Max Reif's Blog - Posts Tagged "sufism"
Does (Book) Size Matter?
Naturally, I was thrilled a week or so ago, when the UPS guy came to the front door with the parcel that I knew was the first copy I would ever set eyes on of my new book. The book had been published a couple days before by The Mindful Word. It's an on-demand book, as many are these days. I wanted to hold it right away, as any dad would his new "baby," and so rather than wait to receive some promised copies from the publisher, I had ordered a copy immediately.
I ripped open the envelope, the fumbling way most of us do that. As it tore, I could see parts of the cover art. Finally, I saw all of it. I pulled the book out, put the envelope "afterbirth" aside, and cradled "Toward an Interior Sun."
But something was not right! The book was TOO BIG! We had formatted it at 6" by 9," one of the usual sizes for a paperback. Due to some complication, it had emerged from the printer at 7" by 10"! I don't want to carry the "baby" analogy too far; it's only a book. But I panicked! The precious object did not FEEL right in my hands!
This experience was a deep lesson of some kind. What is "a book?" We all have some kind of platonic idea of that. A book is some sort of content between covers...at least a hard-copy print book is.
But the heady feeling I expected, the "I've finally gotten a book published by people who believed in it enough to midwife it!" (as opposed to a self-published book) did not come! It felt more like a cookbook, size-wise. Almost, but not quite, a coffee-table book. I couldn't place what it really was!
It seems we have conventions for almost everything in life, though we may seldom be aware of them until they are somehow violated. Was I demented? Was I an ingrate? I went to our bookshelves and got out several paperbacks, even a hardback or two. None were that big! There were several different standard sizes, it appeared, but not 7 x 10, at least for books of short stories or novels!
I had to write the publisher at The Mindful Word, "It's too big! It doesn't feel like a real book!"
At first he wrote back, "Now that it's out, we should stay with it." The content, after all, was fine.
But I replied once more, all but adamant, and the next note back to us was a request for my wife Barbara - who did the formatting - to trim the file that was used for publication back to 6x9. It was not clear how the enlargement had come about in the first place. All that mattered now, though, was the fix.
Within a day the book had been withdrawn, except for the Kindle version. Now the new version's back up on Amazon. I received a copy yesterday. No question: it DOES feel like a real book!
***
There was one other little thing to repair. I found a reference in the first story, about my family's drive through the American South to Miami when I was 11, to the fact that on our travels along state highways we only saw a few examples of the "Bill Crow laws" of that era. "BILL CROW LAWS?" I was horrified! People would think me completely insensitive, ignorant, or both! How had this happened?
As Barbara and I discussed it, I remembered finally that I had used "find and replace" on the name of a character in another story whose real name, Jim, I had wanted to fictionalize. I'm aware now that "find and replace" is notorious for having such unintended consequences.
Fortunately, we were able to fix that error, too, in the shiny new edition that is now rolling off the presses!
learn more about "Toward an Interior Sun" and place an order
I ripped open the envelope, the fumbling way most of us do that. As it tore, I could see parts of the cover art. Finally, I saw all of it. I pulled the book out, put the envelope "afterbirth" aside, and cradled "Toward an Interior Sun."
But something was not right! The book was TOO BIG! We had formatted it at 6" by 9," one of the usual sizes for a paperback. Due to some complication, it had emerged from the printer at 7" by 10"! I don't want to carry the "baby" analogy too far; it's only a book. But I panicked! The precious object did not FEEL right in my hands!
This experience was a deep lesson of some kind. What is "a book?" We all have some kind of platonic idea of that. A book is some sort of content between covers...at least a hard-copy print book is.
But the heady feeling I expected, the "I've finally gotten a book published by people who believed in it enough to midwife it!" (as opposed to a self-published book) did not come! It felt more like a cookbook, size-wise. Almost, but not quite, a coffee-table book. I couldn't place what it really was!
It seems we have conventions for almost everything in life, though we may seldom be aware of them until they are somehow violated. Was I demented? Was I an ingrate? I went to our bookshelves and got out several paperbacks, even a hardback or two. None were that big! There were several different standard sizes, it appeared, but not 7 x 10, at least for books of short stories or novels!
