The birth of a book...

Last week, nine months after The History Press first approved my book proposal, I finally delivered my manuscript. After hitting the "SEND" button on my email account last Wednesday, I finally birthed my book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, sending it into the cold cruel world of copy editing.

Much work still remains to be done, but the long hours of research, writing, and indexing are finally over. Of course, this book has been a labor of love for me for some time--much longer than nine months, actually--so I'm glad this writing project is, at last, in production.

I've read many accounts from authors who compare writing a book to the birth of a child. I doubt the physical pain of writing a book can even compare to child birth, but I'm sure the mental anguish new authors must feel is very similar. A work of non-fiction, in particular, needs the nourishment of primary and secondary sources, and careful attention to detail, much like a newborn baby needs constant care. Hopefully, I have given this book what it needs to succeed in the world. Time will tell.

As the publication process moves along, I plan to offer brief updates on The Posterity Project. I look forward to the day when I can finally announce the publication date. In the meantime, I hope you'll wish little "Chucky Jack" well as he begins his crawl through the publishing world. Someday soon he will stand on his own two feet, a fully matured book ready for the world that awaits.



 

Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.