NICHE
Writing about Diversity through Books
Writing books about diversity, on such topics as heritage holidays and diverse cultures, ensures that there are many angles from which to look at diversity and reasons for self-publishing. A book about diverse holidays shares many observations, views, and experiences that enrich the personal perspective. There is an open market today related to reading and writing to explore heritage diversity. For example, African Americans spend about $365 million a year on books by and about themselves. Hispanics need more written books, as 65 percent of children’s literature is written in English and only 35 percent is written in Spanish. There are languages other than English in which little or nothing is published in the American book marketplace, such as French, Italian, Yiddish, Russian, Polish, Armenian, Vietnamese, and Native American and African languages (White and Cox 2004).
The need to write in the children’s diversity market is great, and it is fed by the continuous growth of immigrant populations and multicultural immersion in the United States. I wanted to enter this immersion market because of my interest in celebrating cultural holidays.
I had several reasons for entering the diversity writing market, none of which dealt with being competitive. Conveying my opinion and perspective about celebrating Kwanzaa to the reading community seemed important and was influenced by my workshops on celebrating Kwanzaa at home. Kwanzaa is an African American cultural holiday celebrated for seven days, from December 26 to January 1 of each year. More than 12 million people celebrate Kwanzaa. With the original concept of celebrating Kwanzaa, from the founder Maulana Karenga, came family versions and public events to celebrate the cultural holiday. As I shared my family’s additions to the holiday, I felt that Kwanzaa was a necessary medium for sharing cultural writings with the reading community. In the process of writing about this celebration, I discovered a niche; I explored a reading audience and went from royalty publishing to self-publishing and then to subsidized publishing.
My first book, Celebrating the Family: Steps to Planning Family Reunions (1991), derived from my workshops on reunion planning at genealogical conferences. It was a workbook to assist planners in organizing family reunions from any cultural perspective, but it encouraged determining holidays and special traditions that might inspire a reunion. I had a contract with a publishing company for the book, a simple contract in which I received a percentage from the sales, or royalty. In our contract, the publisher filed and held the copyright for an agreed-on number of years. After that period, the publisher submitted a letter returning all copyright pledges back to me. Of course, as the author, I was given the rights to reproduce and copy the book at anytime. It worked out smoothly. At the same time, I also was presenting workshops related to Kwanzaa, and I decided to self-publish a quick, handy guide for my workshop, Celebrating Kwanzaa at Home (1998). The booklet sold for $2 to $3 and made enough to cover the cost of its production. I developed the booklet by assembling my own design and format and using an office services company to duplicate copies.
Because the booklet sold so well, I discovered that I had tapped into an audience that enjoyed imaginative and basic ways to reflect on Kwanzaa at home. This was an audience that attended my workshops and used libraries as a source of information. I had uncovered a cultural reading and writing niche. A niche in the publishing market refers to writing on a specific subject or genre.
As I continued to do the workshops on celebrating Kwanzaa at home, I included an activity for gift giving that made Kwanzaa a lot of fun. This led to the subsidiary publication of my book What Is a Zawadi to We? A Poetic Story Celebrating Kwanzaa and Gift Giving. Zawadi is a Swahili word for “gift.” The book, with colorful paper-craft illustrations, is one that you read aloud while passing around gifts to guests. It’s designed for Kwanzaa, but it can be used at any gift-giving event. I developed an author-subsidy arrangement with a colleague who had opened her own publishing house. A subsidy publisher may not be for everyone. You have to provide much or all of the financial cost yourself, so you become the sole copyright owner, but a subsidy publisher may provide distribution, advertisement, and contacts with other market promotions. Subsidy publishing, sometimes called cooperative publishing, can work well in the cultural writing market. The subsidy publisher created a contract description, the format—the size, number of pages, number of photos or illustrations—and the cost for publishing and a suggested price in order to make a profit from the book’s sales. A selection of bookstores and book jobbers were also included in the agreement. My subsidy publisher operated on a time line and assisted in designing the layout, proofreading, and providing galleys and finally the finished product. Financial expense is paid directly to the subsidy publisher, usually in three to four installments, following each completion of the book’s printing activity. Of course, that may vary among publishers.
As Americans continue to be more inclusive in their diversity, there will be a need to write about diversity and how the mainstream absorbs culture. Writing and publishing books about different people, traditions, and holidays can strengthen libraries’ ability to serve the cultural community and our nation of learners.
