Spin doctoring

[jona]

This is a rather personal message, and it's not about Alexander, but about myself. Yet I feel that this forum is the only place where I can reasonably post this question.On 5 October, my book on Alexander will appear. It is a 400-page biography that contains, as a novelty, every cuneiform text on Alexander. You may already know about it, because I have posted some new ideas in this forum.They concern especially the battle of Gaugamela and the death of Alexander, a subject on which I can offer a truly non-western view. I don't like big words like "paradigm shift", but frankly, academics have used this expression for lesser innovations. (Yes, I'm proud of my book.)Less than tree weeks after the book has been published, there's the Oliver Stone movie, and I can predict what will happen. The journalists that must review my book, will ignore the cuneiform tablets (difficult to explain to a larger audience) and will instead write about the movie, or about Alexander himself, or about the wars of George W. Bush. You may already have seen the review of the Paul Cartledge book, which is about everything, but not about the book.I started my book four years ago, invested a lot of money, and visited several unusual countries. Now it looks as if my book will be eclipsed by the movie.I admit that the Stone movie offers me an opportunity to sell extra copies (my publisher is extatic); and of course, I had a lot of fun during the last four years - I have seen the sun rise over Aornus, and no one will take that away from me.Yet, I think that my cuneiform tablets deserve better. QUESTION: Does anyone of you, my pothos friends, have an idea how to make the press focus on my tablets and on several new ideas in my book?I know the press has a responsibility of its own, and is free to think that the movie is more important than my tablets. Of course. Yet, I also feel that after 2300 years of studying Greek and Latin texts, there must be a way to get some attention for non-western sources, and I don't want to loose this opportunity because of an ill-timed Hollywood movie. Any suggestions?Jona

[maximus]

Hi Jona,
I am not an expert on publishing but cant you change the date. Instead of having it before the movie, therfore casting a shadow of the book, publish it after the movie. People, having seen the movie, might have sparked a love for Alexander the Great.However if the publish date cant be changed then try and get some publicity for the book. Post it on the internet. Get Robert Lane Fox to review it or some other leading academic on ALexander the Great.
Ben,

[ruthaki]

Either way, I'm sure your book will spark some interest and for the more academic reader they will focus on those aspects you wish to make important.
The subject of Alexander is on-going in interest and will increase after the movie so whatever is written is sure to be read. Don't worry about the press just now. I'm sure you'll get 'good press' when the time comes.

[jona]

Unfortunately, the date of publication is not mine to decide; this is the publisher's decision and he has, form his point of view, excellent reasons to publish it by mid-October. (No hard feelings, my publisher is excellent.)"Get Robert Lane Fox to review it": this is a good suggestion, although I fear RLF will not be able to read Dutch. Yet, there's no reason why I can't send a copy of the proof to a leading Dutch or Belgian scholar. No doubt, my publisher supports this idea.As to academic readers, I guess I will certainly reach them, but I am a bit skeptical about the results. It is my experience that especially professional scholars have a strong tendency to ignore this matter.Take, for instance, the recently published *Alexander the Great. Historical Sources in Translation* by Heckel and Yardley. "Historical sources" turns out to mean: Greek and Latin texts. Not even coins or archaeology, which I think is a rather poor definition of the historical evidence.I think this attitude has something to do with specialism. Heckel and Yardley are good classicists, but hesitate to deal with other specialist's areas. The result is a good but one-sided and incomplete book.If we want to give more attention to eastern sources, we need generalists, not specialists. People who dare to thread on someone else's land and run the risk of making a mistake. I am afraid that the road to a change in the academical study of AtG leads to the larger audience first.Jona

[Link]

Hoe haat het Jona,Translate it into English and get that out before the film (maybe with a new publisher for the Eng. vers). Bigger market, more reviewers.tot zeinsPela
OLD MACEDONIANGLISHKoen iyas sam gnayan aza to shwo iyasWhen i's am knowan as to what i's
vizden aza tia gorosali gramatik rekoi odviewed as the colossal gramatik reckons of
Makedonsi histori, verieve moy velot sestra,Makedon's history, believe my word sister,
brator, keyull gnayall totalno onadto shwo iyas brother, you'll knowall totally on to what i's
vidu aza chisto voda. viewed as chaste water.

