electronic readers like iPads - in early November.

Pardon me, but Woo-hoo!

This afternoon Adm. Fox negotiated a deal with a publishing house to handle all the details that will result in an electronic book going up in November with printed paper copies available six to eight to 10 weeks after that.

Why did we do it that way?

It turns out that the majority of 21st Century book readers are using Kindles, iPads, Nooks (and some other readers with which I am not familiar) instead of buying printed books. That phenomenon is changing the publishing world quite quickly. But the publisher we chose - after two weeks of reading and research - has a proven track record working with print and electronic publishing.

So The Fracking War will be coming to an electronic distributor - like Amazon.com - before Thanksgiving.

There are a number of steps still in the process. The manuscript has to go to our proofreader for a pass through. Then there is the uploading of files to the publisher. And the all-important cover art work has to be chosen and set in place.

But it's all do-able.

Woo-hoo, redux.

A hydrofracking rig - lovely, isn't it?

'The Fracking War' moves closer to the bookshelf

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - The Beta readers have spoken. 'The Fracking War' manuscript (with a few tuneups and plot revamps) is ready to go to print.

Well, almost.

After about four more days of final copy editing, the manuscript should go to a professional proofreader for an excruciatingly close read. Then with the help of a graphic artist for page and cover designs - and locating a reliable printing company - the 95,000 (or so) words will go from a draft to, well, a book.

In the course of the last month, Adm. Fox and I explored the various publishing options. We attended a writer-publishers' conference panel in Halifax, Canada comparing traditional book publishing with the brave new world that is called self-publishing. (Actually, it's not that new, and you don't have to be brave.)

While I would love for a carload of traditional publishers to sweep into my driveway waving fat checks demanding the right to publish The Fracking War, I am way too impatient. Plus, I'm not sure they have the right address.

So some form of self-publishing and/or printing is in the offing. And very soon.

The Halifax panel at the Word of The Street conference (WOTS LINK) was very interesting - and convincing. A Canadian writer named Leo McKay stole the show (Leo McKay's website). Had it been a prizefight, he would knocked out the two traditional Canadian book publishers within minutes of the opening bell.

His message was simple: Most authors can get their book published without going the traditional route. The real trick is getting the word out about the book's availability so people pick it up and read it.

Watch for The Fracking War Book & Road Tour later this fall.

AP's Chelsea Carter talks about heading to Baghdad

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - Sacramento State alum Chelsea Carter told an audience of about 50 students at CSU, Sacramento Monday that she would be required to wear body armor and a helmet - at least some of the time - when she is working for the Associated Press in Iraq, but that getting an overseas posting has been a dream of hers for years.

Carter, a former State Hornet newspaper reporter outlined her career that took her first to the Lodi News-Sentinel in Lodi, Calif. after graduation with a B.A. in Journalism in the mid 1990s. She then was hired by the Associated Press and worked in Charleston, W. Va. , New York and Southern California and has also worked as a national writer for the AP.

Later this week, she will be flying into Baghdad to be a foreign correspondent for AP.

Most recently she has been working as a military affairs reporter for the AP. She was on board the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in 2003 when President George W. Bush made his now-famous "Mission Accomplished" speech about the war in Iraq.

She also told the students about a very tense moment she had during a near-riot and fight in New York City while she was covering the Million Youth March. She watched the riot and fight take place and barely escaped.

She said that she learned that day she could put her fear of personal safety aside when pursuing a story.

"I can do anything for the job," she said.


Journalism Professor Sylvia Fox, left, and AP's Chelsea Carter