Sunday, May 22, 2011

Commentary | An Author Publishing Nightmare

I look at my weekly calendar and I see Tuesday May 24 marked as “book signing”.
The place is the “BE Together”conference in Philadelphia, organized by Bentley Systems.
The book is “Form, Geometry, Structure | from Nature to Design” and the publisher is Bentley Institute Press.

But there will be no book signing, since there is no printed book. A few numbers —an excerpt from hundreds of related communications— to summarize the agony of the book author:
  • A completed manuscript with images was submitted on May 10, 2010.
  • According to an email dated June 2 2010 the book “should go to print no later than August”
  • In a September 2010 conversation the book publication has been postponed to the October 2010 Acadia conference.
  • In an email dated January 6, the book publication is announced for the Smart Geometry conference (March 2011).
  • In an email dated March 25 I am invited to do a book signing on May 24, at the opening reception of the BE Together Conference.
  • In an email dated April 5, after noticing once again lack of progress in production, I inquiry about a firm publication date. The same day I receive a reply “We will have the book finished for the author signing in May.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BOOK PUBLICATION?

Any insight to solve the mystery of this book not being published would be greatly appreciated.