When I was in sixth grade, my paternal grandmother passed away and left me her typewriter. I’d already been writing little stories in the notebook she’d given me when I was six—about my brothers, my day, but mostly my cat. That notebook was small, spiral bound and had a fuzzy kitten on the cover. But typing on Ma’s typewriter, with its italicized font, made me feel important. Grown-up. 

I began writing thank you notes to my friends and family members. They were extensive and often sought to inform people on the relevant facts of life, like that a cat’s sweat glands are in their paws, and other randomness. 

I graduated from writing about the world around me to writing about my fellow students at Walpole High School and then Westfield State College, penning stories for both schools’ newspapers. 

Somewhere around 1983, as a college sophomore, I read The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White, as part of a writing course. Back then, the only thing I loved about the book was that it was short and easy to read. 

Much later, while working at the Springfield Republican—then the Springfield Morning Union, I was gifted the small, unimposing book, of only 52 pages and began to absorb the principles of clear, direct, unfrilly writing. The book also covers everything from commonly misused words like “effect” and “affect,” to rules of punctuation and grammar. It became my go-to desk read.

Ironically, the book affected my income as it also improved my craft. I was a part-time reporter—called a “stringer”—getting paid by the word, so I wrote very long stories. But Strunk teaches that one must “omit needless words” and “make every word tell.” While that lesson was important to learn, it did shrink my paychecks a bit. It was a good investment.

The Elements of Style helped me find my voice. Strunk says we should “write in a way that comes naturally.”  That was a freeing learning. As the time, I was a 20-something infant journalist in a large newsroom full of people twice my age with abundant knowledge and experience, so, to have confidence in my work, I tended to puff things up a little. I used fancy words, and wrote long, flowy sentences, even though it didn’t feel natural to me.

The Elements of Style helped me learn to write the way I speak—simply, clearly.

When I moved away from journalism in 1998 and launched Beetle Press, I used my crisp writing to craft messaging for my clients, to tell their stories and help their businesses or nonprofits get noticed. 

I frequently revisit resources like The Elements of Style; it is part of what makes me good at what I do. This little book is one I recommend to business or nonprofit leaders who want to create their own content in printed materials and online. It is a quick and easy way to learn a whole lot. 

This book was written in 1918, and it still holds up today, which I find impressive. What else has stood the test of time so well in this constantly evolving world?

The post Old book still has relevant lessons appeared first on Beetle Press.

Nick Grabbe was a longtime editor of the Amherst Bulletin, a weekly paper that covered Amherst, Massachusetts, and was owned by the DeRose brothers, who also were the publishers of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. 

I met Nick in the late 1990s, when I was working for the Gazette as special sections editor; it was my job to assign, edit, and lay out the stories in 52 sections the paper put out each year, from its Wedding Showcase to Spring Home & Garden to First Snow.

Nick worked in Amherst most of the time, but when he was producing pages for the Bulletin—laying them out and walking them through the process of getting plated and readied for the press—he worked in the Northampton office. He and I often were readying pages at the same time.

Nick is roughly a decade older and wiser than me. Back then, he kept to himself, yet his reputation spoke volumes. He was known as a tireless advocate and defender for the Bulletin, a hard worker, and a particular editor. I was a bit intimidated by him for all of these reasons. I don’t remember that we spoke much, aside from idle chitchat in the break room.

I left the newspaper in 1998 to start my business, Beetle Press, and Nick was still plugging away for the Bulletin. I didn’t hear from him or of him until late in 2019, when he contacted me because he had written a book and was looking for an editor.

In true Nick character, he had a healthy list of questions for me to answer about my editing style and approach, and wanted to know what other clients I had engaged. He sought permission to speak to a recent client and ask some questions, and I was happy to agree.

Nick’s questions for my client were good ones. First posed by Nick to author Judith Kelliher, these queries continue to be put to use when I complete a project and seek client feedback. They tend to get at the heart of each client’s work with me.

A Q&A with Nick, which also makes use of his questions, will post in the coming weeks.

Even better, Nick’s book will be available soon.

