A Different Take on Book Launches

No two books are alike, and from what I can tell, book launches are often different.

The latest book from Elephant’s Bookshelf Press is unlike anything we’ve ever published before, and so is the launch. Which the Days Never Know: A year in Vietnam by the numbers is the first nonfiction book from EBP.

The name might imply that it’s a memoir, and in a sense that’s correct. But not quite. It contains memories from the author, Dr. Donald McNamara, who walked off his flight home from Vietnam on January 13, 1968; we published the paperback on the fiftieth anniversary of his return home. But the book conveys moments more than memories, impressions rather than intensity.

Which the Days Never Know does not set out to recount battles or delve deeply into personal matters – or even personnel matters. Instead, Don takes the approach of a workaday soldier.

Everything in the Army seemed to have a number, he said, so in his book Don marched through 365 days – the typical one-year term of service in Vietnam – number by number.

From a visual standpoint, he wanted the book to look like verse or poetry.

From a publishing standpoint, I knew right away that we were taking a risk. But I think it’s a risk worth taking.

In launching EBP’s nonfiction division, I wanted something that felt true to what the company has been aiming to accomplish – its mission, if you will. Unlike many EBP authors, Don is not unpublished; he has retired as a professor of literature and during his academic career wrote pieces on Irish language and literature in particular. He also has written countless journalistic pieces, which is how our paths crossed.

But EBP prides itself on helping authors share their voice and helping their stories find an audience.
As a bit of EBP trivia, Don helped me find the voice of my company, years before I knew I become a publisher. He taught me the phrase bionn gach tasu lag, which I used in the first paragraph of the introduction to Spring Fevers, EBP’s first book, back in 2012. For those who do not recall the intro – or might not be fluent in Irish – it means “every beginning is weak.”

And in a mirror image of Spring Fevers, I have decided to publish Which the Days Never Know first in paperback; Spring Fevers was originally planned as an ebook only.

Think of this as a soft launch.

In this age of electronic and independent publishing, we learn to stagger launches every few months – more often, if you’re able to write that quickly – and build up a team of eager early readers. These approaches can work. I haven’t done that with Which the Days Never Know.

As I said above, this is a very different book for EBP -- and for me. I’m not sure he’s aware, but Don has been a helpful mentor to me as I’ve grown as a journalist and author. Many EBP authors are people I’ve met maybe once or twice. Most of them I’ve never even spoken to on the phone. Don and I worked together years ago. We even shared office space.

Without a doubt, I aim to build the audience for Don’s book, but I also want to share with this audience. I want to share the book with readers who might be able to use it best; veterans’ organizations, for example. I suspect the paperback version will be better appreciated for those groups, though I’m sure many of those readers also enjoy building their ebook collections.

In fact, for readers who buy a copy of the paperback, I’ll provide them a free ebook version.

So, if you’d like to get a free copy of the ebook, send an email to matt@elephantsbookshelfpress and we’ll make that happen.