Hi, everyone. At the start of 2024, I started a thread asking about the process of traditionally publishing a non-fiction book. Due to my responsibilities as an Associate Editor and other life commitments, I haven't made as much progress as I’d like. However, I have begun drafting some sections, notably my biography, book overview, chapter outline, and comparative titles. This is all still in the very early stages, as I’m not yet completely settled on my chapters, but it’s a start. I’d love to get some feedback on what I’ve written so far (bearing in mind that I can’t share everything in a single thread), as I feel I’m in a good position to write this book. That said, it’s easy to feel demoralised, as the project often feels nebulous and isolating—despite having many great connections in the fields of ecocentrism, conservation, and heritage preservation. --- Current contents structure: Book Overview Target Audience Author Biography Structure Rational Chapter Outline Comparative Titles Marketing Strategy Sample Chapter(s) Timeline Example of biography: Taylor is a Scottish naturalist and writer with a background in wildlife ecology and countryside management. Inspired by the beauty and wonder of the natural world, he seeks to help others on their own path of discovery towards a more ecocentric frame of mind. He holds an MA Res in English Literature (Distinction and Davis/Drew Prize) for research on Earth-centred sacrality in the fantasies of Lord Dunsany and J.R.R. Tolkien, a First-Class BSc (Hons) in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, and a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Countryside Management (Distinction Star). He has worked as a freelance English editor for science journals and as an ecological consultant. Taylor has extensive hands-on conservation experience in all UK habitats through his volunteering efforts and his ecology courses, and he has been majorly involved in heritage projects and demonstrations at places such as Butser Ancient Farm. He has also enjoyed learning outdoor ‘bushcraft’ skills. These experiences always inform his writing, particularly in exploring the intersection of human culture and the natural world. He is currently an Associate Editor and the sole Outreach Manager for the journal The Ecological Citizen (TEC), and he is also the Lead Editor of TEC’s sister project Rewilding Successes, as well as a contributor to the related Earth Tongues blog. His essays and short fiction, often exploring ecocentric themes, have appeared in: The Ecological Citizen (‘The Things That Tether Us to Earth / A Review of Non-things by Byung-Chul Han’ and ‘Developing an Ecocentric Mindset Through Exploration and Role-Play Within Online Virtual Worlds’); Reliquiae (‘The Gate’); Earth Tongues (‘Caring for Carrion Beetles’ and ‘Just Save Perception’); Elsewhere Journal (‘Defiance in Half-Light’); and Sci Phi Journal (‘You Can’t Fly to Space in a Corinthian Column’). Taylor has built strong connections in both the fantasy literature and ecocentric writing communities. In 2024, he delivered a talk on a chapter of his MA Res thesis for the Inkling Folk Fellowship. His thesis work and role at TEC has also led to collaborations with authors such as Dr Patrick Curry.[1] As a key member of TEC, he is well positioned to promote Towards That Place through in-issue advertisements, social media outreach, and video content. Furthermore, he runs a personal channel called Thitherword, where he explores literature, philosophy, and the natural world for a likeminded audience of naturalists, philosophers and creatives. [1] Taylor undertook Dr Curry’s course ‘Wonder and Enchantment’, hosted by the Centre for Myth, Cosmology, and the Sacred. He later collaborated with The Centre to produce a series of videos on the subject for his YouTube channel Thitherword. Wonder is an important subject to Towards That Place. --- Example of structural rationale: This is an idiosyncratic section I'm adding to the proposal since my book is highly thematic. This page comes before the regular chapter outline and summaries. Structure Rationale The main motif of Towards That Place is the threshold and portal, which ensures that the two main ways forward involve revealing and connecting. Furthermore, this motif allows the book to narrow in on concerns relating to differences (e.g., ), contrasts (e.g., ), boundaries (e.g., ), and limits (e.g., knowledge and death). The guiding phrase will be ‘towards that place’, which carries multiple meanings depending on the context. 1. In the broadest sense, it will contrast modern notions of progress with the desire to move towards a more ecocentric horizon. 2. The author imagines the reader, or perhaps a fictional child, stagnating in the city, who is lead through each successive chapter outwards into the country, while different questions of how to engage with our world by engaging with portals and thresholds are asked. As such, the book is structured as a journey, beginning with urban issues and gradually shifting towards working in and thinking about nature. The book simultaneously moves from practical actions to more contemplative themes as well. 3. Each chapter will explore different types of thresholds and portals, whether literal or metaphorical, e.g., the reader of chapter four will pass through a nature reserve’s entrance, whereas chapter six will examine the liminal time of twilight. 