Flight 19 book Gian J. Quasar

I have a bit of a fetish. I love book design! Before I ever submit a manuscript, I edit it and edit it in book form. I adjust my Word document to the right 6 x 9 page width. I insert my own illustrations and pictures at the appropriate place and I read and re-read it. Months and months can go by before I’m happy with the feel of it. This really helps me to visualize the final product and see if it works and looks right.

Words on their own are not as powerful

as when they are around illustrations and pictures. We eat with our eyes first, as every great chef has said. I like a book to be pleasing and its design to help frame the weight of the content about it. I truly believe in the artistry of book presentation.

And, truth be know, I’m often disappointed by the corporate product. Often books seem anemic, typeface poorly chosen-- a dainty typeface just doesn’t go with a journalistic topic. Book covers can be very artistic, but often they too are formula, and yet they say or should say so much about the inside.

I stumbled across some printers that allow an author to produce their own quality, corporate level hardback (or softcover) in limited edition or POD. I must say it is really gratifying to be in complete control of the final product and speak to my audience without compromise. This is truly becoming a habit forming thing with me. No matter what happens. Come hell or high water each and every book of mine will be preceded by a self or privately published hardcover edition. Each will reflect my oversight of its design and layout, even down to the type of typeface used.

If and when some of these go through the corporate publishing process, this early, author’s edition, will then be pulled. Whether they become collectibles items, I don’t know. That’s for the world of book collectors and all things minutiae.

My first offering is They Flew Into Oblivion. Very shortly I will release the hardcover author’s edition. This will not last long. By September, the general release paperback will be available on amazon, et al. Please come back frequently until the links are up.

They Flew Into Oblivion has been on a long road to public consumption. It was first offered on back in 2005 by no less than Simon & Schuster, but the deal fell through when it was realized that the manuscript was not a TV tie in. Later, Pelican offered on it, and the Senior Editor at Citadel Press also tried to acquire it. It’s been 7 years since I started writing the manuscript on December 5, 2003. I should have put out my own edition a long time ago. But the technology simply wasn’t there for the quality I require. My MS has inspired theories, documentaries, even a Resolution in Congress. It’s time the true story of Flight 19 is told.