Brown, Vandella. 1991. Celebrating the Family: Steps to Planning Family Reunions. N.p.: Ancestry.com.
———. 1998. Celebrating Kwanzaa at Home. N.p.: Vandella Brown.
———. 2007. What Is a Zawadi to We? A Poetic Story Celebrating Kwanzaa and Gift Giving. Park Forest, IL: Lumen-Us Publications.
White, Maureen, and Ruth Cox. 2004. “A Longitudinal Study of Recommended Translated Children’s Books Published in the United States between 1990 and 2000.” Teacher Librarian 31 (4): 25–29. www.teacherlibrarian.com/tlmag/v_31/v_31_4_feature.html.
If ever there was a genre invented solely for the pleasure of librarians, it would be the mystery. Mysteries have much in common with librarianship, such as fact gathering, detail orientation, and puzzle solving. So, it’s no wonder that the ranks of successful mystery writers include several librarians: Miriam Grace Monfredo, Dean James, and Marcia Talley, to name a few. If you’d like to join that list, writing your mystery may be the easy part. It’s getting published that’s tricky. Publishers prefer a sure thing, like Janet Evanovich’s next mega–best seller. But even novice writers with good stories can find outlets for their work.
Although there’s no magic formula for selling your novel, the noted editor Ruth Cavin, in Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America, identifies three critical elements of a good mystery: believable characters, a realistic and interesting atmosphere, and writing that is smooth and accurate.
Cavin says, “The most important element of the mystery novel, to my mind, is character.” Avoid cardboard stereotypes. Your characters should be complex, interesting individuals with dreams, fears, and foibles. Settings should have widespread appeal and be recognizable to readers. However, editors don’t want a rehash of the same old territory. In 2003, C. J. Sansom entered the crowded field of Renaissance-era mysteries with his book Dissolution. But Sansom’s protagonist, the hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake, was a completely original and compelling character.
But even fascinating characters and colorful settings can’t make up for poor writing. Like any other craft, writing improves with practice. Establish a routine and write regularly. Also, consider taking writing classes or workshops to gain valuable insight and criticism.
Jeri Westerson calls herself the poster child for perseverance. After writing a dozen novels in as many years, she finally sold Veil of Lies to St. Martin’s Press in 2008. It was actually the second mystery she’d penned featuring the disgraced medieval knight Crispin Guest. But as Westerson learned through her writers’ group, Sisters in Crime, many authors of series don’t sell their first title. The difference between published and unpublished authors is often the determination to keep writing despite initial rejection.
Once you’ve written your mystery, it’s time to submit it to an editor. Kathy Lynn Emerson, in How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries, recommends that you first send a one-page query letter, not e-mail, to a specific editor at a publishing house. (Use the resource guide at the end of this article to locate addresses.) Simply inquire whether the editor would be interested in reading your work. Include a mini-synopsis and author biography.
If an editor asks to read your manuscript, Emerson advises submitting a hard copy on white paper, double-spaced with at least one-inch margins all around, in an easy-to-read black font of at least ten-point size. Submit your story to only one editor at a time, as publishers frown on multiple submissions. And if at first you don’t succeed—well, you know.
Writing short mystery stories is a good way to break into publishing, and it may serve as a springboard to novel writing. Several popular series detectives began their literary lives in short stories. Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma and Mary Reed and Eric Mayer’s Byzantine sleuth John, Lord Chamberlain, were introduced in story anthologies. I. J. Parker’s Japanese detective Akitada first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.
Online e-zines can get you noticed, too. Kelli Stanley sold her first mystery novel, Nox Dormienda, to Five Star Press. Then, while awaiting its publication, she wrote a mystery short for the e-zine Hardluck Stories featuring the same sleuth, the Roman-British physician Arcturus. Stanley gained valuable prepublication buzz for Nox when her short story “Convivium” earned a 2007 Spinetingler Awards nomination.
Although e-zines are considered less prestigious, rarely pay, and disappear with regularity, they still expose novice authors to a wide audience. E-zines are often free, and the response time from their editors is typically shorter. While Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and other print magazines can take up to three months to respond to submissions, a story I submitted to the e-zine Orchard Press Mysteries was accepted in a week.
