FW: manuscript

[ajsloot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

For those interested, this is not the whole message. There was also included a excerpt of "WELCOME TO BURMA (and we hope you have a totalitarian experience)" including a story on Pa Pa Lay.
Ww, anja

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Van:	r.u.Edeh [SMTP:r_u_edeh@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Aan:	ajsloot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx; 

Dear Sir / Madam

I am writing to you / your organization in order to seek any advice / 
assistance that you may be able to give me with regard to the publishing of 
a manuscript that I have recently finished writing about Burma.

The manuscript was written whilst in Burma and then edited over the last 
year. It is intended primarily for students and travellers both of which are 
large and influential groups of people. In addition to this, travellers are 
a particularly important group to target because of the NLD's stance 
regarding travel into Burma. Unfortunately the travelling / back packing 
fraternity, even within Burma, is largely ignorant of the situation in 
Burma.

I would like to believe that the manuscript "Welcome to Burma (And We Hope 
that you have a Totalitairian Experience)" can go some way towards remedying 
this state of ignorance. It has been drafted so as to inform them people the 
socio / political climate in Burma without coming across as a 'dry' text on 
the subject.

I am currently looking at two scenarios with regard to the manuscript. The 
first is commercial publication. I have not published before and this seems 
to be a difficult area to break into as a first time author. The facts that 
(1) I believe the manuscript has an important role to play with regards to 
the situation in Burma and (2) I know that there are no other books about 
Burma written in a similar style to "Welcome to Burma" are unfortunately 
immaterial considerations. As such should anyone be able to point me in the 
right direction with regard to publishers / individuals at publishing houses 
this would be most appreciated.

A second scenario is this - in order to have the greatest possible effect 
upon the desired readership, particularly backpackers who may or may not be 
contemplating travel to Burma, I would like to see the following plan come 
to fruition :

Backpackers read books and when they have finished them they often leave 
them on the bookshelves of guest houses in which they are staying. These 
shelves are set up for this purpose. The backpacker  then takes any likely 
looking book from the shelves and proceeds to read this, again when 
finishing leaving it on a shelf in a guest house. And so books travel from 
country to country through the hands of a multitude of travellers.

Because of this trend, I believe that by publishing a number of copies of 
the manuscript in Bangkok and then by placing them on the bookshelves of 
guest houses throughout Thailand, the book would very quickly find its way 
into the hands of precisely the people upon whom it can have the most 
significant impact. Although I do not know the costs of publication in 
Thailand, it would seem to me that this project would be likely to costs 
less than $A 5,000.

Again, if you have any ideas as to how this project may be brought to 
fruition, your input/ advice / assistance would be most appreciated. I 
myself cannot afford self publication - a large part of my work now is with 
the Burmese community and this is done on a voluntary or self funded basis.

I have attached at the end of this letter a section of the manuscript for 
your reading. It is quite a 'normal' section although the manuscript overall 
has been described as eclectic and eccentric but in the most complimentary 
of ways.

I hope you can be of assistance and please do not hesitate to contact me 
regarding any queries.

Yours sincerely
R.U.


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