January 16, 2015
nobabies.net
Don Fehr
Trident Media Group
dfehr@tridentmediagroup.com
In 2013 I and a colleague published “Fluctuation of Fertility with Number in a Real Insect Population and a Virtual Population” in African Entomology and was invited and so wrote a review article for Insects on intrinsic population regulation, which went to two reviewers, both of whom nailed the fatal flaw that it wasn’t really about insects but about intrinsic population regulation generally. Nonetheless they were kind enough for one to remark, “This paper has been one of the most interesting manuscripts that I have reviewed in a long time,” and go on to make some suggestions and the other to say, “I recommend the author extend this very readable and personal exploration around population growth and regulation into a full book, which would be more appropriate for this type of material.”
I suspect they found my style a bit flippant for the sober halls of academe.
The paper is about 40 pages long; I imagine I can beef it up with another 200 to make it more accessible to the general reader. Then there is the matter of finding an agent. I was reading Riveted by James Davies. That’s a terrific name for a book; I doubt I could match it. But it seemed to me he was speaking to an audience similar to one I would address. I have no problem with Davies’ science, but he might wish to make a more nuanced interpretation of his bottom line if he knew some more facts.
He mentioned you. So if you would like I can send you a copy of the paper, and I think it would be fair to include the remarks of the reviewers; they’re quite anonymous. Let me know if I have your permission to proceed.
Sincerely,
M. Linton Herbert MD
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