MCHS Historical Articles Book - Publishing Phase

We achieved our Short Term target of gaining experience and knowledge of the book publishing process. Each task, from the initial upload of the electronic manuscript to the final delivery of the physical copies, was completed by MCHS staff and volunteers alongside the publisher, Bookmasters, and their very helpful staff. As an organization we feel that we are much better educated and experienced in the different stages of publishing.

Our Intermediate Term goal was to provide our organization with a quality publication that will enhance our stature in the community and raise interest in the MCHS' archives and holdings. One way we intended to measure this outcome was based on the amount of books purchased (and given away as promotional gifts). To date, we've sold or given away over 450 copies of Tales of Martin County's Past; this includes a large fraction of those sales coming from our very successful book signing event. Another portion of that 450 includes 126 copies shipped to Amazon Fulfillment Centers, per their consignment requests, of which we have sold 55 - indicating strong interest among many people that we have not had previous with. Another metric to measure this intermediate goal is the critical response from the community which has been fantastic. We've had many great comments, e-mails, and letters from people who have enjoyed the book - thus far the community has been very responsive to our project and seems to be greatly enjoying it. We have also had an increase in interest in our resources with numerous requests from people to explore what they can find in our Research Library and Archive Room.

Our Long Term objectives included improving our ability to share and spread Martin County History and enhance our skills for use in future book projects. In regards to our ability to share and spread our local history, we feel that we are in the process of accomplishing this goal. We've reached several people with this book project that hadn't otherwise engaged with us. The amount of positive reviews and the increased interest in our holdings would suggest that we've been better able to share our community's history. In terms of future publications, while we've not yet embarked on another book project ourselves we have spoken to several interested historical societies about the project, answering many of their questions. We've pledged our aid to them it in their own book projects and told each of them to please us if they are in need of assistance or consultation.

Overall, we've met or are in the process of meeting all of our goals as based on the measured outcomes described in the above paragraphs.