Kansas Poet laureate

I was reading the Topeka Capital Journal on line newspaper this morning and I read an article that said  Denise Low is going to be the next Kansas Poet laureate!  This award could not go to a better person. And I say congratulation to Denise Low for getting that poetic honor!

Back three and half years ago when I was living in Kansas and my wife was going to Kansas University to get her Master's degree, I submitted the manuscript of my book "Potawatomi Tracks: The Ballad of Vietnam and Other Stories." to the Washburn Press in Topeka, Kansas. The Washburn Press had a program where they published first-time Kansas Authors and I waited for months for an answer. I thought they were not interested in my book, so I went the print on demand route. I contacted Washburn Press and told them I was pulling my book from consideration and the editor at that time was Denise Low. She told me they were going to publish my book. That is when I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life, I told her I was going to a print on demand publisher and was pulling my manuscript. Denise Low was going to work with me on my book, she was going to help edit it and everything!

I would go on into the dark and sleazy world of print on demand publishers for the next three and half years. I tried to submit my book to Indian publishers and they all turned me down! There was one called Spirit Talk press on the Blackfeet Indian rez, that said they would print my book, but wanted money to publish it, so like a dummy, I ended up giving them over $900.00 dollars and they kept coming up with excuses not to publish it, so in the end they would not give me my money back, they hid behind tribal sovereignty to rip me off. Now the latest publisher I had Heliographic press went belly up, and I just decided to let my book go out of print! The less things change!

My wife said it was all my own fault for not  going with Washburn Press and for not having that editor, Denise Low, work with you on the book! It is funny sometimes how the wife is always right!

Comments

[Denise Low]

Gosh,Larry, first thanks for the kind words. And I am so saddened to hear what happened to your good book. It deserved much better! I have worked with lightningsource.com, all thru electronic communications, and they can do a book, all together for proof, set-up, and 50 copies: $400. Then it's about $2.80 @ plus shipping forever after, and they put it up on Amazon. There are some reputable ones out there.

Do keep your good words flowing!

Denise