Gold Rush Publications

[Adah]

Iwrote about how indie or self-publishing currently feels like the gold rushes of the 1800s, when the smart people realised that the real money was not to be made in gold, but in selling stuff to the people prospecting for gold. I made the point that the cost of things in the hard-to-reach towns which clustered around gold rushes was astronomical; that back in the 1800s, food, clothing and tools were sold in these remote towns for prices which would be judged expensive even today. A single nail could go for $5. A pair of boots could be $100. With prices like these, it was much easier to get rich off the backs of desperate prospectors, than gold.

Books, I said, were no longer the primary product, because the primary product in the book industry has become services to people who want to sell books. The biggest target market in publishing is now writers, not readers.

And then I opened the big orange doors to the Internet on Tuesday afternoon and saw that none other than Kristen Lamb, she of indie author and book-blogging royalty fame, having approximately 31,402,836 more followers, readers and persons who have heard of her existence than me, had blogged THE EXACT SAME THING ABOUT AN INDIE PUBLISHING GOLD RUSH THAT VERY MORNING. And furthermore, she knew much more about it than I did.

I should have known better. But I had been too busy feeling undeservedly proud of myself. I had obviously learned nothing in that schoolyard, whilst getting beaten with wooden spoons and very small mittens.

As for scams, I suppose it depends on your take on it. The box set scam, for instance, only makes me now doubt every self-published book which calls itself a USA Today bestseller, which is of course spectacularly unfair to any legitimate (rather than one-twentieth) bestseller. I used to take bestseller lists as a proxy for recommendation. Not any more.

Aw man, I was just thinking I should write a post about the gold rush of the 1800s and how it so nicely parallels the state of indie publishing today. If only there was a service out there that could scour blog posts similar to yours and automate the process of finding your ideal readers and then also anticipate what the best key words and phrases that will make your work more searchable and ultimately more successful than all of theirs. Wait a minute. I think I have a new business plan. You in? ?

Hi Tara, I like the lightheartedness with which you handled this very serious matter. It is indeed true that some people are offering services, and making promises which they cannot keep. A word is enough for the wise.

As usual, while nodding at your wise words I am struck by the tiny detail. The image of you being hit with wooden spoons and small mittens will be with me for some time:-) Did any cats pushing you over???

Writer of fiction, screen and radio plays.Winner of Funniest Blog at one awards thingy and Best Newcomer at another.Blogging about bestselling book trends, literary humour, people's behaviour on the internet, traditional and self-publishing, marketing tips, success stories and spectacular failures at tarasparlingwrites.com.

This page provides information about gold in North Carolina, and was designed to answer many of the frequently asked questions about gold occurrences in North Carolina. The North Carolina Geological Survey offers several publications on gold in North Carolina through our Internet Sales Site North Carolina Geological Survey Shop.

Many of the North Carolina publications written about gold in the late 1800s and early 1900s contain valuable information, but are now out-of-print. Bulletin 3, Gold Deposits of North Carolina; Bulletin 10, Gold Mining in North Carolina and Adjacent South Appalachian Regions; and Bulletin 38, Gold Deposits in North Carolina, are especially useful. These publications are on file in the Raleigh office of the North Carolina Geological Survey, and are also available in many university libraries. Public libraries can obtain the publications through inter-library loan. an updated publication, our Information Circular 29, Gold in North Carolina, provides a wealth of information on the occurrences of gold in our state. This publication may be ordered through our Internet Sales Site - Geological Survey Shop, or by calling or visiting our Main Office

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 213, Gold Deposits of the Southern Piedmont, is a good source of information, but is also out-of-print. The U.S. Geological Survey distributes several pamphlets on gold prospecting. Information on USGS publications is available at1-888-ASK-USGS (275-8747). Many book stores and rock and mineral dealers sell books on gold panning and prospecting.

Topographic maps provide useful information in locating good panning sites by showing stream meanders and the locations of rapids. Please visit our Internet Sales Site - Geological Survey Shop, for information on ordering North Carolina topographic maps - -mineral-land-resources/north-carolina-geological-survey/Topograhic-maps

Miners descending by slippery ladder in a deep shaft at Gold Hill, 1857. Pipe at right is for a steam-powered Cornish pump used to dewater the mine. (Courtesy N.C. Historic Sites, Division of Archives and History.)

