The Reading Desk » Literature

eBook is published!

T J Pontious — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:19:04 +0000

The eBook version of The Jefferson Bible for the 21st Century is now available on Smashwords in 10 different download formats!
There are minor formatting differences between this version and the eBook version on lulu.com – mostly related to the verse numbering system. It is also available on Scribd for a free preview read. Just click the Scribd icon in the left side. Or you can get a preview from the BookBuzzr window thingy.
So now, since my bout with the flu is over, I'm waiting for my allergies clear, and I'll be starting the audio book side of this venture back up again.

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Jefferson Bible, Literature

Lessons

T J Pontious — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:00:06 +0000

I've finally put the text editing of the eBook to rest, and the final first edition will be hitting the interwebs shortly, followed by the audio book as quickly as I can turn it around. I still chuckle at myself because I thought this would be a fairly quick and painless audiobook to make, just as soon as… well I was wrong, mkay?

I've learned that there are huge differences between publishing platforms.

eBooks: If you're going for formats other than PDF, stick with all text all the time.

* The more simple and streamlined text you can manage, the better the result will be.

* Stick with one font that is completely universal, and don't get fancy.

* Anything like a picture or photo book won't work in several eBook reader formats. Stick with text or PDF versions.

audiobooks: There is nothing standardized. Some audio books have everything edited into one huge MP3 file that is therefore hard to navigate and requires bookmarks (or not, if you're using eztolistento.com). Other publishers have everything discreetly in separate chapter files, but with the same nauseating introduction material, copyright notices, and whatever legal disclaimers all munged together on EVERY freaking chapter. This is what happens when you're doing marketing with lawyers.

There are some well intentioned audiobooks out there that use music and sound effects, but if the music doesn't match the story (fusion jazz in a medieval setting) and the sound effects are canned, you've lost me as a listener. I'd rather have just a well trained reader telling me the story without the distracting theatrics, thanks. This is why I think indie audiobook narrators can potentially do just as well as the major houses. The problems are:

* Finding content to read that isn't already covered by twelve audiobooks. That's why I'm going for the older public domain materials.

* It's difficult to monetize audiobooks when there are many outlets giving them away, but done by inexperienced or volunteer audiobook readers. It is always hard to compete with "free".

* I'm still exploring the idea of podcasting, so I can't comment on it just yet.

Paper publishing: This seems to be a dying breed, but I'm not expecting books to go away any time soon, and I would be sad if they did. This is the world of hidden legalities and piled-on fees. Something as innocent as an ISBN number can skew how you can handle your own work, or move it to another publisher. This is why I am insisting on my own ISBN number. If a publisher gives you a free ISBN number, you are NOT the publisher, and you are tied to that publisher and distribution system (perhaps exclusively) unless you do a major revision and take your marbles to play elsewhere.

There have been many bright spots along the way, but these shine brightest:

Smashwords.com. Those guys are trying very hard, and their automated system is trying to make the best document conversions possible from your source document into many online formats. Thanks to Mark and Bill! It's a unique solution that would cost a fortune to be done by hand by some other trained professional.

@TheCreativePenn. If you are getting started (or are established) as a writer, author, publisher, or just a fan of books you need her tweets on Twitter. She must have an army of elves (or maybe it's gnomes, I don't know) helping her find the links she forwards. Every one is a gem, and they just.keep.coming! Plus she podcasts and does very informative interviews. I think she may have secretly cloned herself.

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Jefferson Bible, Literature

The eBook has landed!

T J Pontious — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:20:47 +0000

Well, we're off to the races now. The Jefferson Bible for the 21st Century! has been released as an eBook on scribd.com. In the first 48 hours it has received over a hundred reads, so that's a pretty positive thing. I checked many other uploads at random and my results were far above the average (for whatever book results were returned in that query). And I've listed it for only $1.99 (cheap!)

I'm transitioning to audio book mode, with a few odd pieces left to do. I have a copy of the paperback proof, and need to do a couple more tweaks there before it goes to press. I'm second guessing which publisher I really want to go with though – with modifying decisions over ISBN, intellectual property rights, and the machine in the corner that goes "Bing!".