[xxx]

Jona,I would think that the uniqueness of what you have to offer regarding source material would make it very interesting to Oxford for instance. Certainly it would qualify for something Alexander students and scholars should read. Is your publisher interested in publishing an English Text version or in partnership with another house like Oxford? Bowworth would be the guy you'd want to contact regarding something like that - I think he's on their editorial board.Or in fact, would you consider publishing an Alexander biography using eastern source material therefore reworking what you wrote? We are going to be innudated with biographies after the movie and that would have a unique twist that other biographies could not offer. With the increased interest, unforutnately not for good reasons, in the East, I could see where a publisher might be tempted.To my knowledge no one has attempted a fulls scale biography in English of Alexander comparing western and eastern source material. It owuld be quite intriguing to compare them side by side...Regards,Tre

[jona]

"I would think that the uniqueness of what you have to offer regarding source material would make it very interesting to Oxford for instance."Here, I am afraid, the laws of the market are too strong. No English publisher will invest in a translation if a book with roughly similar content has already been published. This is a bad moment. On the other hand, writing a very small book on the eastern sources, quoting them in full and offering them as an appendix to the existing books might be in idea. (In fact, I have already decided to make somthing like that for Pothos, but it will be 2005.)Jona

[jan]

Hello Jona,Your book will have to stand on its own merits, and as I suspect that it is quite excellent, it should survive and probably surpass any other competition. However, I would not worry about its being eclipsed by the movie. The movie is the bait, and serious readers will place a value on your book if it satisfies their interest in the subject matter. The novel War of Virtue is supposed to be released on October 22, so there will be a real feast for the Alexander fans. Two books and one movie in a single month is quite interesting as I had read in one book that Alexander had been born in October also. Do you know anything about that?

[jan]

Sorry about that, Virtues of War by Steven Pressfield is what I meant to say. And also tonight is the night for the Battle of Thermopylae on Decisive Battles on History Channel. Just to let you know.Jan

[xxx]

I think you should contact Bosworth and get his opinion on doing such a thing. Now mind you, I don't know what Bosworth is like to work with, but he does have those Oxford ties. I think you underestimate the interest in what you have.Good luck!

[jona]

"I had read in one book that Alexander had been born in October also. Do you know anything about that?"http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/a ... 2.htmlThis is the translated text of Plutarch's account of Alexander's youth, mentioning 6 Hecatombaion (an Athenian name, corresponding to Macedonian Loios). If the month had started when the new moon was sighted, as it should have, 6 Loios - 20 July (356). However, the European calendars were sometimes inaccurate and intercalary months were added randomly. Any date in June-August is possible.The only really important October date that comes to my mind is 24 ululu of Darius V = 1 October 331, the day of Gaugamela. This was Alexander's "birth day" as king of Babylonia. There was a prediction (which I will publish over here pretty soon, but involves five pages of explanation) that said that Alexander would rule for eight years. So 24 ululu of our 323 was a dangerous date too, the fact that Alexander would "die as king". In fact, 28 ululu in 323 was marked by an exlipse, and the Chaldaeans had very good reasons to suspect that the last week of the month ululu (= the first week of our October) was special to Alexander. But it is impossible that you read about this.Jona

[jona]

You are absolutely right, but, ahem... I did not want to boast about my contacts in the preceding message, but Bosworth already knows about it. So does Frank Holt. Oxford U.P. has also shown some interest in my former book, on daily life in ancient Rome. My publisher says that it is often easier to sell two books than one, because then they know that you're not a one-hit wonder.Jona

[xxx]

Aristobulous is the one who says he was born in October, but this is more likely to have been a date that would correspond to his public coronation.Badian got after the astronomy department at Harvard and they determined that the 6th of Loos would have fallen on July 19th in that particular year (a leap year?).

[jona]

"Badian got after the astronomy department at Harvard and they determined that the 6th of Loos would have fallen on July 19th in that particular year (a leap year?)."Wow! I love chronological puzzels. Where is this published? When?Jona

[jan]

Jona,
Thanks for the link. Isn't there a date for the burning of the temple of Artemis? Or are both Alexander's birth and the burning of the temple just simply tied together without specification?I did read all the information on the provided link, but am still confused about why it is that the exact date for the temple is omitted.Thanks, Jan