Called “Print and Privilege: Newspaper writer tells his own story,” the memoir is about Nick’s life, beginning with his privileged childhood, growing up in Washington, DC, in a family with a Russian count in its family tree.

“Print and Privilege” tells the story of Nick’s forty years as a newspaper editor and writer, taking readers from the age of manual typewriters to the decline of print journalism. He shows how he survived an elitist childhood, struggled through his erratic twenties, somehow found fulfillment in career and marriage, and became an advocate for simple living. 

Nick also describes pioneering as a man at a traditionally women’s college, raising a son with Down Syndrome, and taking part in a campaign to change a local form of government. Through it all, Nick discovered his own meaning of “privilege.”

As a journalist in Western Mass, I found the book to be fascinating. I enjoyed reading about Nick’s roots and his early entry into the local scene. I also recognized some of the characters Nick worked with and was impressed by the methodical, thorough way in which Nick led the Amherst Bulletin, the creative stories he assigned, and the meticulous notes he kept about his work and ideas.

In reading Nick’s book as I made my edits, I also enjoyed Nick’s own introspective look at himself as he matured into a husband, professional, and father of two.

When we started working together, Nick asked me to read his book and offer my feedback and suggestions. These ranged from starting the book with a broader look at his world to providing readers with a deeper look at his parents, sister, and wife, Betsy Krogh. Nick accepted almost all of my recommendations, and I enjoyed the easy way in which we interacted.

As we neared the design phase, it was exciting to enter into email conversations with Nick about particular words, phrases, sentences. I don’t often have this level of engagement with clients, as many of them are not longtime writers, as Nick is. Nick and I kept each other on our toes, and together, we did our best work.

Whether you live in Western Mass or read the local papers here, you will enjoy Nick’s book. It is an honest look at a life in which things didn’t always run smoothly. “Print and Privilege” also provides seasoned journalists and those with little knowledge of how a newspaper runs with an inside look at what’s involved, the pressures, the ethics.

“Print and Privilege” is coming soon. Make room on your shelf!

The post Helping a seasoned writer tell his story appeared first on Beetle Press.

Writing a memoir is like painting a landscape or sculpting a jewel-studded necklace. Each work of art starts as a vision, an idea; then, it evolves into a sketch, and slowly, something real and meaningful emerges. 

As the artist applies more heart, soul, truth, reflection, creativity, time, and talent, the richer the piece taking shape.

My second memoir, Willful Evolution, started merely as a reprint of the original blogs I wrote over the past 10 years. Those online posts were the canvas—or the gold chain. They planted the seed of an idea that I thought well-enough conveyed the story I wanted to tell.

But the more I worked on the compilation, the more I realized many of the blogs were written in haste and did not carry a level of detail that would make me proud. Nor did they well lay out the story. They were only a level above a sketch, an uncut stone.

I tinkered, and my fussing added enough dimension, color, and depth that I felt comfortable showing the book to others for feedback. As I received others’ thoughts, the deeper I dove into my own process.

As a result, there is very little left of the original material I mined for the book. It’s been replaced by insights, honesty, and other gemstones I wrenched from my heart, wit, and wisdom as I reflected and dug deeper into my own truth. 

Willful Evolution tells the story of the 10 years that have passed since my late husband, Ed, died from lung cancer—only four days after I was laid off from my full-time job. It’s a painful story, with turns I own and feel pride in, my own Cinderella story, with me as the prince holding the glass slipper.

Just as my inner psyche, confidence, and abilities grew and developed over the past decade, so too has this memoir, which is a sequel to Divine Renovations, the story of meeting Ed, falling in love, and losing him.

Early readers said things like this: “It’s great, and there’s too much of your travels with your daughter Molly in the beginning, but I don’t know what to suggest you cut.” (I didn’t either.)

“There’s so much of Molly, but not much of your daughter Sally.” (I knew that was because the past eight of those ten years were difficult for Sally and me. How to tell that part of the story?)

Others said they wanted to see more of Craig, my housemate for most of this period and also a best friend. 

