Stages of Authorship

Writing a book is not like journalism. For one thing, it takes longer. Sometimes a lot longer.

In a four-decade career in news, I wrote on tight deadlines, often under pressure, and with no excuses for a story that didn't get done on time.

Then I decided to write a book, a work of nonfiction that involved reporting techniques I had practiced for years. It turned out to be a complex process that required a number of course changes along the way.


The writer writing, ca. 1970

I discovered there are several stages for some authors, including me.

The first is, "Oh, he's writing a book." Emphasis on book. Cheerful and full of expectation.

Then, after a while, it becomes, "He's working on a book."

When polite people stop asking how the book's going, you've moved into, "He says he's working on a book." Note the speaker's loss of confidence in the source.

And at some point, when no one dares inquire about anything beyond the state of your tennis game, you realize that even among your best friends the book has become a euphemism for a project you once said you wanted to do but never got around to finishing.

Well, okay. Fair enough, I suppose, for a book that I thought would take two years and that actually took more like six. For those who long ago quit bugging me about it, I'm pleased to report that The Price They Paid: Enduring Wounds of War is now available in hard cover, paperback, Kindle, Nook, and iBook editions. And those who stuck with me through it all will be relieved to know that as of July 1, 2015, I am NOT writing, working on or even thinking about another book. Yet.

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