OUR BROWN ROOTS
I am working on writing, Our Brown Roots, the history of my paternal grandfather’s family & its many leaves & branches. I am trying to focus my time & efforts on finishing up that huge project but will give some time to posting about the procedure here.
Here is an update on my progress with my book. I am very happy to have my first cousin, Nancy Jo (Brown) Dilley, helping me by editing this massive project. We have poured over every word, name, comma and quotation mark in the pages of this book. One chapter at a time, Nancy has read, edited and commented on our family's story. Then we met so we could look closely at each page. We'd focus on every place her bright orange marker left a smiley face, a question mark, or note for me to address. My well read librarian cousin has given me very useful insights and comments.
After years of researching and writing about the 13 family branches in this book, I needed a second pair of eyes. I need someone who is not a genealogist. Most of my eventual readers will not be genealogists so I need that point of view. Have I explained land grants, relationships and historical settings so they are understandable? Are my charts and maps confusing or clear?
Nancy would had me one chapter at a time to edit and then we would move on to the next. We worked our way through the over 800 pages!
I saved my Word document on a thumb drive and drove over to my local Staples. They printed 2 copies and returned them to me in two heavy boxes. We emptied our 2 inch binders and refilled them with this draft. What will we do now?
EDIT, EDIT, EDIT!
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Congratulations on achieving so much progress on this important project! Editing will help you focus and clarify. Best wishes for the holiday season!
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