While I had gobs of time in March and April to work on the book, getting it to the point where I showed friends and colleagues, as soon as I began receiving feedback, I began receiving client work again as well. 

I used the lack of time as an excuse to not really think about how to solve the very real problems and holes people had poked in the manuscript. Then, as often happens when I am working on a long body of work, the inspirations started to come. 

I focused on the images that showed my vulnerabilities and the ways in which I began to conquer them, and that led me to know which of the travel scenes with Molly to release from the book. 

I followed my heart, and that showed me what to include in terms of the evolution of my relationship with my daughter Sally. And my heart helped me have the conversation with her about the material.

It was easiest to add scenes featuring Craig. Some are amusing, some are sweet; some bittersweet. 

Including Craig also pointed me toward the real beginning of the story—the two women I hosted when they were students at the International Language Institute. It was welcoming them into my home for a month at a time each that helped me know I wanted to find someone to live with me permanently.

Focusing more on Craig also brought another a-ha. I met Craig in a business networking group called Business Network International. BNI played an enormous role in my personal growth, and in my ability to secure my own future. Of course it belonged in the book, along with several other of my colleagues, and the work I did to grow my business.

A discovery of my grandmother’s writing last fall has also been woven into the prologue. 

Each addition brought new and finer brush strokes, more painstaking cutting and polishing of the gemstones.

This week, I will begin designing the inside pages of Willful Evolution, and I expect I will have the book out in print in the first quarter of 2021. That brings me to the “overcoming fear” part of the process—the part where you have angst over hanging the work in a gallery for others to gawk at and evaluate. 

I’m working on that part! 

One moment at a time.

The post Weaving in the Gemstones appeared first on Beetle Press.

Recently, an author who was considering the idea of hiring me to edit and help self-publish his memoir asked if I could connect him to Judith Kelliher, the author of “A Wartime PhD,” so she could serve as a reference. 

He knew I had provided similar services to Judy when she published her book about her brother Bobby’s two tours in Vietnam. He specifically wanted to speak with Judy as we three were once all colleagues at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. What follows are the author’s questions for Judy and her answers.

What did you consider the most valuable part of working with Janice on your book? 

What was invaluable was that I had worked on this project for six years, and my book needed a keen eye and fresh perspective. Janice brought both. She has the experience of working on other books so she knew the process and what else I would need besides editing of the manuscript (such as obtaining an ISBN and copyright, identifying what goes in the front matter of the book, etc.) Janice also brainstormed with me to come up with the title, which I am very happy with. She designed the cover and the layout. Her experience was hugely helpful. She prepared all the files for the printer, too. 

What kinds of suggestions did she make? Did you act on all of them? If you had differences, how did you resolve them? 

Janice edited the manuscript for grammar, clarity, and flow. She used track changes, and the Comments feature in Word to note her edits and questions/suggestions, which made reviewing the document easier for me. In the vast majority of cases, I accepted her suggestions for rewording, but there were a few times I felt strongly about keeping the writing as is, and she respected my view and agreed with me. Some of her suggested edits made my writing more powerful and punchy. 

In what way did your book turn out differently from what it would have been if you had not worked with Janice on it?

Overall, I would say my manuscript was in pretty good shape (for example, I didn’t have to move chapters around or large chunks of text). BUT all the things I mentioned above made the book a cleaner read with additional clarity. I was too close to the book after six years, and it really needed that professional eye, which Janice has!

How did Levellers Press help you get the word out about your book? Was your experience with them positive? 

I hired Levellers to handle the printing. They also collaborate with Amazon and fulfill book orders. I had a very good experience with their team. They did not help me promote the book. So far, my only promotion has been through Facebook and word of mouth. There was a story about my book in the Wilbraham-Hampden Times and we are waiting for a MassLive story to come out. I plan to do more promoting when I come up for air from work!

What kind of reaction have you had to your book? 

The feedback has been incredibly positive! My brother and I have each received very heartfelt and moving comments personally and via phone, email, text, Facebook, and some people have even taken the time to send handwritten cards! If you go to my Amazon page you can also read comments left there: https://www.amazon.com/Wartime-Ph-D-Soldiers-Vietnam-Learning/product-reviews/1951928113/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews.