This means I'm tinkering with my spreadsheet(s) and there is no clear winner, exactly. And it's not like there's a handy set of the same apples to compare at each publisher. It's more like comparing apples, oranges, pomegranates, and lemon meringue pie.

So I'm sort of on schedule, just not completely so. Here it is at the end of May, and I thought I would have it a little more in-hand by now. On the other side of the equation, I may be returning to land of Cubicles soon, and that will put me into a different dynamic. I'm trying to get as much done before then as I can, but without rushing things.

So it's like I'm trying to have my pie and also eat it. Perhaps I had better go with the lemon meringue, then.

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Jefferson Bible, Literature

Publishing schedule

T J Pontious — Sun, 17 May 2009 22:23:26 +0000

The Jefferson Bible for the 21st Century is going to be published soon. I need to (patiently, somehow) wait for the arrival of my proof copy before all systems are 'go'. Then I can turn my attention to the audio book version, and get that rolling.

The text is edited, schmedited, pureed, processed, blended, and it is still in understandable English. I think it is a huge improvement, and I hope other folks agree as well.

I will be uploading the base book cover (minus the back cover text – still TBD). I also have a couple of review copies out and am hoping for some quotable quotes.

Oh, dang. Just remembered I need to reserve an ISBN number. Well, that should be easy.

So there we have it. Stay tuned!

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Jefferson Bible, Literature

Comparative Literature

T J Pontious — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:18:41 +0000

I've decided that since I'm getting close to the finish line on the text that it's probably okay for me to post a little comparison – to show what I've been up to. Below are some lines from the King James Version as quoted by Thomas Jefferson. It's a familiar story. This is from Chapter 4.

6 Now one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.

7 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster vial of ointment,

8 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

9 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

10 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

11 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the

other fifty.

12 And when they had nothing to pay, he graciously forgave them both. Which of them, therefore, will love him most?

13 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

14 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

15 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

16 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

And now my paraphrase of the same selection.

⁶ One of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered into the Pharisee’s house, and reclined at the table. ⁷ A sinful woman in the city knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, so she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. ⁸ She stood behind him at his feet, weeping. She began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, she kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfume. ⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what kind of woman this is who touches him, and that she is a sinner.”

¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” He said, “Teacher, say on.”

¹¹ “A lender had two debtors. The one owed five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. ¹² When they couldn’t pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?” ¹³ Simon answered, “He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most.” He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

¹⁴ Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. ¹⁵ You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. ¹⁶ You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume.”

Well, at least that's a small sample. It's fairly tedious. Should I call it a 'denarius' or call it 'a day's wages'? Is it okay to call it 'fiery punishment' in one place where the word is Gehenna, and call it 'Hell' in another? I guess I'll find out.

And now to find a book reviewer. Any contacts you guys might have would be really cool right about now!

Posted in Books, Classic Books, Jefferson Bible, Literature

The foreword: The Jefferson Bible for the 21st Century

T J Pontious — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:39:34 +0000

The project is moving forward incrementally to the finish line. I'm currently formatting the book into 6"x9" size for publication. I could also stand the services of an editor – please contact me if you're interested in the project. To hold your interest a bit longer, this is the current version of my foreword to the paper version.

- – -

Foreword to the 21st Century Edition

“When a person has completed 95% of his journey, he is only halfway there.”

- Japanese Proverb

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”

- Don Williams Jr

This project started off as a ‘quick’ audio book project in the spring of 2009, to make Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth more accessible to modern people put off by the antique English. My initial idea was that since it is only a few pages and also familiar subject matter, I should be able to knock out an audio book version of Thomas Jefferson’s pared-down version of the life of Jesus in a matter of a few hours.

I have a background in broadcasting, and I’m a writer by profession. The audio book should have been a simple thing to record, but I was completely frustrated. No matter how I approached the subject the original text by Jefferson just refused to roll off my tongue. After a couple of days I had a pitiful example of an audio book, and even with careful edits it sounded forced, unnatural and therefore uncomfortable to listen to. It was like William Shatner reading Shakespeare’s Sonnets – not what I wanted.

