Friday 12 January 2024
This past Tuesday (09 January 2024), King Arthur (my book editor) and I completed the first major editing of the Katyn manuscript. I know, I know… I typically publish my blogs on a Monday; however, this important news is too good to wait for Monday. I’m thrilled with this achievement, and I wanted to inform you.
Tuesday was a joyous event because after months of meetings via Zoom to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript, Tuesday marked an important moment for the writing process of the Katyn manuscript. Admitting himself that when he began the book editing process that he was going to “cut it down,” King Arthur in fact did cut sections of the manuscript; however, he did call for additional writing. During pivotal scenes which he called “reaching the summit of Mount Everest,” he often said, “I know I said we need to cut, but there are scenes, particularly when you visited Miednoje (the largest of the known dumping grounds of the Katyn Massacres), you rush through your experiences there. This is the moment… after many struggles… trials and tribulations to get there… you reached Miednoje… and you need to tell the reader more about how you felt… what you saw… everything. I know you already wrote what you think is a lot, but the reader wants to hear more about your time there.”
Shocked to hear this recommendation, I reminded King Arthur about his original intention as my book editor: to cut the over 6-hundred-page manuscript. “I know, but you now have the space to write more with the other cuts I’ve suggested. Those sections weren’t relevant to your Katyn experiences. However, when you get to the Katyn sites, you need to deliver more.” Awestruck, I blurted, “more is more.”
Worried that King Arthur would cut and insist that I don’t replace those cuts with more material, I was happy to hear that he wanted more content. Editing is a delicate process. As a writer, I like to think that everything I’ve written is necessary and irreplaceable; however, sometimes I don’t see where those cuts should occur, and where those additions should appear.
I must admit that while writing the Melville manuscript performing those cuts and additions were easier. Immediately I realized that with the Katyn book project, enacting those cuts and additions was harder to enforce because the genre of non-fiction, it seems to me, is an entirely different writing process. Non-fiction has its own unique, sometimes quirky, rules. Because the Katyn manuscript is my first full-length non-fiction work, I feel as though I’m learning as I’m going.
I’m still in an euphoric shock with this achievement: completing the first-round of edits. Now comes the revision stage of the Katyn manuscript. And I plan to write several blogs on this stage. The blog I intend to write and publish here tentatively called, “Prelude to a Revision,” will define what a “revision” is, and detail how I will approach this part of the writing.
Exciting times!