publishing discussion

[Logical Language Group <lojbab@access.digex.net>]

>From: "Robert J. Chassell" <bob@gnu.ai.mit.edu>
>[[[[ Also, you may want an ISBN number, if you don't already have one
>--- an ISBN number helps bookstores handle books and increases sales.
>]]]]

I know.  We need a book done or close to it to get this, so far as I
have understood.  They don't like to issue the numbers and not have them
used within a reasonable time.  This of course is a chicken/egg thing at
this point.

We also want eventually to get a Library of Congress pre-publication
catalog number, but my understanding is that they will not do that until
we have something like 5 books in print.

>A few comments:
>
>  * Last summer or fall, we decided to change the book's name from ``The
>    Lojban Reference Grammar'' to ``The Lojban Grammar'', the reason being
>    that most hoped-for readers are not themselvews linguists, so won't
>    know what a `reference grammar' is.  The term `reference' would cause
>    them to expect boring tables and lists, not interesting essays.

Leaves me cold either way.  But I thought Cowan intended the Chapter 1
title to also be the book title.  Of course I kinda agree with you on
the "butchery" part being a turnoff, but I may be a bit more sympathetic
to the idea of authorially humorous titles.  Anyone it would put off
would never read it in the first place, but some who would not read a
dry grammar may be attracted by such a colorful title.  And of course
for most people, Cowan's writing is lively enough to entertain while it
teaches.

>  * Chapter titles need to be shortened to no more than 32 characters.
>    Otherwise, they stretch over two lines on the chapter title page
>    and fail to fit on the header line. I will shorten them as needed
>    (as editor, I lack the usual authorial attachment to clever titles
>    and such), but you might prefer to make elegant surgical changes
>    first, before my butchery...

I suggest that Cowan give you a short "subject" word or two from each
chapter to go on the header line.  Most of the long form titles are
clearly INTENDED to split into two lines if necessary on the chapter
title page.

My own cut:

>intro.txt
>Chapter 1: Lojban As We Butcher It In Lojbanistan

Introduction

>fastpace.txt
>Chapter 2: A Fast-Paced Summary of Lojban Grammar, With Diagrams

Grammar Summary

>phon.txt
>Chapter 3: The Hills Are Alive With The Sounds Of Lojban

Phonology

>morphy.txt
>Chapter 4: The Shape Of Words To Come: Lojban Morphology

Morphology

>plgs.txt
>Chapter 5: "Pretty Little Girls' School": The Structure Of Lojban selbri

selbri

>sumti.txt
>Chapter 6: To Speak Of Many Things: The Lojban Sumti

sumti

>pro.txt
>Chapter 7: Pro-sumti And Pro-bridi: Brevity Is The Soul Of Language

pro-sumti/pro-bridi

>rel.txt
>Chapter 8: Relative Clauses, Which Make Sumti Even More Complicated

relative clauses

>places.txt
>Chapter 9: To Boston Via The Road Go I, 
>    With An Excursion Into The Land Of Modals

bridi Place Structures

>jvoplace.txt
>Chapter 10: Determining lujvo Place Structures

lujvo Place Structures

>tense.txt
>Chapter 11: Imaginary Journeys: The Lojban Space/Time Tense System

Tense/Aspect

>abstract.txt
>Chapter 12: On Lojban Abstraction

Abstraction

>attitud.txt
>Chapter 13: Oooh! Arrgh! Ugh! Yecch! Attitudinal and Emotional Indicators

Attitudinals

>conn.txt
>Chapter 14: If Wishes Were Horses:  The Lojban Connective System

Connectives

>negation.txt
>Chapter 15: "Say It Ain't So, Joe": On Lojban Negation

Negation

>nobody.txt
>Chapter 16: "Who Did You Pass On The Road?  Nobody": Lojban And Logic

Logic

>lerfu.txt
>Chapter 17: As Easy As A-B-C?  The Lojban Letteral System And Its Uses

lerfu

>mex.txt
>Chapter 18: lojbau mekso: Mathematical Expressions in Lojban

Mex

>text.txt
>Chapter 19: Putting It All Together: Notes on the Structure of Lojban Texts

Text structure

>grammar.246
>Chapter 20: The Formal Lojban Grammar

Formal grammar

>  * Also, it would be better to place the 4th section of the first
>    chapter, the ``Acknowledgements'' section, into a section of its
>    own, called ``Acknowledgements'' or ``Thank You'' that precedes
>    the first chapter.  

I agree

>    Or better yet, write a Preface that first states very briefly what
>    the book is about and then gives acknowledgements (bearing in mind
>    that many people do not read prefaces.)

I somewhat agree.  I have other problems with the intro myself, but
haven't entirely resolved what they are.

lojbab