[FuzzieAlum]

Frankly, I have to say I was really surprised to see that anybody is against this. I don't know that I would bother to submit to it, necessarily, but I can't see the harm.

This is not the sort of book, say, Random House would publish. We're puffing up our own importance if we think there's a market that big for it! The only way to do it would self publication, where basically the writer or editor pays for the printing services and then recoups his or her investment by book sales. And he or she rarely even makes back what he or she has shelled out. The hardest part is getting the book to stores. Your local B. Dalton won't pick up some random self-published book. Thanks to the internet, there is a bigger market today than 20 years ago, but it's still hard going.

No one would be obligated to contribute. But I can't believe that any national sorority would refuse to let members contribute IF the nationals were given the right to approve the material. Let's face it, Phi Mu HQ does not get excited when chapter X's rush chair tells the school newspaper, "We are so excited about meeting all the new girls this week." Non media-contact policies are designed to stop bad or inappropriate press, and if this was done correctly, it wouldn't be.

I am a writer and an editor professionally. Anyone who thinks the editor will just sit back on a divan and collect the profits without breaking a sweat is way off-base. Editing is hard work and involves a lot of boring administrative and fact-checking work. Given that this probably isn't going to be runaway bestseller, she probably won't be collecting any profits at all.

Now, Navane, I don't know you, so don't take this wrong when I say this is all true assuming you're on the up-and-up. I of course have no reason to believe you are not. If you got the support of national orgs, I think some people's fears would be allayed. If people are worried about the massive profits they think you'll be raking in, you could choose to divide any proceeds above an beyond publication costs equally among the NPC, NPHC, and Latino fraternity/sorority council (sorry, the name escapes me). Surely that's a philanthropy everyone could agree on. Well, it doesn't include locals, I suppose, but it's pretty broad.