Time to Write: #9 Final Thoughts [for now]

‘Remembrances: 

The Story of the Brady, Coyle, Gardner, Mullane & Other Related Families’

I am in the process of writing the story of my mother’s family. I could truthfully say I have been gathering information for this book since I was a little girl & my Nana told us stories about her childhood in New York City. Those stories and many years of research are now, at long last, going into book form. It is Time to Write. I have been posting about some of the items I am including in that book, such as an index & maps.

As you all know it all takes more time than we think it will. There are delays. Our son in law had knee surgery & I lent a hand in Virginia for a few weeks. Holidays and birthdays came & went. Home again I am working for hours every day.

There has been a change since I began writing my 'Time to Write' posts. I am writing in Microsoft Word, as I posted but my editor is transferring my work into another format. Editor? Yes, our daughter is between semesters at college where she is an adjunct professor pf Physics. She is also my editor. Alyssa is very interested in genealogy and has great computer skills. She is using LaTeX, ‘a programming language to format books, articles & manuscripts’.  As I finish a section she moves it into this system. Now the book is looking very professional. Thanks, Alyssa!

Confession. I think my blog has suffered while I have been working on the book. It is difficult to write both things at once. I want to stay focused on the writing process which means not being tempted to research or go off on any tangents. I am trying to post occasional posts because I want to keep the blog going but it is not getting the attention it did. Even my time in reading & writing comments on other blogs has been cut back. Apologies to those blogs I usually visit.

I hope to add to this ‘Time to Write’ series once I take my work to the publisher. There will still be decisions, like cover art, the number of copies, etc. Should I use a photo of my own for the cover art or use something from the publisher? How many copies should I order? I will blog about those options & my decisions.

Meanwhile I am off to my library/guest room where I use the desk that once belonged to our son for my writing. I am crossing things off the lists on my cork board! 

Is it a Time to Write for you?

Related Posts:

• Time to Write
• Time to Write: Making an Outline
• Time to Write: Format & Page Numbers
• Time to Write: Table of Contents
• Time to Write: An Index
• Time to Write: Section Dividers 
• Time to Write: Maps
• Time to Write: Appendix