In my hometown of Kilmarnock I have a bit of a reputation of being something of a local historian, so when Amberley asked me if I would put together a Lost Kilmarnock book, I readily agreed.

I have produced works for Amberley before, so I know the routine. I know what’s involved. I thought, this will be fairly straightforward.

The Cross. All change. This image is from about 1898 and everything has been removed, except the church. (Lost Kilmarnock, Amberley Publishing)

It was, but work was interrupted by a spell in hospital. Thanks to excellent care by NHS Scotland, I was soon back home and thinking about Lost Kilmarnock.

Many new authors and nearly all the readers of Amberley’s books have little idea of what is involved in writing and publishing a book.  So here are some thoughts that readers of this blog might find of interest.

Every city, town and village are constantly changing and people love to think back, love to remember, particularly they like to see photographs of the streets, shops and places that were familiar to them when they were growing up. So, the ‘Lost’ series from Amberley is probably universally popular.

In Kilmarnock, I work with a small group of local history enthusiasts, and we put together picture shows for local groups that want a picture presentation. We visit history societies, church groups, old folks care homes and the likes. Because we are just showing pictures for no payment, there are no issues with copyright.

Kilmarnock
Duke Street. Magnificent Victorian architecture was replaced by bland 1970s developments. (Lost Kilmarnock, Amberley Publishing)

Ah, but a book is different. After agreeing to produce a book such as Lost Kilmarnock, or Lost Kettering or wherever, the author’s first task is to roughly plan out what to include, and what to leave out. He, or she, has to have a rough idea from the start about how to organise the contents.

It is usually straight forward enough to gather together pictures, but determining who has the copyright can be difficult. It’s always best to use sources that you already know and for other pictures, at least make an effort. Usually a simple acknowledgement is adequate, though on rare occasions you might be asked for a token payment or just a couple of copies of the book. All that’s needed is to be thorough.

With the Lost series you can’t just go out and take a new picture.

It can take several months to put together the pictures and the captions. Then you have to check it over, revise all the text. Even when you have it all finished, it’s a good idea to set it aside for a few days, then go back to it and check it all over.

Johnnie Walker was founded in Kilmarnock in 1820 and became a major employer. In 2012, the company left Kilmarnock. (Lost Kilmarnock, Amberley Publishing)

So, now it’s ready to go off to The Hill in Stroud. There the Amberley people will work on it, check the pictures for quality, check the text and start work on layout and presentation. It’s not quite over. Amberley will send the author proofs for final approval. That done, it’s ready to go to the printer.

Despite all these checks, some errors still creep in. Lost Kilmarnock has one photo appearing in two different places. If you are curious about which one that was, buy the book and carefully search through it.

If you are a first-time author, there is hardly anything to compare with the thrill of the arrival of your first book.

That’s not quite the end of the process. As word gets around your community, you are likely to be invited to various local groups to talk about your book and your research.

Kilmarnock
Glenfield and Kennedy. Glenfield and Kennedy was once the world’s biggest manufacturer of water control devices from street water fountains to diver dams. (Lost Kilmarnock, Amberley Publishing)

Most people will be pleased to have a book filled with memories and you will get: “I remember that shop.”

“That’s the school I went to.”

“My father worked there.”

“That’s the church I was married in.”

You will get them all, and more.

You will also have to put up with a few moaners with things like, Why did you not include such and such... or That’s not right... you got the date of something wrong.

Well, you just need to be polite. If you are rude, they might not buy your next book.

Lost Kilmarnock by Frank Beattie is available for purchase now.