What should I do if a Blue Poppy book arrives damaged or defective?
It happens. Printers make mistakes and FedEx sometimes crunches packages. In order to get a replacement, call Customer Service at our toll free 800 number. They will send you a new book and a FedEx call tag for the damaged goods. However, you must contact Customer service within 30 days of date of invoice.
How can I return a Blue Poppy book?
Any time within 30 days from the date of the invoice you may return any Blue Poppy book for a credit or refund of the purchase price, minus shipping charges. However, you must call our Customer Service first for approval at our toll free 800 before sending the book back to us
How can I get copies of out of print Blue Poppy books?
Once Blue Poppy lists a title as out of print, there is no way to purchase a copy of that book from Blue Poppy Press. You might try www.abebooks.com , a large consortium of on-line used book sellers.
Does Blue Poppy Press sell the Chinese language originals from which its translations are made?
Sorry, we don't. We only sell books and materials in English. However, in Teach Yourself to Read Modern Medical Chinese, there are addresses and fax numbers for Chinese language bookstores located in a number of North American cities as well as the address and numbers for the Chinese subscription and fulfillment source for all Chinese language Chinese medical journals published in the People's Republic of China.
How can I get in touch with one of Blue Poppy's authors or translators?
Any letters or faxes sent to one of our authors or translators c/o Blue Poppy Press will be forwarded to that individual.
Is it possible to request Blue Poppy Press to create Recent Research Reports on specific subjects and diseases and how can I do this?
Yes, it is. However, we cannot guarantee every topic or how long it will take before the report is available. Our cadre of Blue Poppy translators is growing day by day. So we have more and more help in creating new Recent Research Reports. When you tell Customer Service that you'd like us to create a report on a specific disease, that request is passed on to our Editorial Department and from there to potential translators. However, readers should also understand that some diseases current in the West do not show up in medical literature from the People's Republic of China. For instance, there is little or nothing on cervical dysplasia since routine mass screening with Pap smears does not seem to be done in the PRC. Therefore, our ability to create Research Reports by request is limited to what is available in the Chinese journal literature.
If I had an idea for a book, what do I need to do to be considered for publication?
First of all, we only publish books about acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Secondly, we only publish books by professional practitioners of Traditional East Asian Medicine licensed through either the NCCAOM or the state of California, and who have been in practice A) not less than five years, and B) read at least one Asian language. We will also consider materials my MDs or DOs on western medical topics that are geared towards practitioners of Traditional East Asian Medicine. Doctors who have affiliations with and relationships to the Traditional East Asian Medical Community will be given greater consideration. We prefer our authors to be native English-speakers, but this is not a hard and fast rule.
In order for a book proposal and associated materials to be considered, you must first send us a query letter stating the concept of the book, why it is needed and the proposed target audience, as well as your resume and curriculum vitae. Unsolicited materials, such as manuscripts and/or sample chapters that are not specifically requested by Blue Poppy after consideration of a query letter will be thrown out. Please do not send us unsolicited material.
Should we request additional materials, you should be prepared to send the following:
- The book's outline or Table of Contents
- At least two sample chapters, usually the introduction and at least one technical chapter
- If the book is a translation, then we also need:
- The name and author of the source text
- Date and place of publication and original publisher's name
- Some description of copyright status, e.g. public domain
- Several sample pages of the original language text for comparison
- A description of translational methodology, whether denotative, connotative, or functional
These materials should be sent to:
Shawn Kirby
c/o Blue Poppy Press
1990 57th Court N, Unit A
Boulder, CO, 80301
Why is it that Blue Poppy Press publications utilize words like "vacuity" and "repletion" instead of the terminology used in most textbooks?
Books on acupuncture and Chinese medicine are essentially technical instructional manuals. If you do this and that, then your patients can expect this or that result. Therefore, if the instructions are misleading or even incorrect, it’s logical to assume the outcomes may also be different than hoped for or expected. Most books we publish are either translations or the material they contain is based on Chinese language sources. Chinese and English are completely dissimilar languages, and it is very difficult to accurately convey Chinese language medical instructions in English. To do this requires a very special vocabulary in order to accurately convey the technical implications of technical Chinese medical terms.
Having spent a number of years wrestling with this problem our founder, Bob Flaws, believes that Nigel Wiseman's Chinese medical translational terminology as it appears in A Practical Dictionary of Chinees Medicine is the best standard Chinese-English medical terminology dictionary available in the world today. That is why he has chosen this book as our "house" standard. By using this book, Bob feels that any reader can immediately know what Chinese character has been translated as what English word /Pinyin Romanization. This makes cross-referencing information from book to book using this same terminology more consistent.
For more information on the rationale and methodology of behind Wiseman's terminology, please see his excellent essay at Paradigm Publications.
