Riding the Chicken Bus:

incidents of travel in Latin America

This is a collection of traveler’s tales and essays on Latin American culture that is seeking new contributors of entertaining and well-written material for ultimate publication in a printed book. It is posted here mainly so that writers may see what the collection is already like when they are invited to submit material. Everything posted here is already registered with the U. S. copyright office.

At this point, the collection is heavily skewed towards pieces by me, Ken McCormick, and towards the subject of Guatemala. I hope to find others with entertaining and well-written pieces that they are willing to contribute, and I will perhaps delete some of my own pieces to achieve more balance. Should you wish to submit a story or article, please send it to ksmccormick@hotmail.com . Comments, suggestions, and criticism are also welcome at my e-mail address. More information concerning the submission of articles will be found after the table of contents below.

Authors of articles selected for inclusion will be paid anywhere from the princely sum of twenty U.S. dollars for a very short original piece or an article reprinted from a small-circulation magazine or newspaper up to, in rare cases, a couple of hundred dollars, depending on length, quality, and how badly I want to include the piece. They will also receive one free copy of the book tentatively entitled Riding the Chicken Bus, should it ever be published. In the wildly unlikely event that any publisher other than myself should agree to publish the collection, authors will receive a share of all profits due the authors and to myself acting as editor which will be proportionate to their contribution to the collection as measured by the number of their words published therein as compared to the total number of words published in the collection. Original material selected for inclusion, if it has not already been registered, will be registered with the copyright office prior to its being posted here or published, and so authors will have the opportunity to save the thirty bucks that that operation costs.

It will almost certainly be the case that I will be the publisher of the printed book, and that the book will be offered for sale only on the Internet, so the book will probably achieve only a very small circulation. Exclusive rights to material are not sought, so previously-published material may be included, and authors of material included in the collection will be free to publish the same material elsewhere.

Authors may, if they wish, submit with the stipulation that their pieces may be included in the book, but are not to be posted on the Internet. Indeed, this is recommended for those who wish to continue to seek another publisher for their articles, as most publishers seek only first rights to original material, and Internet posting is considered by many to constitute prior publication. Payment of the sum agreed upon represents agreement only that the piece submitted by the author is tentatively included in the collection and may be published in the book along with the rest of the collection, and does not constitute a contract for the publisher to include the author’s piece in a published book. It also does not constitute a contract that the publisher will take any specific steps to market and promote the collection. Upon return of the sum paid for his or her article, the author may at any time prior to arrangements being made for publication withdraw his or her piece from the collection.

Standard Chicken Bus publishing agreement:

Enclosed is my check for $XX. Should you choose to cash it, it will buy me the nonexclusive right to publish or reprint your article “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX” in a book I plan on publishing tentatively entitled Riding the Chicken Bus. It will also give me the right to try to sell your article as part of the entire Chicken Bus collection to a publisher to be published in said book. In the wildly unlikely event that any publisher other than me should agree to publish the collection, you will receive a share of all profits due the authors which will be proportionate to your contribution to the collection as measured by the number of your words published therein as compared to the total number of words published in the collection. Payment of the $XX is not to be construed as giving me the right to try to sell your article to any magazine or newspaper or to a book publisher as anything but a part of the “Chicken Bus” collection. The $XX only sells me the right to publish the article in a book with attribution of authorship to you.

Upon acceptance of said $XX, you will not forfeit the right to submit your piece for publication elsewhere, in another book, in a magazine, newspaper, or electronic medium. Should you decide that you would like the piece to be published in the “Chicken Bus” book but not posted on the Internet, it will be listed as part of the collection, but not posted on the Internet. Should you allow it to be posted on the Internet but later change your mind about this, it will be removed from the Internet at your request.

Payment of the $XX represents agreement only that the piece submitted by you is tentatively included in the collection and may be published in the book along with the rest of the collection, and does not constitute a contract for the publisher to include your piece in a published book. It also does not constitute a contract that the publisher will take any specific steps to market and promote the collection. Upon return of the $XX, you may at any time prior to arrangements being made with a publishing house for publication or with a printer for printing withdraw your piece from the collection.

This letter constitutes a contract, so save it. Your deposit of the check constitutes acceptance of the terms as spelled out herein.

Riding the Chicken Bus:

incidents of travel in Latin America

Contents:

Riding the Chicken Bus (1,730 words)

Complete Rules of the Road for Driving in Guatemala (441 words)

The Cleanest Restrooms in Central America (1,478 words)

Eight Survival Tips for Using the Santiago de Chile Metropolitan Bus System (472 words)

Easter in Antigua Guatemala (4,129 words)

Lynch Mobs (1,357 words)