I thank Judy for her remarks. The author in question has decided to work with me, and that means you will be hearing more about his memoir as our work together evolves.

The post Feedback from a Client on the Editing Process appeared first on Beetle Press.

As I considered a name for my first book, I went through a process that was methodical but not very productive in terms of getting me to a name I loved. 

After months of thinking and brainstorming words and combinations, I still had nothing that rocked me. Then, I passed by a religious compound in the Berkshires with “Divine” in its name on a walk with my friend Judith Kelliher and her brother Bill. And it came: Divine Renovations. A perfect name for a spiritual-leaning book about a carpenter, a home renovation, and a life renovation.

I went through a similar process in naming my second book. With friends, colleagues, and interns, I brainstormed words and word phrases, and dreamed up titles and subtitles. Nothing felt quite right, but I landed on Core Strength: Because healing the heart begins in the center.

While that name said it all, the people counseling me and I thought potential readers might think the memoir is about physical fitness when in fact it’s about personal growth and transformation. 

Also, “Core Strength” is a common phrase. I wanted a zinger.

One week, over the course of a few days, I was relentless in bringing the book title topic up with my husband, Steve. He’d listen to me, offer suggestions, and listen some more. Still, nothing popped.

Then, I started designing the book’s front and back covers. I sent design options to Steve, my daughters, my interns, and my thought-leader friends. I got big rejection stickers over the images I was choosing, which were from travels only mentioned in the book but which said nothing about the book’s purpose.

My daughter Sally suggested a photo of water—like from the river I boat on in Western Mass, the Connecticut. I played with that idea in designs, using photos that showed an entire landscape—water, trees, the river’s edge. It still felt wrong. 

“Ask one of your designer friends,” my daughter Molly said.

So, I took the whole title-design problem to Maureen Scanlon, who has partnered with me on some client books, such as Seasoned and Hand, Horse, and Motor. In a fifteen-minute phone call, Maureen steered my focus away from Core Strength and random images by suggesting that this second book be marketed as a sequel to Divine Renovations, which indeed it is. The first book tells the story of the death of my late husband, Ed, and the second, the story of the next decade.

Further, Maureen suggested that the image could be parallel to that on the cover of Divine Renovations: something meaningful that also has great detail. I knew it had to be a water shot, as Sally suggested, and then I knew it could be close-up, showing movement, since the book is about getting from one place to another, in my spirit.

I went back to the name-drawing board with poor Steve. Every time a new combination came to me, I’d throw it out, interrupting normal conversation. Then, I threw out Willful Evolution: Because healing the heart takes strength.

Like I saw on the dating app, Bumble, when I was matched to Steve over two years ago, there it was: Boom. Just in my mind and not on my phone screen. We both knew that was the name.

That night, Steve and I went out on the boat, and we both took dozens of photos of just the water—nothing on the landscape. I got the one that appears on the cover at dusk. The engine was running, creating the rings and bubbles in the foreground, and a boat had just passed, creating the waves. 

In the design, I drew out the pink in the water with a magenta screen, and I used the same parallel design from Divine Renovations, which was developed by my friend Lisa Stowe.

Love it.

This book is coming soon. I’m guessing October or November. I was delayed by my move to a new home later this month. 

Soon, I’ll offer an excerpt.

The post The Evolution of a Book Name and Cover Design appeared first on Beetle Press.

Recently, I had the pleasure of conducting a Discovery Session through Janice Beetle Books with Charlene Moses of Laconia, New Hampshire. She is working on a memoir about painful events that occurred in her family when she was growing up.

Charlene has taken some correspondence courses in writing for children and teenagers, but she has not had formal training or experience, and as she worked on her manuscript, that fact concerned her. She sought me out to serve as a resource and an objective voice. I told her to keep writing. She is well on the right track.

“I’ve always had the urge to want to write,” she says. “It just never really happened. I’ve written songs or poems in the past, but this book is my first biggie.” 

Indeed, it is.

