A Better Way for Non-Fiction

Countless historical non-fiction books have been written, but relatively few have been published in a way that allows quick corrections and/or additions. That’s exactly what this self-published, ebook format allows — as author, I control when to make changes and doing so is easy. Over time, as feedback comes in or new information surfaces, this work can be quickly updated and that way future readers will have the most up-to-date biography of my subject, Griffith Jenkins Griffith. Reliance on traditional print publishing — which doesn’t allow authors to update a book at will — no longer makes sense, hence this author-controlled, ebook-first approach.

Unfortunately, even with this format a full, completely accurate history is impossible. Nobody can do that when piecing together historical non-fiction. Every history comes with perspectives shaped by how the characters see themselves and others — and by how news media and earlier authors/researchers portray them. What can be done, and what this biography aims to do, is to bring those perspectives together, surrounding them with rich context such as external links (mostly Wikipedia entries and books/papers cited in footnotes that are online), as well as photos, maps and documents that are placed next to the appropriate text. (A pet peeve: it seems every traditionally published non-fiction book places photos in the middle or at the end, not where they are referred to in the text!)

This first iteration, if it can be called that, relies mostly on primary sources such as Griffith family documents and newspapers covering Griffith’s trial — in fact, everything in quotes is from a primary source or a book. Most of what is not in quotes provides source-based context to Griffith’s story or describes what Los Angeles was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s. As for speculation, there is a bit of that when it comes to what triggered this tragedy — we’ll never know for sure, but the evidence can speak for itself.

Now, returning to that idea of feedback, please email any suggestions, corrections, questions to miguel.llanos@outlook.com and I’ll get right on it!