Friday, September 5, 2014

Nearing the end

I have 100 pages left to type of Uncle Bert's diary. I can hardly believe it. I'm on an absolute roll right now and imagine I will be done typing very, very soon. I'm not sure if I have done the right thing by publishing this on a blog, because if I do create a hard copy book (which is my plan) then who would pay for a copy when they can come to the blog to read it? But, sometimes when I've been plodding along it's been very encouraging to have feedback from people who are reading along, so thank you for that encouragement and enthusiasm. It has truly helped. I do hope some people will want a hard copy, especially family, but perhaps others will too. After I'm done typing there will be more work. The whole publishing path...plus, it's going to cost money, and as a casual teacher, working sporadically, I don't have a bunch of spare cash.  I'm hoping some of the followers on here might be able to help me. Keep reading, I'm not just after cash.
Things I need:

1) I'm sure there are a bunch of typos. If you notice any, please leave a comment on the relevant page.
2) I've tried to add a 'label' on posts for information that I think wold be useful to include in an index; usually people and places (ie Jack McEgan (who is one and the same as 'Mack") or Villers Bretonneux) If you are reading and think 'This should be included in the index' leave a comment so I can make sure it is indexed.
3) Side research. I have tried throughout the process to go to source documents from the National Archives or just online somewhere to find photos or other interesting information that relates to the things Uncle Bert has mentioned. I'd like to pepper the book with information such as this. If you can help in this regard I would be very grateful. I have had contact with Relative Maze Genealogy and they are very helpful. I recommend you contact them if you have your own project to research.
4) I've tried to distinguish actual diary content from letters/publications/songs etc with the use of two different fonts. If you notice some entries where I've missed this, please comment.
5) Actually any comments that help to clean this work up will be greatly appreciated.
6) And finally, as hard as it is to ask for cash, I do need to fund the completion of this project. If you would like to assist in this regard please comment on this post....even a recommended method for doing this. I've heard of crowd sourcing, but really don't know where to start.

Finally, thanks for your interest. This has been a long held goal of mine to get this compete and I know there will be some very happy people when it is done. The insight into World War 1 through such a personal first hand account has been eye opening, and frequently emotional. Thanks for joining me on the journey.

Michelle



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