Biography Progress Report #28: My Work Here is Done
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 233
Well, at least my work on the actual book is now done. The index for Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel, expertly compiled by my friend Kim, has been completed and was submitted to the University Press of Kentucky yesterday. As far as I can tell, that’s it. There’s nothing left for me to do for the actual book, and the next time I see it will be in its completed form.
I have hit many deadlines during this process, but this is the first time where I felt an overwhelming urge to break open a bottle of champagne. It’s been a crazy long process, as I have been working with UPK for almost two years, not to mention the years and years – and years of research. It’s nice to feel an ever-so-slight amount of relief.
It is only a slight amount though. I still have the huge job of marketing the book and convincing people they want to read the life story of an actress they’ve possibly never heard of. I also have four more months of blogging everyday. Even though my husband has encouraged me to drop this fool’s errand, I feel that after 233 days, I need to see it through.
So, the book may be done on my end, but  I won’t be going to bed earlier any time soon.
Thanks again to everyone who has stuck with me through this!
Maybe this will fall under the ‘Yeah, that’s easy for you to say’ category, but no matter how many people you ultimately end up convincing “to read the life story of an actress they’ve possibly never heard of” the most important thing, after all the research and time and work, is that the finished product tells that actress’s story; the times she lived in, what she did, why she may have done it, and why her story is worth knowing about in the first place.
It is extremely difficult to believe that that won’t be the case for “Ann Dvorak, Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel”.
I like to think I have delivered on all of that. But, it would still be nice to know that more than a handful of people are reading it. 😀