As winter term wound down, Ooligan Press voted to acquire Peter Donahue’s manuscript Three Sides Water. Donahue, whose novel Madison House won the 2005 Langum Prize for Historical Fiction, brings the Olympic Peninsula to life in this exciting trilogy of three short novels.
Prior to being pitched to the press, the manuscript went through a developmental edit, where several members of the Ooligan team worked over summer break to prepare an editorial note for the author. Alison Cantrell, the former Write to Publish conference manager, worked on the project and is now part of the team. Having someone like Alison—who knows the book inside and out, who is familiar with the changes the author made to get to our current manuscript—has helped the team immeasurably.
After the initial developmental edit, the manuscript was pitched to the entire press. We voted to acquire it for several reasons, the first being Donahue himself. Ooligan works primarily with breakout authors, and while we truly love working with them, the press was excited at the prospect of working with an award-winning author with several titles under his belt. Moreover, Three Sides Water has been in the works for over five years—and it shows. The press fell in love with Donahue’s lyrical prose and complex, utterly realistic characters. And rather than viewing the task of marketing short novels as a burden, the press saw it as a healthy challenge to student creativity.
After the contract was signed, the project team began a second developmental edit. I see those wheels turning in your head, reader! You might be asking yourself, if the manuscript was so good, why does it need another edit? Even a manuscript by an award-winning author undergoes some changes before it reaches bookshelves. Ooligan includes a second developmental edit for all its titles, so this part of the process was in no way unusual.
Our production timeline for this term included a full copyedit after receiving the manuscript back from the author, but production schedules shifted to better accommodate the needs of our several manuscripts. Luckily, we were able to start the marketing plan and the design process without any issues—stages that typically start after copyediting. Because this manuscript encompasses three stories centered in the Olympic Peninsula at three different times in recent history, we are embracing some experimental marketing ideas.
In addition to a new manuscript, the team has welcomed a new project manager who will take over this summer. Michele Ford, who previously worked on the Write to Publish team, brings a keen eye for editing and marketing. Since three team members are graduating and three are taking over management positions for the 2017-2018 year, Michele will get a brand-new group this summer.
Speaking of summer, we’re planning a weekend trip to Forks to explore the Olympic Peninsula setting of Three Sides Water. Having been there twice—compelled by another book (shh, Twilight, shh)—I’m excited to see the area from another perspective with other characters in mind. We have plans to visit Shelton, Rialto Beach, and Mora Campground. Have you been to the Olympic Peninsula? Drop me a comment for places we should visit.
For more information about Peter Donahue, visit his website.