The Galleys of SWS Have Arrived!

I really wasn't sure what to expect with galleys. They came in a box as a manuscript where the editor has done the very best he/she could to interpret what I wrote and try to clarify things that were perfectly clear in my own head, but somehow did not manage to relate in my initial writing. Thank God for editors!

With a writer, each word, each thought, each nuance of inflection is their baby and how dare someone mess with that perfect image! Take a week or two off and look back at those words and suddenly you ask yourself, how did I ever think I could actually call myself a writer. Fortunately with the collaboration of writer and editor, it somehow all comes together and I find that the wonderful suggestions the editor made are (mainly) right on!

I found it comforting that the editor also took to heart my concerns that a "just the facts ma'am" approach to "sticking to the story" might hurt the main purpose of the book and that was telling the story of those people within the fort whose stories have been lost in time. While the rally cry "remember Fort Mims" brought many a volunteer to Andrew Jackson's army and eventually made the career for Andrew Jackson setting him up to make a real impact on the future of our country and of course the Indians from whom he wrested 20,000,000 acres of land with his Treaty of Fort Jackson.

In reading over the galleys (my job is to answer the questions the editor still has and spot any errors) I find myself pulled into the story and I still cry at the right places. So, hopefully, if I can feel it, others will as well.

I will now return to my galleys.