I had to write the publisher at The Mindful Word, "It's too big! It doesn't feel like a real book!"
At first he wrote back, "Now that it's out, we should stay with it." The content, after all, was fine.
But I replied once more, all but adamant, and the next note back to us was a request for my wife Barbara - who did the formatting - to trim the file that was used for publication back to 6x9. It was not clear how the enlargement had come about in the first place. All that mattered now, though, was the fix.
Within a day the book had been withdrawn, except for the Kindle version. Now the new version's back up on Amazon. I received a copy yesterday. No question: it DOES feel like a real book!
***
There was one other little thing to repair. I found a reference in the first story, about my family's drive through the American South to Miami when I was 11, to the fact that on our travels along state highways we only saw a few examples of the "Bill Crow laws" of that era. "BILL CROW LAWS?" I was horrified! People would think me completely insensitive, ignorant, or both! How had this happened?
As Barbara and I discussed it, I remembered finally that I had used "find and replace" on the name of a character in another story whose real name, Jim, I had wanted to fictionalize. I'm aware now that "find and replace" is notorious for having such unintended consequences.
Fortunately, we were able to fix that error, too, in the shiny new edition that is now rolling off the presses!
learn more about "Toward an Interior Sun" and place an order
TOWARD AN INTERIOR SUN: Synopsis and Frontpiece Quotes
"Toward an Interior Sun: Awakening by a Master, and the Difficult Journey Toward Discipleship" (Stories by Max Reif) has been out for a month now. Here is the summary that appeared in The Mindful Word, the online journal that published first the 11 stories, and now the book:
Martin is a young man with no conscious spiritual yearning and a dim sense of something wrong deep inside. He almost destroys himself by the time he’s twenty-two, but then has the good fortune to be awakened by Meher Baba, a renowned spiritual figure.
After a honeymoon of divine love, it gradually begins to dawn on Martin that the Master wants not only love, but obedience. The spiritual path is “no game for the weak and fainthearted.” Martin has a difficult go of it, blundering several times over the next decades, suffering precipitous falls–but always, somehow, being given another chance. He comes to realize the journey is a long one.
In this collection of short stories, Max Reif digs deep to offer an entertaining and insightful account of this arduous spiritual trek. The tales lead the reader from epiphanies of youth, to the life of a spiritual seeker, to a deepening awareness of the maturity required for true discipleship. These stories take the reader on a bumpy ride from the dark depths of shock therapy to the soaring heights of seeing God manifest in the world, illuminating the hope we all have for redemption and rebirth.
This is a book not just for Baba lovers but for all who want spiritual growth and want to learn through the challenges of a personal story about the spiritual journey.
To get a sample of Max’s writing, check out his author page at The Mindful Word. Most of the stories in this collection can be found there.
Below are some quotes from the frontpiece material of Toward an Interior Sun.
From the Preface by Kiva Bottero, publisher of The Mindful Word:
"Certain writers have a way of authentically expressing in words the images floating around in their heads with such vividness that it inspires readers to draw inwards and reflect. Max Reif is one of those writers."
"Toward an Interior Sun invites readers to do more than just read, but to ponder. It invites readers to sit back and be entertained, but to also engage themselves with curiosity. But most of all, the authentic nature of the stories in this book inspire readers to develop a true thirst for the truth."
From the Foreward by Naosherwan Anzar, publisher of GLOW International magazine:
"Toward an Interior Sun is a door that opens in degrees to those who are willing to “walk on fire” as did Max. He is honest in his narration of experiences that span a lifetime."
From my Author's Introduction
"If I had taken my younger self aside, as if we were in some “Back to the Future” movie, and told him what he would be going through in coming decades, I don’t think he would have believed me! The life that has unfolded has astounded me in its glorious heights as well as, sometimes, its dismal depths. Most remarkable of all, perhaps, has been learning that rebirth, redemption, and a fresh new page are always possible, even after the darkest night. It is these insights that have set my spirit and hand in motion to write the pieces collect.
Click here TO ORDER THE BOOK
To read three previous blogs accompanying the publication of this book. (Scroll down from this one, which will appear again there, to see them.)
