Turning "R" Rated History into a "PG" Rated Story

Got the manuscript for Riding With the James Gang back from the editor. I couldn't believe it. The changes were all very minor--mostly punctuation changes. I immediately called my publisher and asked, "Are you sure this is right?" She said yes. I always worry that I'm writing crap. She keeps trying to reassure me that I really do know what I'm doing. That said, the editor did ask one sticky question...

Those of you who are familiar with Civil War history may recall incident in Centralia, Missouri, in which Bloody Bill Anderson and his gang looted the town and robbed an approaching train. Union soldiers were taken off the train and executed by "Little" Archie Clement. I've included this incident as one of the chapters in my book, and, according to my sources, about the time Bloody Bill ordered Clement to "parole" the soldiers a passenger spoke up and asked if they could leave. Anderson told the passenger he could go to hell for all he cared.

Now here's the trick with writing dialog for 8 to 10 year old readers... My publisher agrees with me that it is totally inappropriate for Bloody Bill to say the words, "go to hell" in a book written for young readers, even if the historical accounts say those were the words he actually used. Never mind what they may hear in the schoolyard, there are still, (thankfully) parents out there who want to limit their children's exposure to such adult language. Remember, I'm taking "R" rated history and writing it as a "PG" rated story. (Which is why I classify my books as historical fiction.) No one said it would be easy. So I wrote, "You can go to buggary for all I care."

I never heard the word "buggary" until I married my former husband. He used to use the word in an "oh shucks" kind of context. Nice sounding synonym, at least I thought, however the editor didn't really agree but offered no suggestions.

I immediately whipped out my trusty but well worn copy of Roget's Thesaurus, and came up with, "You can go to that land of eternal torment for all I care." A bit eloquent, but then again I think people were more well spoken back then. Their writing style was certainly more formal than today. Then several other friends who are familiar with the Victorian period, suggested using the word "blazes."

Hopefully this is appropriate for young readers, while remaining as close as possible to the actual historic account.

GM

By George I Think I've Finally Got It

By golly I think I finally got it. I finally finished the last chapter of my latest Luke and Jenny book, Riding With the James Gang. I could have sworn I first started working on it back in 2007, but according to Microsoft Word the file was first created on August 8, 2008. I know that's not right, but that's about the time my old computer up and died on me and I had to get a new one.

I don't know why this book has been so danged hard for me to write. Not that the earlier Luke and Jenny books were easy. I'm writing for young readers, about 8 to 10 years old, which means I have to take a lot of complicated history and break it down into a simple, storybook format. Believe it or not that does take a lot of time and thought. And in the middle of that life happens. Between other jobs, two doxies, and all my friends things get hectic and it can be hard to make the time to write. Then I have to wait for my muse to show up. Sometimes creative ideas will come to me at the weirdest times. Like five minutes before I have to leave the house to go someplace. Or just as I'm starting to doze off at the end of an exhausting day. And I've learned the hard way that if I don't stop and write the ideas down as soon as they hit me I'll lose them forever. The creative process can be a strange thing.

The manuscript is off to the editor. More later,


GM

Museum Dynamics, Culture Shock and Tombstone, Arizona

It's great to be working with historical museums again. The other day I lead a tour of the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum and I haven't lead a museum tour in five years. But it's like riding a bicycle as there are some things you never forget how to do.

I got into this whole historical reenacting bit through working with historical museums. It was there I learned that when it comes to reenacting the emphasis is on accuracy and educating the public. That's because many, if not most, historical museums depend on government funding and grants, so there is a mandate which means they have to meet certain criteria in order to obtain that funding. So I learned from the get-go to be as accurate as possible.

The first time I went to a non-museum historic site, the original Rawhide Wild West Town in Scottsdale, Arizona, I experienced some real culture shock as soon as I walked in the gate. This site didn't care that much about historical accuracy. They were a for-profit corporation with no government or endowment funding. They didn't even have an education department. They had an entertainment department instead. That's because they depended solely on visitor's dollars to survive, and since most visitors want a "Hollywood" type of experience that's what they got.

There have been some real interesting discussions about Tombstone going on at one of the social networks where I hang out. And that's a good thing. We're there to exchange ideas and learn from one another. Some of the members of this group are purists. Everything has to be as period correct as humanly possible, and they're upset about the fact that too many people in Tombstone dress "Hollywood" instead of being 99.999% historically accurate. They too are experiencing culture shock and they don't quite know how to handle it.

If took me awhile to accept this fact. The town of Tombstone is NOT, nor will ever it ever be, a historical museum. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, but so are a lot of historical buildings and places that are not museums. Tombstone is a real live town that, so are as I know, receives no grants or government funding for historical education programs. Tombstone depends solely on tourism to survive, and, as someone who spends a lot of time there and has been doing most of the big events, like Helldorado and Wyatt Earp Days, since 2004, I will tell you this -- these events are about celebrating the town's history, but they are not necessarily intended solely to EDUCATE the public. The skits, the costume contests, the chili cook-offs, and all the other events are meant to ENTERTAIN. The goal is to attract more visitors during the summer months, which is the slowest time of year for tourism. The town needs visitors so the local merchants can meet their payrolls and survive another summer.

The average Joe Six-Pack probably doesn't know much about history other than what he learned in school. The average Joe Six-Pack could probably care less that the movie Tombstone is about 10% history and 90% Hollywood. But when the average Joe Six-Pack comes to Tombstone for Hellodordo or Wyatt Earp Days he expects to be ENTERTAINED. That is why the town puts on the entertainment, so Joe can be entertained and spend his money while he's there. With any luck Joe will take an interest and want to learn more about the town's history. But more than likely all we've done is given a break from his everyday headaches so he can walk away having had a good experience. And maybe there's some value in that too. Sometimes we have to just let people relax and enjoy themselves.

GM

That Magic Moment

It finally happened to me at this year's Wyatt Earp Days in Tombstone. Someone walked up to my book signing table and said, "You're Gayle Martin. I found your book on the Internet and I love it. I can't believe I finally got to meet you."

It's taken many years of hard work to get here, and my message to the rest of you who are writers, or want to become writers, is that if you work at it, it can happen to any of you too, as long as you are persistent and willing to put in the work to get there.

GM

Changing Book Publishers

The other day I got an e-mail from an author who wanted to change publishers and wasn't sure how to go about it. Now I'm not an attorney, so the following is NOT to be considered legal advice. It is instead my own voice of experience.

First of all you need to carefully read your publisher's contract before you sign. Ask about anything you're unsure of, and you can certainly have your attorney review it for you before you sign. The most important thing is to establish up front is who owns the rights to your work. Some publishers will buy the rights; others will allow you to retain them.

Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, the relationship between an author and a publisher can sour, for whatever reason. Is there a cancellation clause in the contract? If not, ask, and get their cancellation policies in writing before you sign. This may save you a big headache down the road if things don't go as planned. If there is a cancellation clause, and you've retained the rights to your work, then canceling the contract may be as simple as writing a cancellation later to the publisher. However, if the publisher has purchased the rights, you may have a problem. My advice to any author would be to have your attorney carefully review any purchase of the rights to your work before you sign the dotted line.

GM