4. Though the impetus for Towards That Place is the longing for another world, at the deepest level, the author will always contend that there can be no final transcendent movement to another plane. He therefore opts to speak of a ‘better’ world instead. His argument is that we should engage with, dwell near, and think about thresholds and portals to rediscover that this is the only world we have. --- Example of two chapter outlines: 1. UNSEEN WORLD (threshold/portal imagery: to begin, a distinct lack of openings and passageways opening on to the storied and beautiful world) Taking its setting as the modern urban conurbation, this chapter will argue that we are becoming blind to the world around us, rarely coming into contact with ‘the other side’—a connection to the more-than-human world and an awareness of existing within a storied and beautiful reality. Developing the author’s article ‘[…]’ in The Ecological Citizen, Vol 9 No 2), this chapter will argue that cities do not just hem us in physically; they also sever perception, replacing attentiveness with distraction. From the inhuman scale of architecture to the visual and sensory overload of advertisements, noise, and artificial light, urban environments drown out the quieter presences of the world. This disorientation affects not only humans but also the many nonhuman beings whose lives are disrupted by the modern built environment. Beyond physical barriers, the chapter will explore conceptual and economic forms of blocking—how modernity teaches us to disregard nature, how access to green spaces is increasingly restricted, and how globalization and placelessness disconnect us from a sense of belonging. Modern life erases the idea of openings to other realities altogether, replacing narratives of meaning and place with abstraction, distraction, and utilitarianism. In this way of life, the city becomes an enclosure that reinforces detachment. This section will explore how the very structure of urban life limits our ability to step beyond what is given, leading to a sense of stagnation and confinement. Yet, even within this enclosure, there remains a longing for something more—a desire for openings, for glimpses beyond. This chapter will end by introducing the idea that art and storytelling serve as windows, reawakening perception and offering a way back into a more connected way of seeing. This will set the stage for the next chapter, which explores how art acts as a frame that reintroduces us to the world. 6. AT THE EDGE OF TIME (Portal/threshold imagery: twilight and nightfall as a liminal time) As the book draws to a close, this provides an opportunity to discuss limits and endings. In contrast to the above chapter’s active focus, this one will take a more reflective approach, exploring contemplative and existential themes. Firstly, the chapter will examine twilight as a liminal time, reflecting on its role in an era where the more-than-human world is fading from human consciousness. In examining this transitional time, the author will argue that being present at twilight fosters a sense of peace amid a world increasingly defined by noise, heat, and constant, often violent action—developing ideas from his essay ‘Defiance in Half-Light’ (Elsewhere Journal). Stillness, he suggests, can serve as a quiet act of defiance against modern hyperactivity. Another key aspect of twilight is its in-between nature: it is a time not made for us, yet we are still privy to its beauty for a brief period. As our vision dims and crepuscular animals awaken, we experience both connection to and exclusion from the more-than-human world at the same time. Moving on from twilight, this chapter will discuss the significance of darkness in modernity. While the superabundance of noise, light, and action will be discussed, this second section will explore how our cultural obsession with acquiring absolute knowledge for anthropocentric ends has led to an aversion to mystery. We must be able to accept that this world is not made for the human figure alone; therefore, we have to live in mystery and be receptive to other ways of seeing and being. This fear of the mystery and the other is encapsulated by our distrust of the dark. Instead of denigrating darkness as danger or mere emptiness and loss, the author will suggest that the darkness can also suggest creativity and potentiality that we can look towards for solace. --- Example of a Comparative Titles analysis Enchantment: Wonder in Modern Life, Curry (2019) Curry’s Enchantment defends enchantment or wonder as a bedrock experience of joy in our lives, suggesting that is under attack by the modern megamachine. Throughout his discussion, which covers different facets of enchantment, such as is nature, love and art, Curry highlights the importance of difference, relationality, liminality and –all of which support the arguments made in Towards That Place. However, Towards That Place differs in that the author hopes to concretise further the important of liminality and difference to enchantment by channelling this through the motif of the threshold and portal. Furthermore, the author’s book differs substantially in that it takes the form of a journey, whereas Enchantment is based on different areas of life. This is useful as it gives the reader a narrative to follow. Most importantly, Towards That Place is more practical in nature, offering greater insight how to engage with nature and heritage. --- Example of one strategy in the Marketing Strategy section o Blurbs & endorsements Dr Patrick Curry, with whom Taylor has enjoyed a more personal relationship as TEC's Editor-in-Chief, will be able to provide a blurb. Furthermore, Taylor is fortunate enough to have regular contact with other Associate Editors of the journal. He suspects that Production/Fiction editor Joe Gray will be willing to oblige. Both Patrick and Joe have seen Towards That Place outline and manuscript material and have provided encouragement since the book’s conception. Dr Sarah Waters of the University of Buckingham supervised Taylor’s MA Res thesis. She is an expert on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Shakespeare. As such, she presents another solid option for providing a blurb since her work aligns well with the emphasis on storytelling in Towards That Place. --- With all of that said, I'd like to ask if I'm on the right track. Thank you.
