What is going on here?
I believe I am drafting a book.
Right then:
This substack is now officially a place for me to work out the first draft of a book.
I’ve always seen it as a place for drafts; the purpose was to get stuff out there in some form. If people expect weekly posts, then it’s harder to put it off. But I have made a much more specific plan now. I’ve got stuff to get through.
Well, until the end of September this year, the posts really will be every week. Specifically they will come out on Saturday mornings and, if I miss one - without a very serious excuse - then.. well for the moment I will be Very Sorry. We’ll see how that works. If there are two weeks in which I am Very Sorry then I shall have to institute more serious consequences for myself for missing posts.
What will I be posting?
Well it will be more like the Field Trip Diary that I wrote in March this year, and the couple of posts I’ve written since. However, as I’m now back in England, they will be describing the past.
I’ve decided that this style works better for a first draft than any of the other kinds of writing I’ve done here. I need to just say what happens, musically or otherwise, and rearrange it later. I have a bad habit of rearranging text before it’s done. I’m doing it right now. Chronology provides structure. In fact I have set some rather strict rules for myself, but I’ll come back to those.
Paid subscriptions to restrict access
I have decided to set up paid subscriptions, though all existing subscribers ought to have been already added to the ‘paid’ level without actually paying anything. Tell me if that hasn’t worked.
If you want to pay something to help support me then you can sign up as what Substack calls ‘a founder member’ (I would have thought you were all founder members by virtue of being already here but there we are). However, while I appreciate cash I also appreciate comments! Personally I’ve set an embargo on new paid subscriptions until I’m paid in full for the work I’ve been documenting here so far.
The reason I’ve set up the paid subscriptions is not because I expect significant income from this substack; not in the near-term anyway. Rather, it’s because it’s the only way I can limit who sees my posts. I want to do this for two reasons. Firstly, I’m still worried publishers might not want a manuscript if too much of it had already appeared on the internet already. I’ve read a lot of things suggesting this isn’t a concern but these also seem to be thinking of a different kind of book. Secondly, there are various things I want to say that I probably shouldn’t let just anyone read. I’ve had to abbreviate people’s names and maybe say less about them than I otherwise would. I’m not likely to say anything terribly offensive about any individual but I might perhaps be indiscreet and I won’t be able to check before the draft goes out.
I’m not quite sure yet what proportion of posts will remain free. I’ll see how it’s going after a month.
The current subscription rates are the minimum possible and if you know me and would like to be added for free, let me know.
I’ve just set up paid subscriptions and you’ll be getting a mail soon about why. However I’ve just invited you all to join for free for six months. The reasons are entirely selfish: I’m conscripting you into my panopticon; if I don’t have you lot to write for, I just won’t write.
This is the arrangement until the end of September 2023 and I expect, once that deadline’s passed, that I will still find stuff to keep posting for the rest of the year. After that, though, it’s hazy. It depends if I get interest.
If any of you with experience of writing or publishing thinks this is a terrible way of going about it, do let me know!
Here are the rules for my posts:
If they aren’t up here, I know I won’t follow them.
Each post is an account of events that I was involved in, given in chronological order, with dates (where possible). I can begin a post with a paragraph in italics to set context and I can include a one extended flashback per post.
I can also include asides about relevant concepts, e.g. relevant debates in conservation; but these must be a maximum of 3 paragraphs each, and must be a small proportion of the text in total.
Each post describes what the next post will be about and, specifically, what date in the timeline it will get up to. These dates are the targets I have to meet by the deadline of Saturday morning.
The post has to be basically legible; maybe not beautifully proofread, but it has to be actual text; not incomprehensible stream-of-consciousness stuff, and not bullet points or numbered lists.
In general, each post will follow chronologically from the previous one and there won’t be substantive overlap between posts (i.e. two different posts focusing on different events in the same few months).
And, in general, please do leave a comment on a post. Appreciative, questioning or constructively critical comments are welcome but so are those pointing out typos or pointing out that something is hard to understand. Let me know if you disagree with something I’ve said, or think it’s a bad thing to say. Whether or not I end up agreeing, it helps to know where the traps are.
And finally:
Almost forgot! The next post will cover a lot of time between late February 2005 and late February or March 2006, covering the time I first heard about work on saola to our arrival in Hanoi. It will probably be a lot of scattered moments. I will need to say something about the ideas of ‘relict’ or ‘primitive’ species or ‘living fossils’ in the context of the ‘lost world’ of the Annamites.
With the best of wishes for all your searches and your salvage. May your souls navigate a thick hillside or a bare one and many many thanks for your attention to date!
Nicholas
Go, Nicholas, Go!