I decided that since I had difficulty wrapping my tongue around this nearly Shakespearean selection of scriptures, that I would put my tongue around a more comfortable version of the same scripture passages. If I could do a modern parallel of the same text and perform an audio book from a new manuscript, would that not be even better?

However, I discovered that for a project of this size, most modern translations of the Bible would be prohibitive based on copyright and fair use issues. This project is about twice as many verses (over 1000) as the fair use limit of the traditional scripture publishers would allow (commonly 500) without royalty arrangements. Since cost is an obvious factor I began a search to find a suitable translation, or one that I could paraphrase for this purpose.

I found the World English Bible (WEB) [http://ebible.org/]. This is a freely copy-able version of the Bible that is in turn based on the American Standard Version (ASV), which has fallen into the Public Domain.

Using the WEB, I pulled the same collection of verses together in the same order as Thomas Jefferson. While this was a large leap forward, I felt that it still did not completely cross the chasm of time as completely as other versions of scripture. It was an improvement on the original Jefferson version, but still lacked the last full measure of casual modern English. I found ample room for a streamlined sentence structure, reduced punctuation, and other enhancements that would make reading less of a tune-out for today’s Internet-driven readership.

I compared a few sample sections of the WEB to the New American Standard Bible (NASB – the Lockman Foundation), the New International Version (NIV – Zondervan) and the New Living Translation (NLT – Tyndale House Publishers). I was constantly intrigued in the similarities and the differences among these versions.

It was during this process that I felt driven to continue with a complete paraphrase of the WEB version of these verses to move toward a highly readable, easily understood, and completely unique approach.

This therefore is a paraphrased edition of the “Jefferson Bible”, based on the World English Bible, and should NOT be considered a ‘scholarly interpretation’ or a ‘translation’ of scripture. I have used a great deal of the same vocabulary as the WEB, but I changed the sentence structures around and removed some redundant phrases (that were probably necessary in Greek but not in today’s English). I also updated the general format. I kept the same chapter and verse organization but organized it into a paragraph structure that is easier to read.

There may be passages where this paraphrased text may be similar to other versions of scripture, but this is unintentional. There are after all, many versions of scripture that all come from the same source texts and similarities abound.

I am not a deist. I do not necessarily subscribe to all of Thomas Jefferson’s reasons for collecting these scriptures together for us. But I do understand Jefferson’s aversion to trusting the early church fathers, and he felt that much of the material he was leaving out was simply added by the early church or edited in by the four evangelists for emphasis. (For more historical perspective read the postscripts.)

I do applaud his result however – a very streamlined version of the life of Jesus that is separated from the distractions of the controversies (miracles, questions of divinity, angels and so on). The result is a presentation of a streamlined collection of the sermons of Jesus, his parables and his teachings. I feel that while this is not the entire gospel, it is a starting place for many who are curious about the teachings of Jesus, but feel highly skeptical of things like angels and miracles. I’m inclined to let normal human curiosity move the reader toward other translations or a full version of the New Testament from here.

I hope that this small book can be used to kindle more interest in the life of Jesus. To that end I am releasing this book and all related materials (PDF files and audio books) under the Creative Commons license for either commercial or noncommercial use.

Timothy Pontious

Indianapolis

May 2009

info@thereadingdesk.com

http://www.thereadingdesk.com

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Jefferson Bible, Literature

Home stretch?

T J Pontious — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:58:00 +0000

I'm paraphrasing the last few chapters of "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (The Jefferson Bible for the 21st Century)". I will be seeking an editor very soon, and I hope to have it ready to go by Mid May.

It's taking longer than I had originally anticipated, both because I go cross-eyed with too many commas and semi colons, and also because I am validating my paraphrase (from the WEB version of the Bible) against three other translations just to make sure I'm not making any left turns in the intention of the original passage.

I'm such a geek that I would probably be parsing ancient Greek if I had ever taken that up as a language option. I think at this point that I am glad that I did not.

I'm also thinking forward to marketing. It should be fun in the main, but I can't say that I'm looking forward to the whole marketing angle.