Amazon.com’s digital Shorts and its e-book reader Kindle are raising the bar in electronic publishing, but Amazon currently accepts only published authors. However, print-on-demand (POD) services like Blurb.com and Lulu.com put digital publishing within reach of even new authors. Unfortunately, bookstores and book reviewers are, as yet, not generally interested in POD works. That might change as successful mystery writers like Simon Levack and Clayton Emery take full advantage of the digital revolution. Both authors published their latest novels in digital formats.
Whether you are submitting your story for print or electronic publishing, follow submission guidelines carefully. They’re typically available on the publisher’s website.
Both Stanley and Westerson recommend that new authors join professional writers’ groups for advice and support. Westerson says Sisters in Crime “prepared me for a whole new outlook on marketing and provided me with a fantastic critique group.” Stanley joined CrimeThruTime, an online discussion group for historical mystery buffs, only after navigating the publishing maze on her own. “Not a strategy I recommend!” she warns.
Mystery conferences and conventions, such as Malice Domestic and Bouchercon, are also good places to network. Conventions allow authors to rub shoulders with booksellers, editors, literary agents, and fans. Check convention websites for more information.
BOOKS ON WRITING AND SELLING MYSTERIES
Emerson, Kathy Lynn. 2008. How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries. McKinleyville, CA: Perseverance Press.
Ephron, Hallie. 2005. Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: How to Knock ‘Em Dead with Style. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books.
Grafton, Sue, ed. 2002. Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America, 2nd ed. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books.
Hayden, G. Miki. 2001. Writing the Mystery: A Start-to-Finish Guide for Both Novice and Professional. Philadelphia: Intrigue Press.
FINDING MYSTERY PUBLISHERS
“Crime Fiction Publishers,” www.overbooked.org/genres/mystery/links/mystpub.html
Literary Market Place. Medford, NJ: Information Today, annual.
“Mystery Book Publishers,” http://publishers.omnimystery.com/index.html
Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, annual.
Writer’s Market. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, annual.
SHORT STORY MARKETS
Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Accepts unsolicited manuscripts up to twelve thousand words; paying.
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Accepts unsolicited manuscripts, 2,500–8,000 words; First Stories department for new authors; paying.
Short Mystery Fiction Society. Lists print and online, paying and nonpaying markets for short mysteries.
WRITERS’ GROUPS AND CONVENTIONS
Bouchercon World Mystery Convention
Malice Domestic Convention
Mystery Writers of America
Sisters in Crime
Yahoo! Groups lists more than 350 groups under “mystery writers,” including CrimeThruTime, DorothyL, Historical Mystery Fiction Writers, and Shortmystery.
Librarians, especially those working at reference desks or selecting books, have professional job duties that require them to learn about a variety of subjects. For them, writing reference book entries is a natural extension of their daily work. Authoring articles on topics such as women who served in the American Civil War, Eleanor Roosevelt, lyric poetry, and persons from the Middle Ages has been interesting and rewarding for me professionally. Writing short reference articles does not necessarily require prior expertise in the subject, as long as one has an interest in the topic and the ability to learn about it, qualities usually found in librarians. In addition, reference books offer opportunities for librarians seeking topics more closely related to librarianship. Books in disciplines including business, computer science, popular culture, history, literature, and others include articles pertaining to librarianship. For example, a psychology reference book might include an article on bibliotherapy, while a reference book on emergency management might contain an article on disaster planning for libraries. Reference books covering almost any topic have the potential to include a library-related article.
Reference book entries, editors, and scope vary widely. Some articles, like academic journal articles, are peer-reviewed and intended for a scholarly audience, requiring authors to have a background in the area. Others are intended for K–12 readers or a general audience and are shorter, requiring less research on the author’s part. Regardless of the length and audience of a book entry, writers should pay close attention to style, accuracy, deadlines, and other guidelines that the editor provides.
Before deciding to write for a reference book, authors should consider the differences between writing for reference books and writing for journals. Scholars often write a journal article before identifying a publication venue or submitting a proposal. Reference book editors, however, usually have a contract with a publisher and a list of entries required before they recruit authors. Thus, the authors have a deadline and topic assigned to them before starting to write. Because of this, authors committing to write for a reference book should understand that, unlike a scholarly journal, a variety of authors and an editor are relying on them to meet their obligations before the book can be published. An editor can replace authors who fail to do so, and in some cases, tardy authors can stall the production schedule of the entire book. If a book is late, a publisher can cancel the contract and publication of the book. Unfortunately, situations like this are not uncommon and can be disastrous for a librarian who is depending on the publication to earn tenure. Before choosing a writing project, tenure-track librarians should keep this potential hazard in mind and find out whether their library prefers peer-reviewed articles in professional journals to earn tenure. Finally, most reference books are not widely indexed in the library literature, so other faculty may be less likely to read and cite articles in reference books, even scholarly ones, than in journals.
