Weather and Storm Chasing Book Project

[Dave C]

Hi all,

I'm contemplating writing a non fiction book on weather and / or chasing in a narrative, mostly non technical style. In non fiction as many of you know, a proposal is first prepared with a couple sample chapters, and the book is completed on contract with a publisher upon acceptance of the proposal. I am an experienced writer, but not published, so my challenge will be great. Before I dive in naively, I am researching the feasibility and wisdom of the endeavor.

I'd be extremely grateful for your thoughts on three simple questions:

1.) Do you consider these literature markets (weather and chasing books) saturated? A simple search at amazon yields hundreds of titles on weather or chasing.
2.) What are some of your favorite titles? (I own several books in the sub genre, including those published by other Stormtrack members, but knowing what others like could be useful)
3.) How do people feel about getting their storm photos published in a book?

I know I'm kind of imposing on your time by asking these questions, but I can't think of too many places with more knowledgeable people on this subject. Thanks in advance for anyone who responds.

D.

 

[Shane Adams]

I think the market is saturated with books about WEATHER and to a lesser extent, CHASING....but there are few (if any) good books about CHASERS. The people behind the activity are fascinating and all have stories of their own. I've never been a fan of the "star" chaser autobiographies, as those are mostly geared towards the casual fan and I probably already know much of what those chasers share about themselves. But a book about chasers - as people - would very interesting IMO. You mentioned a "non-technical" approach, which is what caught my attention. Tech and drama and fabrication has been done to death. But sitting down with real chasers and just chewing the fat, anecdotal-type stuff would be awesome to me.

 

[John Olexa]

As long as there is an intrest, the market will never be over saturated. If I remember right more books have been written (and published) about Abraham Lincoln than any other subject except for Jesus Christ.

I tend to like Encyclopedia type weather books. I own Thomas Grazulis monster book "Significant Tornados" as well as the updated book. "Encyclopedia of Weather" by Iam Westwell and yes I have Warren Faidleys book "Storm Chaser" "In pursuit of untamed Skys" Matter of facts that was the first weather type book I bought. LOL

I have had quite a few images published. Weatherwise magazine, 7 images in a book about Washington DC weather and a few on Storm Stories, about the '02 LaPlata F-4 tornado as well as when I was with The late George Hall; George Hall/Code Red stock agency.

Good luck on your project. i just finished the first draft on my book (unrelated to weather) and beginning the editing process (fun) LOL.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Your description of the book is too vague for me to offer a solid opinion, Dave. The "narrative, non-technical" approach intrigues me; I'm guessing that you'd be writing for a popular readership. But what topics would you cover? If you were to develop a table of contents, which would be a good thing to include with a book proposal, what would it consist of? What new perspective would you offer readers?

I like Shane's suggestion; I think he's spot-on. But writing about chasers might not be up your alley. I think the important thing is to identify exactly what you want to write about about. Then, assuming your subject knowledge and writing skills are up to snuff, the rest is a roll of the dice. No need to tell you how hard it is to get picked up by a publisher. Nowadays, I'm not sure you can even get noticed without an agent. But if you've got the goods, I think storm chasing is intriguing enough that there's still room for new voices.

Regarding how chasers feel about getting their photos published, that's going to be an individual matter. In the past, requests for the use of photos with little or no financial remuneration was a touchy issue on this forum. Considering how much time and money goes into getting those photos, it's no surprise that many chasers would want to get paid decently. But not everyone is of that mind. Besides, if a publisher does pick you up, the cost for photos will be on them. It's likely that they'd want to go with black-and-white as production costs are considerably less.

 

[Shawn Schuman]

I'm also not entirely clear on what it is you're planning on tackling with this book, but there can never be too many good books on a subject. I've read dozens of weather- and chaser-related books, and I can't say there were too many that I'd consider good books. If you have an interesting angle from which to approach the topic(s), and you have the skill to pull it off in an engaging, well-written way, there will certainly be an audience for it. If you can go into a little more detail about what you've got in mind, I think we can give you better answers.

As for my favorite books, I can't recall titles offhand but I'll edit my post tomorrow and add some of them.

 

[Dave C]

I really appreciate the responses. I haven't yet narrowed in on the exact subject material within weather/chasing that I would want to present.

One book that got me thinking more seriously about all this was "Tornado Hunter: Getting Inside the Most Violent Storms on Earth".

Its for the layman, and is written in a narrative style. Its not the best book in the world, yet I found myself really enjoying certain sections even as a chaser. There is nothing new it taught me except a few tidbits about ted Fujita, but the stories are engaging. It gives perspective accounts of tornado events from the public view as well as from chasers, discusses Ted Fujita's history, etc. For someone who doesn't know about chasing, its a good source of some basics, and lets face it if one chose other chasers as their audience, the success of a project might be limited due to small audience.

I find that often books with several intertwined threads are very interesting, and can have a wider audience. Shane, your idea of focusing on the people in chasing is a very good one.

I think the consensus I hear is that as long as I present a perspective that hasn't been beaten to death, and implement with some style and competence, there may be room for yet more literature in this market.

Once again really appreciate the responses, and as I narrow in on what I want this project to be, I may vet the ideas here to see what you all think. There are probably more authors in this genre on this forum than anywhere else.

~Dave

 

[Kent Heiderich]

I'm no author Dave, but I did enjoy reading the 1987 book called "Tornado watch # 211". If you can write a book like that about chasing or more recent tornado outbreaks, I think you will do very well.
Kent

 

[Matt Ashworth]

While I haven't read any books pertaining to chasing or weather, I would agree that I've not really found any publications about the chasers themselves. As for getting photos published, I certainly would love the chance to have some of my photos published, but that's just me.

 

[Dave C]

Thanks Kent, I had not heard of that one, I'll have to look it up.

It definitely seems like many people might enjoy a book about the people in chasing, and it would definitely be different than what is currently out there. I know I would enjoy working on it too, although I would have to get over some of my introversion to get good interviews. I would also hope that really experienced chasers would not mind being interviewed by someone who is, by comparison, an amateur (I have only seriously chased for three seasons now).

One again, really appreciate the discussion. Knowing what I am getting into may make the difference between a futile project and a success.