A big update
8th March 2020: So, not sure if I have anybody following me at this point but if I do I have some exciting news: I have a contract for my memoir with a rough timeline of – first full draft to publishers by end of May 2020 and a probable publication date of early next year. At the moment I’m working on the draft about an hour and a half every night and also spending the majority of Sunday away from all other distractions to work on it. I was able to announce the contract on Ireland’s leading chat show, The Late Late Show, some weeks ago and have had amazing support and enthusiasm from friends and colleagues since then. I’ll be posting more updates as time allows but at the moment my focus is very much on getting the first draft properly finished.
Let me know if you have any feedback! Oh and the image above isn’t the book cover, just a nice scene near Blessington which I took when out cycling.
A little tease
11th March 2020: So my publishers, the lovely people at Mercier Press, gave me a link to an author’s website with hints on how to get readers interested in the upcoming work. One of the tips was to show your pets. And a draft of the book. Here’s Meri and the latest printed draft which comprises around 150,000 words… It was originally 300,000. And it has to be cut to 70,000. I wonder will Mercier consider a trilogy?
Memory
15th March 2020: Writing a memoir requires either a good memory or a collection of diaries to refer to. I have some notebooks, hardly diaries, with some details but nothing much of my actual thoughts or emotions at the time.
Which makes writing of events ten years ago a little bit difficult. It was a huge year for me personally, one of the defining years in my transition. Looking back at the notebooks and what I wrote a few years later in a very early draft of this memoir I find it hard to believe that so much happened in one year and that I survived. I wish I had written more.
And my reason for this post is to encourage you, the reader, to start your own memoir. Do not think you have nothing to say. Everyone has a story to tell, even if it’s just to themselves. For me the act has been one of pleasure and pain, joy and tears. It puts my life in perspective, allows me to recognise my achievements and my failures, what I could have done better (or, maybe, not at all!) I guarantee you will see the benefit as, next year or five years from now you take out the manuscript, finished or unfinished, published or unpublished. And smile.
Research and apologies
1st April 2020: So now that I have a little time to concentrate on writing (due to the C word!) I can do more research by reading other memoirs (just a few of which, the closest to hand, are shown above). I’m looking for style, structure and content tips and ideas. And it is to structure that I am devoting this short missive, and an apology of sorts. Because over the past few years, as I have toyed with the idea of publishing this personal history, I have asked for input, advice and indeed content from a number of people. If you are one of those and reading this, my apologies. At one point I had wanted contributions – honest, objective thoughts – from friends, family and work colleagues on how they saw me as I progressed along the difficult path towards transition. It would have been an interesting project but ultimately could have been far larger than what is intended from Mercier Press (70,000 words maximum) and it’s possibly something to be considered, perhaps in an online format in the future, for me or for others.
For me as I write, rewrite, modify, edit, change, alter and then delete material I thank, in some ways, the ability to do just that on a laptop yet wonder if I was restricted, as I was back in the days of editing the Irish Science Fiction Association’s Newsletters on a typewriter and having to use Tippex to change a word or sentence, would I have found it easier to actually finish the project. I suspect my poor editor will be moaning as I ask for extensions to change just one more word/sentence/paragraph or chapter! 31st May, that’s the (current) deadline.
And if you’re interested in science and space might I recommend Irish author and scientist Niamh Shaw’s book ‘Dream Big’ from Mercier, just published. It should have been launched officially last week but of course had to be cancelled due to current circumstances. Available online or direct from Mercier.
Take care, stay well.
Deadlines
26th April 2020: I have a few deadlines coming up for the memoir. Tonight I’ll be sending the current draft to a printer who will post the pages back to me (200 pages would cause our little inkjet to explode!) and this draft has been read by Helen who has suggested various edits and clarifications; her input has been invaluable. Once the pages come back we will both sit down with them and see the structure of the work, and see how it can be improved. It’s still far too long, at about 95,000 words, but it’s getting there.
The next milestone is sending it across the Atlantic to Jenny, our amazing daughter, for her input, after the May Bank Holiday. She has only seen a few passages to date: she has been so supportive during my whole transition and I will be waiting nervously to see what she thinks of my work.
Then, the hard deadline of end of May to get a draft that I am happy with to Mercier Press for their editor to tear it to shreds. Then I start again in June to revise, revise and revise again.
To date the experience has been fun but I sense as the deadlines approach the pressure and stress builds. I am writing and editing at least a couple of hours a day, always have a notebook beside me for random thoughts and even dream about this project at times, sometimes getting out of bed to turn on the computer to change a word, a phrase or a sentiment. It really is a labour of love and one that I hope will help others.
Almost there…
13th May 2020: Did I say somewhere this was a labour of love??? To the right you see the last printed draft, coming in around 90,000 words. Helen and I went through it thoroughly, then we sent it to Jenny for her input. And THAT was an interesting conversation after she had read it! But sorry, no spoilers. Onwards to the 31st and when it has to be to Mercier.
A little shout out to two fellow authors, Néad Kennedy, who sent me a lovely message of support, and David Murphy (from my science fiction days) who has another book coming out soon at https://limerickwriterscentre.com/product/drowning-in-the-desert-available-for-pre-order/
Submission day…
Pressure? What pressure? A whole two hours and forty-five minutes early. Here it is going off to the publisher, first full draft coming in at 86,000 words. I have to admit, as I typed the title and my name at the top of the page I got a little emotional. Now I’m just waiting for the inevitable editorial changes of which I’m sure there will be many! So I can celebrate now with a little prosecco…
Quick update
It’s been quite a while since I had a reason to update the blog. Ah I had such intentions but I’m afraid a little pandemic put a hold on pretty much everything. However the wheels of publishing are moving again and I will have some news shortly and, following that, a big reveal a few weeks after… In the meantime I’ve added quite a few names to the Roll of Honour and there are still a lot more to add. I will be posting updates more regularly now.
Roll of Honour deleted
I decided to delete the Roll of Honour as it’s been superceded by the comprehensive acknowledgements section in the published book!
My Name is Philippa 
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