There are also advantages to writing for reference books over submitting work to scholarly journals. Editors with a list of topical entries normally assign them to only one writer, so that writers do not compete for the entry. Thus, if the article is well researched and written, it is likely to be published. Knowing a publication date, and having security about the likelihood of seeing one’s work in print, can be a strong motivator. In addition, calls for papers in reference books can provide ideas to authors who have difficulty thinking of a topic on which to write. The number of calls for papers in reference books offers countless choices in topics, audience, and article length. Entries in reference books are often shorter than journal articles, and therefore can be less daunting to write than a lengthy article.
1. Identify a book (see the list of resources at the end of this chapter). Read the call for papers closely to determine the scope, audience, and deadline. Writing for a reference book that does not already have a publisher may decrease the likelihood of publication and increase the time it takes to see one’s work in print.
2. E-mail the book editor expressing interest, and include your résumé or CV. If a call for papers has specific instructions, follow them. Aspiring authors without previous publications should consider submitting a writing sample with their query or expect to be asked for a sample.
3. Editors may assign authors a topic or ask them to choose one and provide a deadline. Authors should not assume that deadlines come with padding. Authors may sign a contract, including a copyright agreement, either at this step or later.
4. Once submitted, an article may be peer-reviewed or reviewed by the editor(s). Authors may be asked to make revisions.
5. Final submissions may be in paper format or by e-mail. Some books send page proof with a deadline as short as a few days for making changes and corrections.
6. The book is published if all parties fulfill their obligations. If applicable, an honorarium or payment comes after the book is in print, but not all authors are paid for their work. Many, but not all, publishers provide authors with a copy of the book.
The websites here include calls for reference book entries, conference presentations, journal articles, book reviews, and more. Search the Internet for phrases such as “call for papers” or “call for proposals” to find more resources.
ABC-CLIO Become an Author Page. www.abcclio.com/publishing/authors/prospects_zip.aspx. Includes a form for prospective authors and contributors for ABC-CLIO. The editors review the registrants and contact authors who are matches for books.
A Library Writer’s Blog. http://librarywriting.blogspot.com. Identifies publishing and presentation opportunities in library and information science and related fields.
Beyond the Job. www.beyondthejob.org. Features articles, calls for papers, job-hunting advice, professional development opportunities, and other news and ideas.
Encyclopedia Website. www.encyclopediawebsite.com. Features information for contributors and prospective contributors to M. E. Sharpe’s encyclopedia projects.
Humanities and Social Sciences Net Online. www.h-net.org/announce/. Has a searchable database of writing opportunities under the link Announcements.
IGI Global’s Web Page. www.igi-global.com/requests/author_encyclopedias.asp. Lists calls for short articles for upcoming Information Science Reference encyclopedia and handbook titles.
University of Pennsylvania Calls for Papers List. http://cfp.english.upenn.edu. Lists calls for papers, mostly related to English literature, but including crossover topics like education, history of the book, popular culture, and libraries.
As the adult-book selector for a medium-sized public library system, I was the person whom branch librarians and others turned to for miscellaneous bookish information. Naturally, they all wanted to know when the new Sue Grafton or Robert Parker was coming out. But some of the questions were trickier:
I knew the answer to some of the questions but had to research others. In doing so, I discovered that there was no single reference source that could answer all of these questions. What to do? Start a card file, of course—this was way before personal computers came to libraries.
Like a true librarian, I loved my handy and increasingly useful little card file. Not surprisingly, it took me a long time to realize that I was building the foundation of a reference book. When the idea finally struck, I feared I was suffering from delusions of grandeur. After all, I was just a librarian toiling away in my basement office. Who was I to think that I could write a book? Or get one published?
