About Loose Cannon
Enjoying a Singapore Sling in Raffles Long Bar
My name’s Bob Barclay. I am a jack-of-all-trades, one of which is Loose Cannon Press. I started LCP a decade or so ago after receiving enough rejection letters for my first novel to make me realize that getting fiction published isn’t easy. Over a career of more than 30 years I have written several technical books and numerous peer-reviewed papers, published symposium proceedings, and contributed chapters to encyclopedias and handbooks. But when it came to fiction, I was back at square one. Hence Loose Cannon Press. Having created my brand and published my first minimum opus, friends and colleagues asked me if I would publish theirs. Some 50 books later I have decided to scale things down a bit.
Now I publish mostly my family’s work: the Singapore connection (above) will be featured in my wife Janet’s upcoming book, her third about our travels. I am also open to helping our elder citizens to record their memoirs, memories and biographies. Amadou Hampate Ba of Mali famously said: ‘When an old person dies, a library burns.’ Perhaps I can be the sprinkler system?
I believe that every one of us has a story to tell, but I also understand that the gulf between the words in the mind and the finished book is often daunting. That’s why LCP offers advice in all aspects of the preparation of the printed word, from manuscript to finished book.
Self-publishing is an excellent way to get your story out. In fact, it's sometimes a bit too easy. That's why I’m a stickler for quality control; my aim is to help in a small way to raise standards.
Check the Services and Advisory sections below for details.
Services
LCP can offer advice or recommendations on the following:
Editing and review
Format and presentation
Preparation of graphics
Cover design
Creation of books
Choice of printers
We are no longer a commercial organization,
but advice and consultation are always free of charge.
Contact us using the button on the footer.
Advisory
Style Guide
Trade publishers and agents are overwhelmed with manuscripts, and they can afford to be extremely selective. If you are thinking of approaching an agent or a publisher with your manuscript, your work should be as clean as you can possibly make it. Check with the agent or publisher about their particular requirements. The Style Guide attached here might help with the basics of punctuation, presentation and usage.
A Needful Caveat
In my office there is a Shelf of Shame. It contains books that should never have been printed. These works provide ample testimony to the fact that is very easy to produce a book without the need for any quality control. The people who produced these books put all sorts of energy, love and commitment into them, and it's really no fun assigning their work to the shelf. Please, read the attached essay and see if it helps you to give your work the value it deserves.