J. D. Petruzzi’s got a great post over on his blog that easily could have been (and probably should have been) the eighth post in my Things I Wish I Knew Then But Know Now series of posts that ended yesterday. Here’s the post in its entirety:

The realities of writing
Buddy Eric Wittenberg has made a very revealing series of posts over the past couple of weeks entitled “Things I Wish I Knew Then But Know Now” about the realities (oftentimes harsh realities) of writing about the Civil War. His posts could apply equally as well to any type of historical writing. There are 7 installments to Eric’s series and the first one is here.

His posts should be

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Although I indicated that I would participating in the annual conference of the Little Big Horn Associates in July in this post, I have changed my mind and have informed the powers that be that I will not be participating in the event.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

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I sincerely hope that this series of posts has shed some light on the issues that those of us who write Civil War history face. First, and foremost, I wanted to share my experiences with those of you who read this blog who are either working on, or are considering, your first book on the Civil War, so that you can gain insight from my ten years’ experience working in the arena. The lessons related here were hard-learned, and if you can gain something from then, I’m glad I undertook the project.

Second, for those of you who are consumers of Civil War history but have no interest in writing something of your own, I hope you gained some insight …

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The Process of Researching Your Book Will Cost Much More Than You Expect, So Plan Accordingly. In this, the final post of the series, I will address something that J. D. suggested in a comment to the last post. I actually had planned on ending the series with this particular subject, so J.D. beat me to the punch. Ah, well.

J.D. is absolutely correct about the costs associated with researching and writing one of these books. Let me very blunt about this. I’m self-employed. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. It’s really as simple as that. Folks pay me in excess of $200 for my time, so it has to be worth my while to pry myself out …

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Your Book Will Cost You More Than You Expect, So Plan for It. There are lots of hidden costs associated with the process of publishing a book. As just one example, some publishers insist that the preparation of the book’s index is the author’s responsibility. If you’re like me and don’t have the time, patience, attention span, or inclination to do an index, you will be expected to pay someone else to do it. To be completely and entirely candid about it, there are fews things in the world that piss me off more than being expected to pay for the preparation of an index. I’ve always viewed that as the publisher’s responsibility, since it’s part of the process of …

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To take a break from my Things I Wish I Had Known series of posts, here is a review of last night’s show. Fear not…there will be more Things tomorrow. Today, though, I want to do something completely different. Again, for those who only read this blog for the Civil War content, you will probably want to skip this post.

I’m an old New Waver. I admit it. I loved the New Wave. Some of those bands were truly great: Blondie, The Talking Heads, Joe Jackson, The Romantics, Squeeze, The Fixx, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Police, the Specials, Oingo Boingo, UB40, and on and on. I had a one-inch wide black leather tie. I wore black Chuck Taylor …

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Everyone Needs an Editor. Yes, Even You. “There are two kinds of editors, those who correct your copy and those who say it’s wonderful,” wrote the eminent political historian, Theodore H. White. He was absolutely correct.

Everyone needs an editor. There’s not a writer alive who doesn’t. That means you, and it likewise means me, too. I will be the first to admit that editors make my work better. A good editor can make a good work a great one, and a decent one a good one. One prominent book editor summed up the role of the editor quite nicely. “I see my [editorial] role as helping the writer to realize he or her intention. I never want to impose …

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It’s All About the Marketing, Stupid. There are several reasons why I enjoy working with Ted Savas so much. First, Ted and I have been friends for a long time. Second, we share the same philosophies about what makes a good book, including the idea that there can never be too many maps or illustrations in a book. Most importantly, though, is that Ted gets marketing. Even though he’s a lawyer by training, Ted has a very strong entrepreneurial spirit, and he gets marketing. He’s been really successful with selling his books, with placing them with the book clubs, and even in selling the movie rights to one of his titles. What’s more, he encourages his authors to market, because …

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Be Careful What You Wish For. You Just Might Get It. I’ve learned that having someone review my work for accuracy and readability is imperative. When he was still alive and well enough to do so, Brian Pohanka read just about everything that I wrote, and often gave excellent feedback. I still have a network of people that I turn to to provide this invaluable service, including, but not limited to, J. D. Petruzzi, Scott Patchan, Horace Mewborn, Bob O’Neill, Teej Smith, and one or two others. Their feedback is critical. They point out mistakes. They point out bad writing. And most of all, they give me their honest, unblinking assessment of my work, whether it’s what I want to …

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Not Every Book Is Worthy of Publication. Writers write. That’s what we do. Some of us do it better than others. That’s not a criticism, it’s a statement of fact. I was blessed with some natural ability that has been honed from years of hard work. My writing has improved greatly from the early days simply because I’ve done so much of it. I still cringe when I read some of my early historical writings because they’re that bad.

On one hand, I’m very fortunate that I have never written anything that was intended for publication which was not accepted for publication. I know for a fact that there are very few people who can say that they’re batting …

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