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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;lettow, post: 605704, member: 6986&quot;]Those who compile catalogs and references, certainly what they produce they do so as a money making venture...but what many produce is invaluable as recources.</p><p><br /></p><p>Let me start by dispelling this myth.&nbsp; Most of the authors of books on paper money did not write their books as money making ventures.&nbsp; With the exception of the more popular catalogs like Friedburg or Schwartz/Lindquist, most hobby books are not great money makers for the authors.&nbsp; (Whether they are for the publisher is another story.)&nbsp; The audience is limited and many of the printings for specialized books are in the low thousands of copies.&nbsp; The amount of time that is spent on research and writing produces a less than minimum wage result for the authors.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have written for BNR and other numismatic venues and have given presentations at most of the major shows (and at local ones).&nbsp; I do so for the sake of the hobby.&nbsp; My collecting focus has always been historical and the story behind a note is just as important to me as the note itself.&nbsp; Writing or speaking about them stems from this.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I cannot speak for other authors and researchers, but I know a fair number of them (including many on RickieB&#039;s list).&nbsp; Most of them would probably say the same thing.&nbsp; That is not to say that there is not some ego-stroking involved in being recognized as an expert, but most of these people are ordinary folks who had a story to tell.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>It is true that many of them had opportunities (and pocketbooks) that may not be available to all of us, but doing what I have done and what some of these others have done is not as daunting a task as it appears, particularly with the advent of the internet.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most numismatic publications (BNR, Numismatic News, Paper Money and the IBNS Journal, for example) are screaming for articles.&nbsp; They do not have to contain earth shattering research or new discoveries.&nbsp;&nbsp; They can be as simple as writing a short biography of someone on a note or a short history of an event depicted on a note.&nbsp; Thematic collections like notes depicting sailing vessels or aircraft lend themselves to an easy article.&nbsp; The same holds true for doing a presentation at a show.</p><p><br /></p><p>How do you get an article in to BNR or get to do a presentation at ANA or Memphis?&nbsp; Ask.&nbsp; It is really that simple.&nbsp; Contact the publisher, the sponsor of the show or one of the board members at IBNS or SPMC and tell them you want to do an article or a presentation on ABC or XYZ.&nbsp; They are likley to be delighted to have a volunteer.&nbsp; Do it often and well enough and they will come asking for you.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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