As many of you know, I'm going to re-issue PARMA ENDORION as an ebook, updated with new content, and translated into several languages (provided the translators are able to complete their parts of the project). This ebook will be a free download when it's available.

But my book adventures won't be stopping there. I've also decided to self-published a collection of my Tolkien essays (somewhat revised for the most part) from Suite101 and other Web sites as a print-on-demand book through Xlibris. Xlibris is a printing service that facilitates self-publishing projects. They are not a vanity press in that they don't have a bogus submission process, they don't charge reading fees, and actually "distribute" the books. Random House owns a 25% stake in the company.

What Xlibris won't do is market the book. i.e, they'll list it in their bookstore, and they'll list it with several major online bookstores (although I've been told by someone whose mother used the service that they were slow to do this with her book), but they won't "talk it up", send out press releases, or do any of the marketing. It's up to the authors to do their own marketing.

Print-on-demand is a new technology that is emerging in the publishing world, and its potential for niche authors and corporate publishing is considerable. It's now economical to print 1 copy of a book.

So, this book I'm going to publish through Xlibris is called VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH. The process is supposed to take about 1 month, but I've been warned that Xlibris is snowed under and that I should be patient. It may take up to 3 months before the book is available.

People will be able to sell it on their Web sites through normal online bookstore affiliate/associate programs, and of course I'm hoping other Tolkien Webmasters will in fact pitch in and help promote the book this way. They'll make a few commissions, hopefully, and I'll get the exposure I need to move copies of the book. (That is not to say Xenite.Org doesn't get a lot of traffic, but I'll take all the help I can get.)

The book will be available in two formats: print trade paperback (that's an oversize paperback) and ebook. The ebook will cost less (and, in fact, I'll make more money off ebook sales) but I'm really hoping people will buy the print version.

If sales of this book go well, then I'll probably arrange to self-publish the long-promised, much discussed Tolkien history book which I haven't been able to find a publisher for (well, one small press was going to offer me a contract, but they ran out of money). I'll do this book next year, and it will be a bigger project than VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH.

I'm also in discussion with some people over other possible book projects, not all concerning Tolkien. I may end up beating Xlibris to death, but the service looks very promising. Of course, it's also possible I won't follow through on these other proposals (lack of time is the most likely reason to cause me to drop the projects).

So, my book schedule looks something like this:

PARMA ENDORION, free ebook (in English and several other languages)
October or November 2000

VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH, trade paperback and ebook (English only)
September or October 2000 (list prices are $15.00 and $10.00 respectively, I think)

Middle-earth history book (title to be determined)
Probably Summer or Fall 2001 (by November 2001)

Since I had already announced that PARMA ENDORION would be published for free, and that is because I cannot pay the translators, I have decided to stay on track with that project. It may be the only free ebook I publish. I may put some more together in the future. I don't know. I guess it comes down to how many copies are downloaded.

The current PARMA ENDORION Web site will be taken down when the ebook is published (there are typos and errors in the current essays anyway, which the ebook corrects).

So why did I choose to print essays already on the Web in VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH? Well, it was the quickest way to bring some of my research to print without investing a lot of time in writing a new book. Will the fact that earlier versions of these essays are available on the Web hurt sales of the book? I don't know. I hope not. I know I have trouble reading the Suite101 pages, as the font is so small, and I'm sure other people do, too. Maybe people have ways of getting around that, but I don't like getting around Web page design limitations.

On the other hand, since I'm including essays from other sources, and since the book should turn up in searches of Amazon.Com, Borders.Com, and BarnesandNoble.Com, I'm hoping that people who haven't read the essays on the Web will buy the book, thus expanding my readership.

Both the new PARMA ENDORION and VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH are intended to test the waters of self-publishing for me. I'm hoping to develop a market for the history book, which except for one or two small sections has never been published before. This is new material for everyone. So I'd like to reach the largest market possible. I'm told the traditional publishers won't touch the book because I lack the academic credentials they feel should go with it (I don't have a Ph.D. in history or literature). Well, if that's the case, then my only recourse is to find a small publisher or to publish the book myself.

The problems with finding a small publisher are that the search takes a long time and there are no guarantees they'll have the money to do the book (which requires, as currently planned, around 30 maps -- this is not a cheap project). And I believe there will be an avalanche of Tolkien-related books next year. Time is running out for finding a publisher. With a service like Xlibris (and I may have to use another service next year), I have a fighting chance. Most of the effort I'll have to put into the book will be marketing.

So, we'll see.

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