I am grateful that Charlene took the time to answer the below questions about our Discovery Session. 

What are you working on as a writer at this time?

I am working on my life story as a child and young adult. The dramatic experiences I went through.

What prompted you to have Janice review your memoir-in-progress?

I knew I would need help because of my inexperience. When I saw Janice’s ad in the Laconia Daily Sun, it caught my attention. Her picture indicated to me that there was something special about Janice. She had a spiritual look and honesty in her eyes. My instincts were right on.

What were you hoping to achieve in the session?

I was hoping to feel a sense of accomplishment and to hear that I did have the ability and compassion to continue my journey. The session taught me just that. I received the encouragement I needed to proceed.

What did you learn that was helpful?

I received some wonderful critiques that could help make my story come more alive and exciting for the readers.

Any other specific tidbits that will help you to self-edit your work?

The suggestions that were given were so helpful that I can’t wait to go back and review my work and make it even better.

Did you feel you made a connection with Janice? If yes, in what way?

I definitely felt a connection with Janice. I felt as though we have known each other for a long time. I felt she could actually feel my experiences with me and knew where I wanted to go with my story. Her sensitivity showed she cared about who I am and that she wanted to help me in every way possible.

Anything else that might be helpful feedback for Janice or someone thinking about working with her?

Janice is a very knowledgeable and professional person. She is also very caring and compassionate. She makes you feel right at home and makes you feel that you can accomplish anything your heart desires. Even though I have not had a lot of experience in writing, she made me feel that I was already a successful writer and could reach beyond what I ever hoped for. I can see why other people have asked for her help, and I am so glad that I found her. I wouldn’t have gotten even this far without her. Anyone else would be blessed to work with her.

The post Coaching a Writer in Progress appeared first on Beetle Press.

I’ve known Bobby Kelliher for over three decades. He is one of my favorite people.

Bobby is the kind of person who does not specialize in one-word answers. A story about a thing that happened to him might take twenty minutes, but it is sure to make you bust a gut laughing. Because Bobby speaks his own language. A computer, or a cell phone, for instance, would be referred to as “The Machine.” Google isn’t just Google. It’s The Google. 

The Bobby I know is loving and affectionate. He calls me Buglet and makes me feel special, noticed, understood, valuable. He calls himself Roooooberto. That makes him feel special.

Bobby is my dear friend Judy Kelliher’s older brother. Recently, I helped Judy finalize the manuscript for the book she wrote about Bobby and his two tours in Vietnam. I got to read the book several times, and I learned about a whole new Bobby—the Bobby who was torn apart by war—and with the help of others—put himself back together again.

It nearly broke my heart to know and understand what my sweet, funny friend has endured—and survived.

Judy’s book, “A Wartime PH.D.: One Soldier’s Story of Vietnam and Learning to Live Again,” takes a close look at Bobby’s life, growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts, and his young adulthood—hanging out with friends and his girlfriend, Margaret, and spending a semester in college in Florida before his father, unimpressed with his grades, “invited him home.”

Bobby decides to enlist in the U.S. Army, and it’s then that his hell begins. 

Judy well describes scenes from Bobby’s two tours of duty—including one that most devastated Bobby. I must say, though, that the moments in the book that I found most profoundly sad all occurred after Bobby has returned home and doesn’t know how to live with himself, with the images in his head.

His parents must comfort him when he awakens from nightmares, screaming in the middle of the night.

His marriage to Margaret becomes troubled because he is devastated and doesn’t know how to express, even to his wife, the ghosts that haunt him.

His children don’t fully know him.

In a pivotal moment of crisis, Bobby’s sister Mary connects him to help at the Veterans Affairs Center in Leeds, Massachusetts, and the road up—to a PTSD diagnosis, still so new in that era, and to peace and acceptance—begins there. 

While I saw glimmers of the Bobby I know today during the war—in his dedication to his men, his bravery, his modesty, his humor—it is in this second part of the book that I begin to recognize the Bobby I know today.

The Bobby who works at the bank and has tremendous compassion for people who are falling behind in their mortgage payments.