I suspect that many books are born and evolve this way: slowly from a professional interest and a perceived need. And many die at this point, too. Projects with real potential can easily languish without outside support. I was fortunate that my librarian-husband and my always-supportive sister encouraged me to continue. Potential authors should tell friends and colleagues about their ideas for an article or book. The interest, support, and suggestions of others in the field will validate your project and give you that boost of energy necessary to proceed.
Michelangelo may have said, and others certainly have paraphrased, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” It was immediately apparent to me that my tentative book about novels in series would turn into a monster if I did not set limits at the outset. I had to answer questions such as
So I was forced to define the scope of my project early in the process. Later I realized what an advantage that was. A clear mission is essential to a smooth creative process. It helped me avoid unnecessary work and focus on the important stuff. It is all too easy for authors to be lured into unproductive side streets—in my case, an example is those series composed of short stories rather than novels. The Father Brown mysteries by G. K. Chesterton might seem to warrant inclusion, but because they are all short stories, I excluded them.
Granted, there was still some indecision, but nothing paralyzing: is Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women series for children or adults?
It also helps to have a firm idea of the book’s virtual shape; the old beginning, middle, and end problem. I thought I was home free on that because the obvious arrangement for this material was alphabetical. But wait: Alphabetical by what? By author or series? Will titles be listed alphabetically? Or chronologically? Decisions had to be made. I suspect that these decisions are never easy. Even with straightforward narrative or exposition, authors must decide on chapter and heading divisions. Establishing guidelines at the outset does not mean that they are written in stone, but it creates boundaries—and probably improves your character.
Now I know what my book is about. And you know what yours is about. But getting that across to the public may not be as easy as you think. The working title of my book was What to Read Next and I didn’t realize how bad that was until quite late in the game. As a librarian, I do my share of bemoaning bad titles. My personal nominee for the all-time worst title is Why Are We in Vietnam? which is a novel by Norman Mailer.
Eventually I realized that my title was in fact downright misleading. What to Read Next sounded like a general readers’ advisory book. And beginning with What was almost as bad as beginning with Why or How. Who would remember it correctly?
I thought I should have the word Series in the title, because that is what librarians call a set of books. But to most people the word means baseball games or a group of events, as in “a series of tornados.” Finally I hit on Sequels—a wonderful, shiny word that everyone understands and likes thanks to all the Rocky movies. It would need a subtitle, but I’d known that all along. My book became Sequels: An Annotated Guide to Novels in Series.
The next step—writing the proposal—is easier than you might think. A proposal is the standard way of asking publishers whether they would be interested in your book. A good proposal summarizes your topic in a concise but detailed manner and includes a scope statement, that is, what is covered and what is not. It helps to be a logical thinker here. Fortunately, most librarians are. Another important feature is a brief professional biography that makes clear how you have gained enough knowledge to write about the subject. You send the proposal to one publisher at a time, so start at the top.
Choosing the right publisher was easy for me: the obvious first choice was the American Library Association. The ALA is not only a professional organization but also a major library publishing house, perhaps the biggest. As a librarian, you will already be familiar with the major publishers and will know how to research the others. Just pick the top one for your subject and mail the publisher your proposal.
The entries in a compilation such as Sequels have so many variables that describing them all would have been extremely tedious. So I supplemented my proposal with a significant number of examples. In fact, I wrote up the “A” and “B” sections (the book is arranged alphabetically by author)—starting as I meant to go on—and sent that along with my proposal.
The joy of opening that letter of acceptance is indescribable. Enjoy it while you can. Perhaps you will be as lucky as I was and the long, hard road to the finished work will include frequent bumps of discovery and exhilaration along the way.
During the spring publishing season of 2009, McFarland and Company published a bibliography that I compiled titled The Bibliography of Appalachia: More Than 4,700 Books, Articles, Monographs and Dissertations, Topically Arranged and Indexed. The following steps are the ones that I undertook as I compiled my bibliography.
The first step in the process was the selection of a topic. In my case, I blundered into the topic while working on my Ph.D. dissertation. I was conducting research on an Appalachian county in Kentucky and was having a difficult time identifying sources for background information. I eventually found the information that I needed and documented the sources of the data in the bibliography for my dissertation. Once the dissertation was completed, I decided that there was a real need in the reference literature for a bibliography on Appalachia, and I determined to address the problem.
