Why Free Man

The Free Man Publishing Company is an alternative tool for writers and authors who wish to publish their works as economically as possible, yet still apply the highest professional standards of editing and composition in the process. Further, authors may use the Free Man process to create what is essentially a highly developed ‘manuscript’ that conventional mass market publishers can readily transform into a polished, marketable book of wide appeal.

Does the Free Man integrated suite of publishing services make sense for you?

Case 1: Setting Free a Beautiful Bird

Inside each of us lies a creative spark or destiny that we choose either to diminish or to flow with. If you choose the latter—and your inspiration happens to have literary qualities—then Free Man presents one of the most innovative and creator-friendly methods for releasing your inimitable art to the market. Your creation may be a short story or a memorial tribute to another great soul or a fantastic new invention fairly described, virtually any item that the world deserves to see as a document, Free Man helps you to set that vision free… among friends. [The only release requirement is your ‘bird’ must go out in the form of a paperback book with a minimum of 28 pages. With electronic version at your discretion.]

Case 2: Idea You Want to Promote

I’m breaking this out separately, because inventors and other visionaries often have a product or grand concept they need to document, give form in writing, in order to move it forward into their targeted marketplace. Think:

  • product descriptions
  • patent applications
  • business plans
  • political processes
  • self help pamphlets

The Free Man system is perfect for such single-purpose, short, focused, “read this and get rich (or happy)” writings. We are set up to efficiently create your idea description with a simple cover and binding. Author costs to purchase your own ‘booklet’ for handing out are extremely reasonable (roughly $2 per copy), and your audience may acquire ‘ebook’ versions for as little as 99¢. Free Man’s base universal publishing services rate is $25/hour, with a minimum whole project fee of $100. This minimum price applies to the majority of booklets (less than 40 pages) requiring little or no editing.

Please refer to the Process page for more detail.

Case 3: Serious Literature, Fiction or Nonfiction

… that would otherwise be stymied by conventional publishing barriers.

This category contains the greater part of Free Man business, with support for a wide range of literature types: from an entertaining look at how the animated TV series South Park teaches us fundamentals of liberty (The Libertarian Lessons of South Park), to practical instruction on driving for teenagers (Teach Your Teen to Drive), to the epic humanitarian journey of adventurer George Meegan (The Longest Walk), to an account by some of the best scientific and engineering minds in the country on how humanity can reach space in the near term (Maglev: The New Race to Space), to the passionate advocacy of a species-saving political ideal (The Sacred Nonaggression Principle).

At the moment, few books of fiction have been processed by Free Man Publishing, but that will soon change. The proprietor and his staff have fine experience in the editing—both high-level and of the more routine copyediting function—of novels and short stories. As important, we know how to get your creative work published todaywith all the mainstream-publisher bells and whistles, including access to sophisticated marketing tools. Why queue your work behind vast numbers of other applicants waiting for some imperial potentate ‘Mr./Ms. Esteemed Editor, Inc.’ to give you and your baby the time of day?

Choose Free Man… “while you’re still young.”

Case 4: Friends and Family, Preserving Historical Gems

More often than not, ‘ordinary’ people have extraordinary events or people they wish to honor by recording their existence in the grand scheme of the cosmos—not necessarily for distribution, but for documentation. A partial listing of categories of document:

  1. genealogical writeups, especially with elaborate historical notes
  2. tributes or minibiographies of persons near and dear to you
  3. painstaking independent research on a topic of great passion to you
  4. buddies’ adventures and photostories
  5. And so on…

Three instances for item 3 come immediately to mind in my own experience:

a) A lady friend knows ‘everything there is to know’ about the treatment of cats, especially what extent of veterinary care to seek or pay for [I would really love to have a booklet with her hands on, no-BS knowledge for my own cat.]

b) My grandmother, years ago, lived in Missouri and studied Indian trail trees; alternative publishing of a book on that subject would have been ideal.

c) Another woman I know has a serious hobby dealing with buttons, learning the many types, collecting them, trading them, and so on. I’m sure she has a Website, but professionally producing a short little booklet is a good tool for generating interest and business.

Consider this real-life instance of Case 4: About 35 years ago, a group of guys where I worked early in my professional life (and where most of them have worked for their whole careers) formed this ‘poker club.’ Monthly, we would gather at one another’s homes for quarter-ante poker, food, drink, tall stories, and just a flat-out blast. Early on, every spring or fall, we would hop in the vehicles and head up I-75 to spend a long weekend at one of the fellow’s fab family getaway cabin, sitting on the lazy Manistee River, Where we would play ‘quarter-ante poker, eat, drink, tell stories, and just have a flat-out blast,’ only more so.

It fell to me, a budding cause-oriented diarist, to be Scribe. And I’d do my best to keep track of all the significant activities, pranks, jokes, pithy comments, notable quotes, wildlife appreciation, canoe trips, horseshoes, croquet, golf side trips, pancake tosses, and other contests of skill and daring… not to mention noteworthy poker hands. All despite multiple cycles of high inebriation. It got to be quite a documentation challenge, and I also developed a system of points for various offenses that are typical for such boys in the wild gatherings. The ‘winner’ of most points for the weekend was bequethed the AH Award for ‘incredible bravery in the pursuit of blatant stupidity.’

Anyway, one of the charter members, Betty [the poor guy one morning picked up a coffee cup sporting the name of the proprietor’s mother, someone—I think it was me—made a childish exclamation about it, and henceforth he was Betty evermore] passed away last year. I meant to do so regardless, but now I’m committed to gathering up all my Scribe notes for the 25 or so Manistee weekends, sanitizing them a bit, and creating a nicely bound book for the coffee table, with a cover and splendid photo of the original six. Possible title: Captured Elegance: The Wit and Wisdom of the Men of Manistee.

This is the sort of historical gem preservation my service can render. For private publication in color or black and white. Saying thanks for the memories.

Case 5: Technical Papers

My background is in technical writing and editing, done from a normal 9 to 5 workaday arrangement by contract or direct employment, then more recently by using the robust Internet to work remotely. My main technical writing client is now a computer data storage tech firm in Boston, Mass., while I reside in SE Michigan. This is how the world runs today, and I’m still happy to consider any of a client’s more routine technical publications (here’s a resume, more or less current).

The category I have in mind under this heading has to do more with so-called ‘white papers’ or longer publications describing the function of complex technical products or systems. In many cases, the client may do well to create a book for wider distribution than a conventional paper or report. For example, the book I edited and list to Amazon—in both color and black and white formats—on imminent magnetic levitation technology for space transportation (Startram: The New Race to Space) is ideally suited to conveying this important information.

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