Surface structures at Gold Hill, 1857, including several millhouses, trestles for transporting water, and a stock of logs for the mine. (Courtesy, N. C. Historic Sites, Division of Archives and History.)

While I'm only halfway through the book, it's enlightening. Particularly how arduous the journey was getting to California whether they traveled by land or by sea, whether they were married or single, with or without children, born in America, or emigrated.

Many feel the gold rush ruined aspects of the states, particularly the region, destroying the natural habitats, and endangering native Indians and their land along with myriad other issues. And for the most part, there were issues.

But without this event, the West wouldn't be what it is today. It was a rush to stake claims, and of course, there was a whole lot of greed involved. But whether I agree with the past or not is irrelevant. It happened.

Living in a part of California that is directly involved with the gold rush (I live in Gold River on the American River) and getting to know my history has been illuminating. I'm getting to see how this area was established and why. And while the gold rush ruined many lives, it also catapulted a few into growth, wealth, and progress.

As a Levi's fan times a million (eight of the ten pairs of jeans I wear regularly are Levi's), this book was beyond fascinating. I'm still in awe as to how a young man from Bavaria helped to create something we're still wearing - which still looks similar to the original Levi's jeans.

From how the jeans were created (and who really created them) to how the patents were acquired and how marketing them - and being at the right place at the right time - made Levi Strauss a worldwide phenomenon, this book delves into all aspects of his creations.

One of the biggest ideas he brought forth was reimagining a fabric - typically worn as workwear - to the masses as clothing that could be worn anywhere (with the gold miners being his first steady customers.)

California is a beautiful state. With weather to yearn for, and the prospect of creating a future that no one had yet made (think Hollywood as well as Silicon Valley), it's a state that created - and still creates - an avenue for the American dream.

Cries of "Gold! Gold! Gold in the Klondike!" started a race. 100,000 hopeful miners sprinted toward Alaska and the Yukon with their eyes on riches. Alaska Native and First Nations communities adapted to hold onto another kind of wealth: their culture, land, and way of life.

In August, 1896, Skookum Jim and his family found gold near the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. Their discovery sparked one of the most frantic gold rushes in history. Nearby miners immediately flocked to the Klondike to stake the rest of the good claims. Almost a year later, news ignited the outside world. A wave of gold seekers bought supplies and boarded ships in Seattle and other west coast port cities. They headed north thinking they would strike it rich.

Which Route to Take?

Stampeders faced several routes to the Klondike. Some chose the all water or "rich man's route." Sailing around Alaska and up the Yukon river was easy, but expensive. Some stampeders tried walking the entire way with one of the overland routes. These were often tangled messes. Folks taking some of these routes arrived two years after everyone else. Other stampeders tried crossing the glaciers near Yakutat and Valdez. In a sea of icy towers, many of these people got lost or went snow blind.

Most stampeders opted for the cheapest, most direct routes - the White Pass and Chilkoot Trails. A stampeder taking this "poor man's" route sailed up the Inside Passage. They disembarked, then hiked over the Coast Range mountains to reach the head of the Yukon River. On a homemade boat, stampeders traveled over 500 miles by river to reach the gold fields.

Skagway, at the head of the White Pass Trail, was founded by a former steamboat captain named William Moore. His small homestead was inundated with some 10,000 transient residents struggling to get their required year's worth of gear and supplies over the Coast Range and down the Yukon River headwaters at lakes Lindeman and Bennett. Dyea, three miles away at the head of Taiya Inlet, experienced the same frantic boomtown activity as goldseekers poured ashore and picked their way up the Chilkoot Trail into Canada.

Stampeders faced their greatest hardships on the Chilkoot Trail out of Dyea and the White Pass Trail out of Skagway. There were murders and suicides, disease and malnutrition, and deaths from hypothermia, avalanche, and possibly even heartbreak. The Chilkoot Trail was the toughest on men because pack animals could not be used easily on the steep slopes leading to the pass. Until tramways were built late in 1897 and early 1898, the stampeders had to carry everything on their backs. The White Pass Trail was the animal-killer, as anxious prospectors overloaded and beat their pack animals and forced them over the rocky terrain until they dropped. More than 3,000 animals died on this trail; many of their bones still lie at the bottom on Dead Horse Gulch.

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