The Bobby who works at the jail and brings humor and empathy to the inmates, who bond with him and miss him when Bobby retires.

The Bobby who works with young people with disabilities.

The Bobby who drives seniors to their appointments.

Although a minor character in the book, Margaret shined out for me. I know Margaret somewhat, having met her at Kelliher family gatherings over the years. I had no idea what grace, tenacity, and steadfast love she brought to her marriage and to Bobby’s healing. I am so grateful to her.

I admire her, and Bobby, too. 

I am so proud of Bobby for sharing his story; of Margaret for giving permission; and of Judy, for capturing it all so well. Writing a book based on someone else’s life and experiences is a tremendous undertaking. It’s time-consuming and all-encompassing, and Judy handled the process with grace, as she handles all difficult matters.

When the project was tough for her, she persevered. 

When she worried she wouldn’t be able to finish, she kept going.

I will be honored to feature “A Wartime Ph.D.” in my NEW! section on the Janice Beetle Books Home page very soon, and in Clients’ Books. In addition to copy editing, I also designed the book’s cover and inside pages. 

As it was for Judy, it was, for me, a labor of love.

The post A Book About Healing That Broke My Heart appeared first on Beetle Press.

Judi Lundh is a retired English teacher who lives not far from my home in the Lakes Region of Laconia, New Hampshire. She has written a few books and contacted me after seeing an ad I run in the Laconia Sun for Janice Beetle Books.

One piece Judi penned was about her mother, Virginia, and Judi had in mind to have it edited, designed, and printed in book form as a gift for Virginia’s 90th birthday. After we discussed the process and how it would all work with technology bridging the gap between Western Mass and Laconia, I started helping Judi in December 2019.

Because the book existed then only as a PDF, my intern Teresa Adams typed the work. Then, Judi wrote a half dozen or so more chapters, fleshing out an end and bringing the content up to date with the year 2020 and Virginia’s impending birthday. I copyedited the piece, asked some pesky questions, and—because we were in a hurry to complete the project—I also did the book design.

It was printed by Off the Common Books in Amherst in early March, and I drove the box with Judi’s 50 copies up to New Hampshire to deliver them; Judi’s mother, sisters, and other family members—all guests at the March birthday gathering—were to receive a book.

Judi was thrilled, as she should be! She is proud and felt certain her mother would be honored by her words and efforts.

The Last of the Matriarchs begins with Virginia meeting the man she would marry in the early 1940s and offers glimpses of special moments in Virginia’s life as a wife and mother—raising three daughters, working hard, spending time with her dear friend Eleanor.

The book ends with a poem Judi penned, called “Sonnet of Love.”

Judi is a fine writer, and the work is sweet and sentimental. I can’t imagine a nicer tribute.

Girls. (My girls, Sally and Molly.) Are you reading this? Paying attention? This would be a wonderful gift for YOUR mother. You know. Some day.

Nicely done, Judi, and thanks very much for letting me help you bring your mother’s story to life!

The post Last of the Matriarchs appeared first on Beetle Press.

While I don’t feel at liberty at this time to talk openly about the people whose stories I am helping bring to life through Janice Beetle Books, I will give you a glimpse of the range of topics and services I’m providing. 

I can tell you I am helping my dear friend, Judith Kelliher, take the final steps to bring her manuscript to life. For the past five-plus years, Judy has been working on a book about her brother Bobby’s two tours in Vietnam—and life after.

As you might imagine, “A Wartime PhD: One soldier’s story of Vietnam and learning to live again,” is a powerful story with moments that hurt the heart. Judy’s writing is clear and wrenching, and also loving.

The manuscript is now in my hands. I have copy edited it—as has another friend of Judy’s—and now it is time to design the book and work with Levellers Press and its Off the Common Books division to get it printed. I adore both Judy and Bobby, so this work is a labor of love. 

