East African Tales that need to be told
 

Hi guys!

There I was, on a packed bus this morning going down Granville Street with tears flowing full force reading Jan's trip report from August! It started when I read the part about her offering to Soila to fly her daughter over here for throat tests, as she couldn't talk all of a sudden one day. And the tears (of joy!) certainly didn't dry when I read about the elephant stuck in the mud - I swear I have never come across a group with such wonderful caring people in it such as we have here in Afree-kah Fodorland.

And, it got me to thinking - these trip reports REALLY need to be made into a book. I believe this book would sell well - I'd love to have a collection of these reports in hard copy on my shelf bound in a nice cover with a map of Africa embossed on it. And, if it did sell, then we as a group could give all of the profits over to Africa - maybe a scholarship fund for up and coming kids that would benefit by higher education, or a medical fund to help kids like Soila get the medical attention they need, or something for the preservation of animals or rewarding people willing to jump rivers to pull out a stuck elephant! Anything like that.

Is anyone out there a publisher? <b> Anyone think it's a good idea? </b> Probably all that we would need (besides a publisher) is permission from anyone who would let us use their report - or has permission been given once it's on a public forum maybe?

Of course Sheri Meyer may not like us calling it African Tales, so a good name would have to be thought up too!

I think the idea of getting the trip reports published is a good idea, but there are other avenues in addition to a book. I just found out about a new online publication for travel stories called &quot;Travel Post Monthly&quot;. The idea is to publish travel stories there, then have other publishers pick up these stories (and photos) for publication elsewhere. It's at www.travelpostmonthly.com, but the website is still a work in progress. The writer's guideslines are at www.itwpa.com. I think that several of the trip reports I've read would be suitable for publishing and this might be a way to do it. Then, the person whose story was published could donate the proceeds and let us know.

I agree! It would be great to have the stories at hand. Would be nice to have them all in one place for years to come.
Good idea Lynda, with all your stationary supplies, don't you know a publisher?

could you tell me how to find jan's trip report? would love to read it. thanks

Maybe Fodor's would publish it!

Jan's latest report is here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34859414

I'm with you Shay Tay that Fodor's SHOULD publish it, but would they donate the profits I wonder?

Hi Lynda,
There are some good stories, indeed. Dennis's latest would surely be a best seller. Intrigue,comedy and lots of unfolding drama.=D&gt;
I wonder though, does Fodor's now own the rights?
Sherry

would we have to change the names of the camps or guides we didn't like? i'd hate for Beaven to be deported to Angola because of something I wrote...but at least he'd have some animals to point out.

Dennis,
Sending him to Angola may help his wildlife sighting career.

or.....
we could change all the names, places and sightings to protect the innocent. You could grow a beard and wear a big hat for the photo op - who would know :s

I'd say Tom Cruise could play your part but if I hear one more thing about him - I'll scream =-o

<i>The Collected Works: Amazing Stories from the Wilds of Afree-kah, told by the Fodorites of Africa

It really would make a great book - and we could each include our favorite photo!

<font color="green">Cyn<font color="green">
</font></font></i>

I'd omit &quot;told by the Fodorites of Africa.&quot; They're our tales.

My minds not working yet this morning, but recall a novel written some (lots of) years backs with a cute provocative name, each chapter written by a different individual.

I think, by golly, we have a best seller in the making - I love the name you thought up Cyn with the fix by Sandi! That is a great title!

Yes, my title on this thread is actually wrong - I have no idea why I said 'East Africa' but I did mean the whole of Africa! I should have said 'Safari tales that need to be told'.

On a public internet, I wouldn't think that Fodors owns the rights as Sherry ponders, but then you never know, that is something we would have to find out.

And yes, Dennis your latest would HAVE to be included - just as you wrote it, what a wonderful story you weave! You could always refer to the guide that wouldn't take you to Angolo to see the 'lion &amp; elephant migration' as just &quot;B&quot;! The camps that you didn't like though, well they would have to be named, even at the risk of the book not being read by Johan...

Oh yes, pictures, yes, pictures need to be included in every chapter!

Lynda, What a fantastic idea, it would be brilliant if people / animals could benefit from the reports and I for one would buy the book..... good to give a little back to a country that has already given me and others so much.

Imelda

Actually, I believe that Fodors do own the rights to publish anything shared here and indeed have dipped into the forums for quotes that have been used in their latest guide books this year.

I can't find a relevant passage in their subscriber agreement but I do recall a similar idea being discussed some years back on the Europe board and I have a feeling that the response was that Fodors do have a right to use the material posted.

What I can't remember is if authors retain copyright (but expressly give Fodors the right to publish the material by posting it here) or whether Fodors actually gain copyright, though I imagine it's the former.

I found this language in the subscriber agreement: &quot;Subscriber hereby grants the Online Service Provider the non-exclusive right without limitation to edit, copy, publish and distribute any material made available on the Online Services by Subscriber, including but not limited to any material posted by Subscriber on the Web site's bulletin boards and forums&quot;

I'm not sure about the legalese, but I suspect it means that Fodors has the right to use the reports however they want, BUT hopefully 'non-exclusive' might mean that we also retain our own rights?

non-exclusive does indeed mean that it's a shared right and we retain our rights to the information we write on the site.

Lynda, I think it's a fabulous idea! I'm in!

Sandi's got the right idea. In fact, I doubt Fodor's would want their name on it unless it was their project.

I think it's an interesting way to get some money to send back to Africa. To answer your question, Lynda, you would definitely need permission from people who posted. It would also need an editor.

Yes, you'd need an editor, and an up-front policy statement as well as a legal release form. So when you contact people you want to be able to clearly say: what is the CONCEPT of what you are trying to do; who will BENEFIT from what you are trying to do; and what RIGHTS you are requesting.

I think it's a great idea, and I hope you can pull it off!

An editor would have to be somewhat ruthless -- it seems that most of us on this board are fascinated by every detail, but to publish for a wider audience it would probably have to be trimmed down to the best excerpts. All except for Jenn's report, which is just too, too funny to cut, and needs the personality build-up!