Once I had the topic, I had to answer the question, Who am I compiling the bibliography for? The answer to this question helped determine the types of materials that I chose to include in the bibliography. I determined that I was writing for an audience that included both lay readers and individuals conducting scholarly research. Thus, I opted to include books, articles, research reports, chapters in edited works, and doctoral dissertations. I included doctoral dissertations because they can be obtained through interlibrary loan. Although there were a few websites included in the bibliography, I did make a conscious effort to generally exclude Internet sites. The reason for this decision is that Internet addresses constantly change, as does content. While this decision worked for me, it is not one that I would recommend to others, as I know that many publishers favor websites for inclusion in bibliographies.
An important consideration is the publication period that the bibliography will address. Because my bibliography focused on a discipline that had been emerging since the late 1960s and thus did not have an unmanageable number of publications, I chose to include materials published from the beginning. If I had been working on a bibliography on the history of the United States, I would have chosen to focus on materials published within a much more narrowly defined number of years. The inclusion of works published in a shorter period of time will also help you cover the topic more comprehensively. Bibliographies covering works published over decades tend to become a sampling of representative works. For example, my bibliography provides a representative sample. I simply did not have enough easy access to published materials to even attempt comprehensive coverage of the interdisciplinary field of Appalachian studies.
If you wish to publish a bibliography, you need to consult potential publishers early in the process for several reasons. First, you need to gauge whether there is even one publisher interested in potentially publishing your bibliography. This may sound harsh but is unfortunately true. Although you may know that your work fills an obvious void in the reference literature, that does not mean that a publisher feels an obligation to fill that hole. Your bibliography will be evaluated strictly on whether the publisher feels that the company can make enough money on the work to make at least a small profit. Apparently, many publishers do not believe that they can easily make money on bibliographies; thus, few bibliographies are published relative to other types of reference works. Also, a publisher that is interested in publishing the work may want to set parameters on your bibliography to make your work more marketable. The publisher may want to expand the scope of your bibliography or determine the types of materials you choose for inclusion, the number of entries, and so on. You may have to make concessions for your bibliography to ever get published. Don’t necessarily reject a publisher’s suggestions, because the publisher takes a financial risk when choosing to publish a bibliography and tries to ensure that the final product will market well enough to at least break even. That said, be sure that you do not make concessions that cause you to feel a loss of ownership over your own work.
Once I knew I had a publisher, I turned to constructing an alphabetical, by author, list of publications that I would include in the bibliography. I chose this method to help ensure that I did not include the same work multiple times. At this point, I also determined what style of entries I would use to ensure uniformity throughout the work.
During the compilation of entries, one must decide whether the entries will be annotated. If the entries will be annotated, will the annotations be descriptive or evaluative? I initially opted to annotate but changed my mind very quickly. My reason for abandoning the annotation process was that I did not have easy access to a significant number of the works I was including in the bibliography.
With any project of this type, one must set a date to cut off data inclusion. This is especially true for bibliographies, because new materials that could be included are published on what seems like a daily basis. Once the cutoff point is reached, then the compiler can begin the finishing stages in the work. For me, the finishing stage began with the conversion of my one alphabetical list into twenty-four chapters arranged by subject. The chapter titles I settled on were bluntly obvious, such as “Agriculture” and “Women and Gender.” I did this because chapter titles are now included in MARC records and are thus searchable in library catalogs.
Once all of the entries had been placed into a chapter, I began the painstaking process of numbering each entry. I assigned each entry a unique number that was used during the indexing process. Numbering was a monotonous process, and despite my best efforts, I made errors. Unfortunately, by the time I noticed the errors, I was already finished with the indexing. Rather than starting over, I just noted the numbering mistakes and notified the publisher. It turned out that numbering mistakes were almost a given and there was a very simple solution to the problem that acknowledged the mistake and did not make me look incompetent.
The final part of the bibliography project was the indexing. I opted for two indexes: an author index and a topical index. Constructing the indexes proved the most time-consuming part of the entire project because I wanted the indexes to be as comprehensive as possible. In my view, my bibliography was only as good as its indexes. I did not imagine that the indexing would take two months to complete.
I am already evaluating what I would have done differently if I had the project to do over once again. The one change I would make is in the indexing. I should have added the index terms to the entries when they were first put on the initial alphabetical list by author. That way, I would have had index terms matched up to the unique entry number before indexing even commenced. This one step would have saved me at least a month of work. Still, I found the entire project intellectually challenging and fulfilling and would be receptive to doing another edition in five years or so.