Progress report on my next book
It's time to give you, part of my LinkedIn network, a progress report on Book No. 5. As you may know from my previous posts, it will be the first biography published covering the life of major league pitcher Dave McNally, born and raised in my hometown of Billings, Montana. After starring for Billings' national powerhouse American Legion baseball team from 1958-1960, Dave signed a bonus contract with the Baltimore Orioles, for whom he played from 1963-1974.
Dave compiled almost Baseball Hall of Fame numbers. He won 181 games for the Orioles and three more for Montreal, who he played for through June 1975 after being traded to the Expos following the 1974 season. The rule of thumb is that you need to win 200 games to get serious consideration for Hall membership; Dave won 184 games. Except if you're God, i.e. Sandy Koufax, who many people, myself included, consider the greatest pitcher of all time. Sandy's 165 wins included several no-hitters plus a perfect game, all logged during a 12-year major league career before arm problems forced him to retire.
Dave's more important legacy, and the theme of my book, involves his role in gaining workplace fairness for baseball players and other pro athletes. He did this by joining Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Andy Messersmith as a participant in the landmark 1975 arbitration case, arbitrated by Peter Seitz, that resulted in overturning baseball's reserve clause, which had been in effect since early in the 20th century. That clause essentially made players the property of the team that signed them, their only out being if they were traded or if they left baseball altogether.
With the reserve clause erased, players became free agents, able to choose teams (with a few limits) they wanted to play or and able to negotiate, often with the help of an agent, their contracts. The result since 1975 has been a massive increase in salaries, to sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars for multi-year contracts, even for players with average ability.
Dave, however, didn't make a dime off the decision. He retired in 1975 and moved his family back to Billings where he went into the car business with his older brother, Jim. Dave died of cancer at age 60 in 2002 in Billings.
Now the book ... I am shooting for a 70,000-word manuscript, give or take, to be ready to send to my editor by about the first of July. I've sent out numerous queries and proposals to agents but so far have gotten no bites. The publishing business, especially the part that involves the big houses, is notoriously hard to crack for unknown authors even if you have proven writing ability and professional credits as I do.
So, it's looking as if I will again go the independent/self-publishing route, using a print-on-demand publisher. I am also considering what's called short run publishing where an author pays a publisher to print, say, 500 or 1,000 copies and then the author takes on the task of marketing and selling the books via his website or by dealing directly with bookstores. There's more risk in this approach, but the return to the author is higher. I'm still pondering this.
领英推荐
Here's an ask of anyone reading this? Are you an avid reader with at least a casual interest in sports? If so, would you be willing to be an advance reader of my book, someone who would read a PDF copy and give me honest feedback? If so, please direct message me here on LinkedIn. I'm seeking perhaps a dozen advance readers. And thanks in advance if this interests you!
One other matter. I've played around with several working titles and I am now considering three. I've created a survey with those titles, and you're welcome to submit a response.
The survey can be found here:
Again, thanks for your input! In closing, may I state that the past 7-1/2 years, since I retired from the corporate world, have probably been the most rewarding stretch of time I've had. I entered my 60s worried that I had lost my purpose and passion, but I've regained both. I realize that most people need an 8-to-5 job to pay the rent or mortgage, put food on the table, support a family, etc. That was me, too.
But as you approach retirement, think about what you'll do after you no longer need to report to an office or clock in on your PC while working remotely. Writing and book authoring may not be the right path for you, but think about something, including possibly volunteer opportunities, that will keep you mentally and physically engaged in the years after you bid farewell to managers and co-workers.