dag, patience is needed for slow turning wheels, what could also help is the first one as a template.
cheers

Dag, I think that suggestion has merit. But yes, it appears that less than a minute transpired from the time you proposed it to the time you reneged.

Touche (with an accent), Murray. Chalk it up to a grouchy old man’s distortion of time. Mr. Iowe’s right. It’ll take awhile, but, hell! We’ve been hunting Z for what? Half a century?

I also think there is a need for a definitive reference book on Zodiac. I remember a newbie in z-chat commenting how the forums are like a maze sometimes when trying to find information. Self-publishing is always an option — lulu.com did a nice job on Doug Oswell’s book (Unabomber and the Zodiac), and Create Space on amazon is another option. I think the forums are great, especially with keeping up with the latest information, but a Z-focused book that focused mainly on the objective facts and information surrounding the case would appeal to a lot of readers.

Unfortunately, even the facts seem to be up for debate.

I’ve found a couple of writer’s agents interested in True Crime book manuscripts. I’ve cobbled together a letter of inquiry, which I’ll present to the Forum for approval. One step at a time… .

Dag, what you propose is a wonderful idea. For me though it seems like such an overwhelming task. I suppose if you could assign certain aspects ie: victims, letters, ciphers, suspects, reports etc. to a couple of people each, it wouldn’t seem so overwhelming. We could check each others work and proceed from there.

I do like to have a hard copy to leaf through as opposed to darting all over the place online to find information. For my own sanity I have printed out most of the reports and put them in sheet protectors and then in binders. It makes it way easier to flip though when trying to find a particular bit of info than guessing what page something that I want might on might be.

Apparently, no one is interested. Offer withdrawn.

I didn’t mean to rain on your book parade Dag, Yes it sounds like a worthy endeavor, But I thought my book would get a lot of interest with a publisher. Here is what I came up with traditional publishing
Also there are many web pages about getting your manuscript accepted to them .

Trad. publishers rarely take manuscripts from rookie authors ,you need to be an established author ,a Phd. or an expert witness.
Rookie’s need a lit. agent ,I tried many but could not get any to accept a manuscript .
1st time authors usually make very little money off royalties with trad. pub. they have you by the balls and they know it.
They often want expensive changes made to the structure and text of the book ,cutting it down or eliminating parts altogether and you are powerless to protest .
You will be very disappointed selling it on Amazon unless it is a instant success and you have to price it high to make any $$.

oh yeah, watch out for a company in Florida gold coast under 5 different names as he promises big things and is interested in non-fiction ,but really he steals the manuscript ,selling it to the Asian market ,I nearly fell for it.

50 Shades of Grey is or was a self published book ,it made the author near a billion now
it was not accepted by Trad. pub
Try 48 hour books to see what it will cost to publish your self.

In the spirit of the topic, here: if there were to be a group project, an effort by willing members of this forum to put together a comprehensive book or publication, I believe it would do well to start with a focused goal — or mission, if you like.

In response to Ace’s post above, I do not believe making money would be a unifying goal. This would make us no different than the many who’ve come before, attempting to profit from the tragedy of victims and their families through tell-all accounts of POIs they’ve "discovered."

Of course I don’t also imagine many of us have lots of money or time to invest (or lose) on something like this. All the more reason to spend some time shoring up motives, and possibly designing a sustainable method for accomplishing the effort. Ace’s post reminded me of putting oneself in the desperate position of needing a "deal" in the music business, and how compromising that can be. This information is too valuable to offer up to an agent or publishing company with the hopes that they will re-construct it for public consumption.

Assigning out the work across multiple people is a good idea. And a DIY effort (self-publishing, etc) could go a long way toward a respectable final product that might prove helpful to many. If those efforts were properly coordinated, and for the right reasons, it could then be a nice surprise if there were an interest from a broader audience — even if that never led to a profit but simply solid reference material, institutional or otherwise.

I like you Murray.

ace & murray: TY for your shared experiences and suggestions! That’s what I like about the "Group Project" idea: nobody knows everything but, together, we know a helluva lot. How about we structure all the "hard core" info we have in zodiackillersite.com, and publish an online book? There are so many talented individuals in our Forum: computer geeks, code busters, people familiar with the murder sites and surrounding areas. And, of course, we have those with POIs, one of whom may well be Z himself.
Tell you what. I’d like to get this "Group Project" out of Cloud Cuckoo Land, and down in black-and-white. I’ve cobbled together an Outline, and will submit it tomorrow so you may add to, subtract from, or multiply it.

I like you Murray.

Okay, here’s my attempt at an Outline for our proposed Group Project. Everything I submit is subject to challenge and revision; in no wise do I consider myself an authority on things Zodiacal. Further, I am, at best, semi-literate, computerwise. The cutting and pasting, etc., will have to be addressed by someone else. I plan to take some online computer courses, but I doubt I’ll be able to upgrade sufficiently to be of related help in the near future. However, what I can do to assist, I will attempt. Now to the Outline:
I. COVER: THIS IS THE ZODIAC (In Z’s own printing);
Below TITLE, the cartoon of Z, hooded and threatening, at Lake Berryessa;
Below CARTOON, Investigations of zodiackillersite.com.
2. DEDICATION: To Zodiac’s victims, their families, and friends.
3. INTRODUCTION: "In the late Sixties… ." (Overall presentation of Zodiac’s know and suspected murders, and Johns’ abduction.
4. Known Zodiac murders; suspected murders; and Johns’ abduction, presented chronologically:
Domingos, Edwards; Bates; Faraday, Jensen; Mageau, Ferrin; Hartnell, Shepard; Sine; Lass; Johns. These cases to be presented in detail.
5. Forum members’ investigations (Here’s where our expertise in demonstrated).
6. Summaries and Conclusions
7. Appeal to Law Enforcement to re-open investigations, and utilize modern forensics.
8. Alphabetical listing of ALL zodiackillersite.com members.

My 2 cents,

I would include the Swindles in topic number 4.

Soze

Apparently, no one is interested. Offer withdrawn.

I did actually start, wanted help or advice. Offer withdrawn.