Pushing my book, The French Desk, Over the Finish Line

These months prance along with such speed that I can scarcely believe another summer has rolled around and, once again, we are happily ensconced at the Rhode Island shore. I’m in the process of juggling my freelance writing assignments with the seemingly unending edits of my book, The French Desk, A Brooklyn Gal’s Journey into Wartime Propaganda.

No doubt my husband, family and friends would like me to move on from this work to other potential projects, but I do enjoy the process. I love to think and talk about writing. It’s something that lasts forever, even if it is not up there with Kingsolver, Shreve, Lahiri and others but I can assure you, I never thought that it would. That’s not a knock on me, it’s just that I understood those authors are beyond my skill set. I was trained as a journalist, not a novelist.

The truth is that I have set the story down that I wanted to tell. It’s a journalist’s version of my mother’s World War Two life. Emotion does not pour out of every sentence. (I’m not that kind of girl anyway, unless I’m at a funeral. Then, I’m a mess. But otherwise, I’m fairly steady.) It’s more a picture of her life for about two years, long before she was married and settled with five children. I’ve added characters and situations to give the book more than just a recap of what my mother was involved with. I’ve taken it as far as I can.

When we lived in Westport, I used to go to writing class at Write Yourself Free / The Editing Company with Patrick McCord, Ph. D, armed with 750 words for master-class peer and professional review. I was given excellent editing suggestions, wrapped up with strong encouragement to keep going. Patrick enjoyed my story. I miss his classes and all my wonderful writing friends. I hope to see them soon so that I can hear all about their projects.

In addition, several people were instrumental in moving me along. Kim Lake was especially helpful early on in this endeavor and I will always be grateful for her wise advice. Our sushi lunches with papers all over the table is a favorite memory of mine.  I also was in a private writing group and given great feedback on how to add emotion to the book. My friend Barb Eilertsen also gave it a full read with many insightful suggestions.

When we moved to Florida, I met a wonderful man who was a World War two history buff, and he offered to read my story. The late Larry Calvert gave it a “thumbs up” after he read it in the fall of 2019. His wife, Gretchen, also enjoyed it. I’m so glad we had them over for dinner to talk about the book a mere six months before he passed away too soon. I will be forever grateful for his input.

My lifelong friend, Frances Croke Page, was there with me along this journey and offered so much creative advice that I can never say ‘thank you’ enough. Here’s a link to the amazing video she developed for my story. Thanks to my dedicated husband, Bill, who continues to work with me as technical support, editor, cheerleader and most importantly, believer in me. All that goes for my three daughters, Sarah, Kate and Emily, who often say with sincerity and enthusiasm, “You do you, mom!”

In addition to my core team, as mentioned above, I’ve had several friends and family read the book. Thank you to all who have given me feedback! There are too many to mention individually. My beta readers told me that they learned a lot, especially about the Office of War Information. The overall reception was tepid to excellent. A few shared that it was not a page turner, that it did not have enough plot, which did discourage me, but books are very personal, and I accepted their comments as any writer must. Thicker skin does develop. I also heard that some readers loved it. Most importantly, I feel that the work is good. My self-respect is intact. For the less than stellar receptions, I’ve realized that the book did not offer what they were looking for. Fair enough.

But I am done. I’ve finished the book. It may not be a commercially successful book but I’m good with that.

I was recently having lunch with my writer / editor friend Christina Cush, Editor-in-Chief of Naples Illustrated magazine, who often offers me freelance work, which I absolutely love. Christina suggested that I self-publish and move on. She had read the book last year, edited the whole thing and then kindly sent it to two of her agent connections in New York. No one sends a book that they think is crap, so that made me feel good.

As reported in a blog post a year ago, in both cases the agent feedback was positive on the writing, but they did not feel a strong connection to my main character. Christina and I did not quite understand that, as we think my mother’s story and voice comes through well.

At lunch a month ago, she gently encouraged me to investigate self-publishing. She wondered why I was carrying on about it all. “Why hold yourself to a higher standard than is necessary or that you would ever ask anyone else to do? Your story is a great read. Push it over the finish line. Talk with my friend Kate, another author who is hybrid self-publishing,” she added.

Not long ago, we met for coffee and Kate outlined what lies ahead if I go down that route. She was very kind to detail her hybrid publishing experience with me. So now, I am going to make a decision to proceed and be done with the book. Thanks to Kate for helping me envision the end line.

I’m still sorting out just what is involved and am hoping to sit down without my cell phone, close the door and put this baby to bed. Amen.