Writing and Publishing News

What are the chances that your author annals will be empty?

Odessa, Texas came up in conversation yesterday and I remembered that I had a great aunt, whom I never met, named Clara Odessa Robison Davenport. She was one of five sisters—my great grandmother, Julia, being one of them. They were all involved in things that now interest me—sewing and needlework projects, books and education. Two of them were teachers, one was a librarian, my great grandmother was a seamstress most of her life and Aunt Odessa was a writer. I don’t know what other works she may have done, but I have a copy of a book she is supposed to have ghosted in the 1940s.

Yesterday, I decided to pull the nearly 70-year-old book from my overflowing bookshelves and discover what kind of writer Aunt Odessa was. Actually, she was pretty good. The book features the adventures of a woman who, at the age of 80, found new life in the wilds of the Siskiyou Mountains of California. It’s called Dear Mad’m by Stella Walthall Patterson (actually, supposedly, ghostwritten by Aunt Odessa.) The copy of the book I have was in its 4th printing with Norton Publishing and had been reviewed by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Herald Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune a, Pittsburgh Press and others.

So what kind of writer was my great aunt? Pretty good, if she actually wrote this book—which seems to be disputed by the research I did this morning. If she wrote this book, it certainly is a well-kept secret.

I wonder how many ghostwriters are never acknowledged in history for the excellent work they may have done over a lifetime. Does it matter? Is it enough to just get paid well for a job? Or is there a part of the ghostwriter who would like to live on publicly through his or her work? I wonder, where is the satisfaction for having been published if you aren’t recognized as the author?

Of course, I’ve done a little ghosting. But my name is usually included amongst the acknowledgements inside the book. Even if it isn’t, I don’t think it would bother me. But then, I have tons of other credits. I’ve been published hundreds and hundreds of times under my own name over the last 36 years. Aunt Odessa was thought, by family, to have contributed to many publications during her life. I have handwritten notes from now deceased family members attesting to this. But I cannot locate any proof of it.

What will you leave behind for your grandchildren, great nieces/nephews and others to remember you? If you’re a ghostwriter and you wish to be remembered, you might step outside of the shadows and produce some significant writings in your name. If you only dream of being published, maybe it’s time to make it happen.

I suggest this, not only for posterity—not only to fulfill your dreams and meet your goals—but also for the joy of it. If you absolutely love the process of creating word pictures, making up stories, exploring emotions and personalities through the written word, sharing and or teaching through writing, etc., why not allow yourself to experience the joy NOW?

Start today living your dream of writing for publication. If you also enjoy the process along the way, you will have given yourself and your descendants an incredible gift.

In order to learn the ropes before getting involved in the daunting world of publishing, study my books: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

If you are interested in article-writing–submitting your works to periodicals, read A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles. http://www.matilijapress.com

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 5:58 am and is filed under Publishing, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.