Duke Southard

Author, Educator, Lecturer

Publish or perish?

DukeSouthardWebProfileOne of my regular readers takes me to task for dragging my feet on publishing what I have written on the Stacey Burns murder book.  Her argument is sound. I asked for opinions and received many differing ones, as I expected.  She and others suggested that publication of what I’ve done so far would force the hand of the police to more actively pursue this case and perhaps would force the killer to make a mistake. I’d love to think that anything I’ve written would have such power.

Agents and publishers told me several years ago that they would not handle a book such as Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns if the case did not have a conclusion. Therefore, I would have to finance publication, including not just the publishing costs but legal protection costs as well. The book as it stands is missing key elements, as I’ve mentioned before. Minimal police information, no family participation, no ex-husband input, only what most would consider hearsay information on Stacey’s personal life after filing for divorce, no official involvement of authorities–the list could go on and on but you get the picture.

Would a “true crime” book of this nature engender credibility or would the average person question its validity? I know readers would be interested in what I have to say thus far. Those same readers would demand more and rightfully so. They would be demanding information which I do not have and can not get until certain other people decide to share that information.

This is why I am “dragging my feet” at this point.  If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because there is really nothing new here.

Duke

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I'm Duke Southard, author, educator, and lecturer.

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