I am so proud of Judy—and Bobby as well; it is often not easy to share such a deeply personal story. I am also proud of these clients, whom I am helping at this time:

• A retired pediatrician, who founded a health center in the South End of Boston in 1969 and is telling the story of the center’s founders, staff, and its 50th anniversary last year. 
• An octogenarian, for whom I’m writing a memoir that tells the story of various crises she faced in her life, including polio and breast cancer diagnoses, and how she overcame those challenges. 
• A local entrepreneur, who’s story centers on a system she devised and uses in coaching her clients to become stronger leaders and employers. (I will use my systems in coaching her to write this book.)
• A retired English teacher, who has written a clever and loving story about her mother’s life, which I am editing. 
• A retired engineer, for whom I’m editing a fictional who-dun-it.
• A nurse, who wants to share the story of a brutal beating she suffered at the hands of a patient and how she believes change is needed in health care management.

I hope to tell you more about this work as time passes.

The post Covering a lot of Ground appeared first on Beetle Press.

I have been having trouble finding time to write blogs once a week because Janice Beetle Books has exploded! I am currently working on eight different manuscripts for clients—in addition to my PR work with clients of Beetle Press. The work is fascinating and incredibly rewarding, and that is an adventure of a different kind, is it not?

Before Christmas last December, I worked on a project for a woman in Western Mass whose adult daughter died in 2016, leaving behind an over-300-page manuscript she had completed, but it was unedited and unpublished. 

My client wanted to finalize her daughter’s work and present the gift of a printed, bound book to her two other children, and her late daughter’s children, for Christmas. So, I hustled to make that happen, as did Levellers Press in Amherst, which designed and published the fictional tale through its self-publishing division, Off the Common Books.

My client told me her two grandsons were overwhelmed with the present—a solid piece of work that offered them peace of mind and pride. One held the book to his chest; the other wept. They both said it was the greatest gift they had ever received.

And that makes me weepy. 

What follows is the foreword I was honored to write for the book. I have changed the author’s name and have not used the name of my client, her mother, to protect their privacy. This book is not for sale on the market. At this time, it is a family treasure only.

Foreword

When I work with an author to copy edit a book, there is a good deal of back and forth. I ask questions, poke holes in ideas, and question material that doesn’t make sense to me. The process is rewarding. I value the dialogue and the chance to get inside another writer’s head.

Sadly, I was not able to have literary conversations with the late Mary Writer, the author of this book. I tried my best to channel Mary instead as I copy edited her manuscript, though. I would talk with her as I worked: “This is what you meant, Mary, right?” My main guiding principle was like that of a physician’s—do no harm. 

As I worked, I edited for grammar and style only, adhering to the Chicago Manual of Style. When I caught discrepancies, I fixed them with the lightest touch possible. After my first read-through of the entire work, I let Mary’s mother know that page 327 of the manuscript was missing and that the book—a murder mystery—ended abruptly, mid-sentence in chapter 106.

Mary’s mother and I were disappointed about this fact. She assured me the missing pages were not at her house. While Mary’s mother did not actively search for another version of the manuscript, about a week later, she emailed me to say that she had come upon a plastic tote in her home; a second, intact copy of the manuscript was within. It was meant to be. I scrambled to transcribe and edit page 327 and the remaining chapters. How satisfying to know the ending that Mary had imagined! 

The book is set in Madison, New Hampshire, in the northern part of the state, near Silver Lake. I think the story takes place roughly between 1996 and 2007; those were the years during which Motorola’s StarTAC flip phone was manufactured. One of the book’s characters owns a StarTAC.

One important yet subtle subtext of the book is education. At least a half dozen of the major characters wrestle with alcoholism; those who are in recovery educate about what the disease is, and what it is not. 

I am grateful to Mary’s mother for allowing me the honor of working on her daughter’s manuscript and shepherding it through the design and print process. Mary was a very skilled writer. Her characters are well-drawn and engaging, and the storyline is gripping. 

I know from correspondence I unearthed in the plastic tote Mary’s mother brought me that book agents and editors agreed with me. Back in 2002, Mary had worked diligently to find an agent or publisher to bring her book to life. I am so pleased that Mary’s mother and I have been able to do just that, and I hope this story brings pride and pleasure to Mary’s family.

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