Ready for a sample? Here are the first eleven verses from Chapter 8 from the original text:

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman caught committing adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was caught committing adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, to test him, that they might have cause to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, began going out one by one, beginning at the eldest: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, he said unto her, Woman, whither are they gone? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Here is the same passage from my updated version:

¹Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Very early one morning he went back to the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down, and taught them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman arrested while in the act of adultery. They stood her in the middle, ⁴ and they told him, “Teacher, we found this woman committing adultery. ⁵ Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such violators. What do you say about her?” ⁶ They said this to test him, so that they might have something to make an accusation against him. But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger. ⁷ But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said, “If any of you are without sin, let him throw the first stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.

⁹ When they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, they left one by one beginning from the oldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle. ¹⁰ Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”

More soon!

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Jefferson Bible, Literature

Nantucket still awaits Ishmael…

T J Pontious — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:02:12 +0000

It was going to be such a simple project. Really! Just read this old book edited together by Thomas Jefferson, and then move back to Moby Dick. It should have taken me a day or two.

But somewhere along the way I got sidetracked into re-creating the wheel. I'm doing a paraphrased edition of the Jefferson Bible, based on the World English Bible. The translation is okay to deal with (for a free version of scripture) but there's always room for improvement. Since I can't use the version(s) I'd like to use due to copyright and fair use issues, I'm doing a paraphrase of most of the sermons, parables, and miscellaneous teachings of Jesus – with some parameters. As a writer it is easy to get carried away with the revision. As an editor it is fun to nuke semi colons. As a reader, I hope it makes the words of Jesus more accessible.

With all of the discussion revolving around torture and Guantanamo Bay this week, it's a little harder for me to concentrate, and I've been a little bit distracted. All right, a lot distracted.

At any rate, I'm in Chapter 5 (of 17) and plan to have the text done by the end of this week. Then it will be off to the races to get the audio books and other files ready for publishing at lulu.com.

So please bear with me. Ahab is coming – he's just a bit gimpy due to the weather. Or something.

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Literature

The first import is done

T J Pontious — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:30:56 +0000

The first draft of the update to the Jefferson Bible is sorta done. I have it routed to a couple of friends for feedback.

I'm actually considering doing a paraphrase of the scriptural text so that it is even more readable, but I've not decided anything completely just yet. It shouldn't really take me that long to do since it is not like I'm going back to the source Greek / Hebrew / Aramaic and trying to figure out the happy little squigglies.

As soon as the text gets completed, it shouldn't take me too long to get it whipped into shape. I'm currently planning four editions of the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth – a paperback, a PDF download, an audio CD and an audio book download. That ought to cover the bases. I think I'll leave the PDF and audio book downloads at a very affordable price to try to ensure that they get distributed.

I'll work toward updating this blog a little more frequently. I've been setting up another line of business, and it takes away from my productivity!

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Literature

Jefferson wins over Melville for the moment.

T J Pontious — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:48:00 +0000

I know I've been back and forth about this already. But I'm doing something completely different from where I started.

The Jefferson Bible was originally an audio book project. As you can read in previous posts, it's challenging to read for an audio book! So, I've decided that it still merits an update into something resembling 21st century english. I found a version of scripture that is copyright free and reads well enough, though it is not my preferred translation. I'm doing a direct parallel from the texts Jefferson used in the new version, and it is much easier to read.

This means I'm doing the book (probably in a 4×6" format paperback) a downloadable PDF, an audio book on CD and an audio book download. Four versions! It's official – I'm nuts or something.

Modern theologians poo-pooh Jefferson and his deism ideals. But if you look at is as just the life and words of Jesus without the controversial parts of it, it still is an interesting read. This would be the book to give a person who was curious about Jesus but not really interested in the "God" stuff.

Jefferson gave his thoughts pretty eloquently himself so I'm not going to try to defend it.

I just hate to see interesting literature on the shelf because it loses its inherent communication ability because it's just plain old! For that matter, I'm still pissed at Cortez that we don't have more information on the Aztec and Mayan cultures. Whatever idiots burn books need to burn themselves.

Posted in Audio Books, Books, Classic Books, Literature