The Story behind the Book: Of God, Rattlesnakes, and Okra (Easterling)
Today's back story is about the book, Of God, Rattlesnakes, and Okra by J Bennett Easterling . From the publisher Years ago, I received a book proposal through the mail (yeah, pre-email). It was a memoir by a first-time author without much of a name recognition and a modest platform. It did not fit into what we typically published at that time, so I sent a letter informing him of that. Somewhere, he initiated a phone call to learn more -- he wanted to know how decisions are made, where he could look, how he should search for a publisher, and the like. He was eager to learn -- and very personable. I wished we did publish in this genre, but we did not. Apparently, Bennett formed some sort of instant trust in me. Six months later, he excitedly sent me a contract for a self-publish contract. It was not a good contract, but he did not realize that. This time, I called him. I pointed out the bad provisions in the contract. Not only had he not realized how much the contract skewed towar