Lisa Baril—The Age of Melt: What Glaciers, Ice Mummies, and Ancient Artifacts Teach Us about Climate, Culture, and a Future Without Ice

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

The Age of Melt

THE AGE OF MELT:
WHAT GLACIERS, ICE MUMMIES,
AND ANCIENT ARTIFACTS TEACH US
ABOUT CLIMATE, CULTURE, AND A FUTURE WITHOUT ICE
Lisa Baril
Timber Press, September 17, 2024
Hardcover, $30.00, eBook $14.99, Audio Book, $45.95
Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1643261515, eBook ASIN: B0CTZJGXBW
Audio Book ASIN: B0D9C946TG

Baril reports:

I read about an ancient artifact that had melted out of an ice patch in the Absaroka Mountains of Wyoming, near where I live. The artifact was the foreshaft of a 10,300-year-old hunting weapon called an atlatl. When I learned that the foreshaft was one of thousands of artifacts melting out of alpine ice patches around the world, I was hooked.

I have a dog-eared copy of How to Write a Book Proposal: The Insider's Step-by-Step Guide to Proposals that Get You Published by Jody Rein and Michael Larsen. Using that guide, I wrote a proposal and then hired an expert to review it. She provided excellent feedback that helped the proposal go from good to great.

Lisa Baril

I met my agent through another writer who thought we’d be a good fit. Once my agent and I finalized the proposal, she began shopping it around. We had two offers, one of which was from Timber Press. Timber Press advanced me $10,000.

Soon after signing the contract, I left my job to work full-time on the book, which I could never have done without the support of my partner. I interviewed around 100 archaeologists, anthropologists, and climate scientists. I read hundreds of journal articles and books about the cryosphere and archaeology. I also traveled to many of the places I wrote about, including Norway, the Alps, and the Andes.

And then I wrote, rewrote, and rewrote until my editor insisted it was time to send it to her. There was a lot I didn’t know about writing a book, but I don’t think knowing what I didn’t know would have changed anything. I needed to struggle through writing my first book to understand and develop my own process.

Next time I’ll treat writing a book more like a traditional job. If I had given myself more breaks I might have struggled a bit less, and it may have taken me less time to finish.

Stay organized. Make a plan, refine it as needed, but stick to it. Set smaller goals and schedule those out to help you work toward your larger goal.

Contact info:

Lisa Baril: barillisa@gmail.com, https://www.lisabaril.com/
Book: The Age of Melt: What Glaciers, Ice Mummies, and Ancient Artifacts Teach Us about Climate, Culture, and a Future Without Ice
Publicist: Katlynn Nicolls, 971-277-2196, katlynn.nicolls@hgb.usa.com
Agent: Jessica Papin, 212 627-9100 (extension 709), jpapin@dystel.com

NASW members: will your book be published soon? Promote it by submitting your report for Advance Copy.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book, or had done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.

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Thinking of writing a book? If you are a NASW member, you may access a list of more than 200 books and online resources to help you craft your book proposal, find an agent and funding sources, negotiate your contract, learn about self-publishing, publicize and market your book, and more at https://www.nasw.org/article/write-book.

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Banner image adapted from original photo by Lisa Baril.

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.