Archaeology and CRM gear store : Collective Knowledge Press

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Folks,  



Format guidelines

Unless you are planning on having your work bound with wire o-ring please format your pages with .5" margins.

Books can be published in the following sizes

Binding types available: Wire-O, Saddle Stitch, & Perfect Binding (Coming Soon)

4.18 x 6.88 (Grocery Store Paperback) Wire-O and Perfect Binding only 5 x 8 Standard Paperback 6.625 x 10.25 Comic Book Size 7.5 x 9.25 Technical Manual 8.5 x 11 Letter Size

You must format your document to the size you want (i.e. I can not make an 8.5"x11" format fit in a 4.18x6.88" format). The guideline for a clean publication is after you have converted it to Adobe Acrobats PDF, do a test print, and if it looks sharp, the book will be sharp.

Why am I using Adobe PDF? PDF functions as a useful standard for distributing works and you being sure that the end product looks like what you expected. If is looks right on the PDF you create, it will look right in your book.

Where did CKP come from and why?

In the last four years of running Shovelbums.org, with a current membership of over 8,000 active subscribers, I have worked hard to earn your trust as being a provider of high quality professional information.  I am now hoping to build upon our relationship and offer to you a new, and what I feel will become invaluable, resource for us all, Collective Knowledge Press.  

I am positioning Collective Knowledge Press to be an international publication house serving Archaeology, CRM, Anthropology, Environmental Sciences, GIS, Geography, Geology, etc...  I am looking to publish not only full length manuscripts, but also what has often been called "gray literature", but which someone on Acra-L more aptly coined "professional literature".  This literature includes University field reports, CRM reports (if a firm can get copyright permission) unpublished original papers, personal bibliographies, original texts, digital archives (see below), etc...  Sadly much of this literature just gets squandered away in some lone file cabinet only to be tossed years later.  Admittedly some of these works are not polished gems by any stretch, the point is that these works often represent the only information available on some sites or a branch of research an individual is pursuing.  And as anyone doing background research can tell, some literature is better than no literature, and if nothing else a document might point you towards a previously unknown resource.   Hence the reason I named this publishing house "collective knowledge".  We are all in the world of research together, and it is only by sharing and disseminating knowledge that we can grow.  To paraphrase the old quote "If it's not published, it's not science".

Collective Knowledge Press will also serve as a great springboard for upcoming researchers to be able to get their early works out and being read.  Or if you just have a pet project you have been hammering away at for years and finally want it to see the light of day but don't want to wait for the 2-3 year lag time you might see from a journal (or heck get a version out and be getting feedback on it).  Other options for works you can submit could be personal bibliographies.  Now while some people hover over their 'bibs like they are the ark of the covenant, others believe as I do in that knowledge should be out there.  And if you are extremely forthcoming we can even publish your bibliography on CD.  Another use would be to create that special interest professional journal you always wanted to get started but never knew how to get it distributed (If someone would print this out and slide it under T.C's door in El Paso as a reminder, I would appreciate it ;-).  Professors can have advanced students pull together a volume using research papers so that they become familiar with the publishing and organizing process, and have an end product they can show peers and family.   And of course if you are working on the greatest breakthrough paper or book of all time...well have at it.  You are imaginative people, I think you can see the possibilities are far reaching.  Best of all, Collective Knowledge Press can print a document in any language (see below) as long as it has an english abstract for the listings page.

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So Joe, what are the advantages of Collective Knowledge Press?  

- Collective Knowledge Press does not require exclusive copyrights to your work.  That means that you retain ownership of the materials, you are only granting Collective Knowledge Press the rights to print and distribute your material.  This will copyright limitation will facilitate the "reprinting" of works submitted to clients who are the copyright owners.

- Because of you there is no resource in the world with a broader and more penetrating reach than Shovelbums.org.  You will have the ability to showcase your works to a vast audience.

- Collective Knowledge Press guarantees that your work will be available as long as it does not advocate illegal activities including the trade and pricing of artifacts.

- Works of fiction are also acceptable - speaking of archaeology fiction I haven't seen Joe Pachinko since he wandered away down a poorly lit street in New Orleans many Mardi Gras ago - I had heard not long after that he went west and wrote and self published a novel called "Swamp!".  If anyone is in contact with him please forward this to him to see if he wants to reprint it" - These books are printed "on demand" so your works is never out of stock.

- You will receive %15 royalty on the sale of each of your works (excluding works purchased at cost by you) - this is above the industry standard rates of 8-12%. Payments for multi-author works and non-public works will be clarified in your contract.

- You can purchase your own works at significantly reduced rates.

- Collective knowledge is a great way to get out early versions of monographs you are working on to get feedback from your peers.  These works can clearly be labeled as "draft" on the cover.

- The turn around time from submission to completion is great.  Unlike traditional publication houses your works can be up on line and ready for purchase by your peers in only weeks.

- Any language is accepted, as long as an english abstract is provided with the work, and as long as the work can be printed in PDF.

- It works as a great pick up line in the bar "hey baby wanna see my book?"

- Works can also be distributed on Cd-rom as a cost, and linear bookshelf space, savings measure.  Cd's can be for sale as the only version of your book, or as an alternative to the actual book.  You also can control whether these Cd's can be printing disabled.  And with a Cd you can do a "collected works of...."

- Works can be bound either wire-o (perfect for manuals), or saddle stitch (comic book style).  Perfect bound (traditional binding) will be available soon.  Hardcover is not an option at this time.

- Works are available in paper back size 5"x8" up to 8.5"x11"

- Works of up to 500 pages are acceptable.  If longer you will have to split it into volumes.

- Private URL's are available so that information you only want to share with a limited audience can find and purchase the item.

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And are the disadvantages to Collective Knowledge Press?

- no no , of course not!...oh wait, maybe there are a few things....

- I can currently only offer works in B&W.

- I use a 3rd party for printing, binding and shipping.  Therefore issues can arise that are beyond my control (i.e. server problems, etc)...the advantage is that there is a 30 day money back policy.

- You have to provide the manuscript in a PDF format suitable for printing (details for specific formatting requests will be available soon at Shovelbums.org).

- Because of the size of these works I am currently only able to accept submission on Cd-rom.  Even in this digital age some of us live to far from a DSL hub or digital cable lines to receive large files.

- A $25 annual processing fee is required for each work BUT this does not come out of your pocket.   This fee is deducted against your royalties, so this is actually not *to* bad of a thing as it means there is no money needed from you at all. I.e. if your work does not generate $25 in royalties, your have not lost anything and you do not make up the difference...that is just a loss for Collective Knowledge.  If you work generate $500 in royalties, you receive $475.  This also serves to facilitate my accounting so that I do not end up sending out a series of $3 checks.  I am trying to make this as easy as possible for you, and I felt that it would be unfair to require money out of your pocket.  

- You, or who you represent, must be the copyright holder of submitted documents and have the authority to submit them.

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In conclusion

If you could please forward this link

http://www.thecowboysofscience.com/shovelbums/collective_knowledge/collective_knowledge_intro.html

on to interested parties or relevant mailing lists I would appreciate your help in spreading the word.  The potential for all of us from this service  is immense, and I look forward to the wide diversity of papers that can presented!

If you are interested, have questions or comments, or would like to submit you abstract for review (under 300 words) please e-mail me at:

CKP@thecowboysofscience.com

or write me at

R. Joe Brandon
PMB 121
1215 Polaris Parkway
Columbus, Oh 43240

I will be putting up a web page soon with more detailed information about document requirements, etc...  That page will be here

Best,

R. Joe
Founder - Shovelbums.org