I recently completed the first draft of Entangled. I posted it on Facebook. Maine Novels by Robert Chapman. I will add some notes to the website robertwchapman.com and return to start a first round of editing and proofing. I hope to hire a professional for these two tasks as well as doing my own work on it, but truth be told, it is not recommended that a writer proof their own work. (Can’t always see your own errors or other transgressions.) Entangled is something like a memoir, but not formatted or organized as a traditional script. I like to think that it is my testimonial to the girl I fell in love with in high school and the woman I love today. Janis resides in a Unit for people who suffer dementia. However, we continue our love and our relationship today…together/apart. This book is an attempt to share our love, marriage and the unique inclusion of what Janis brought to our lives. Janis had multiple diagnoses that were the result of childhood abuse. Our love, our marriage, our lives, were caught up in the web of that early trauma. This is about my love for her and her courage and struggle with a childhood lost.
My next step is to continue to proof the text while looking to publish. This next step also involves sending the draft for our children to review before I publish. I also have someone to do the Forward to the book. A retired LCSW with experience in private practice with trauma, and in child welfare work as well. Very important credentials for this book. Then, I also want some input into design of the interior text and the cover. I am doubtful that publishers will allow me that kind of involvement. Traditional publishing companies usually want that kind of contractual control for purposes of marketing. If they do not allow me to have some creative input then I will go back to self-publishing. (Marketing is not my priority, I don’t need the income. Besides…what am I gonna do with a million dollars? Wait…
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