My mother in "The Alcove," a little open area off the livingroom where she did a lot of her Bible translation work.There was no such thing as a computer then to make any of the job easy. She spent long hours working with Robert (the father of Amy in yesterday's picture) writing down the first draft of a few chapters at a time of the Old Testament. It took them a long time sometimes to figure out how to express things properly so the meaning would not be changed somehow in the translation. They checked concordances, various English translations, and other resources to try to come up with the best wording. To help make that easier for my mom, my father made this turntable to hold all her heavy books at just the right angle for easy reading.
After that first handwritten draft, she would use the typewriter you see on the left to type it all onto stencils to use for printing on the mimeograph. The typewriter basically cut the stencils in the shape of each letter so that the thick gooey ink from the mimeograph could seep through those cuts and onto the paper as it was hand-cranked through the mimeograph.
Many were the times when we children would hear her being interrupted in her typing over and over by many other aspects of everyday life. This was very tedious work, because the language is a tonal one, and there had to be additional tones -- up, down, and other ways, too -- added to many of the letters. With each interruption, her frustration would grow as she would lose her place in what she was copying onto the stencil. Then we would hear, "Oh no! Now look what I did!" Next we would smell the pungent odor of the stencil correction fluid which fixed the error by sealing the letter that had been cut into the stencil, giving her one last chance at another letter in that spot. But soon there would be another interruption and another.... and then... RRIIIPP!! She would yank the stencil by the top and pull it right out of the typewriter, scrumple it up, and put it in the trash! An unfixable error, and now she had to start all over again! (I am so spoiled by my computer! If I had to be sure to do it right the first time, I don't know where I would be!)
These mimeographed pages, when finally printed, were assembled into booklets and given to people who had agreed to read this first draft, then gather together for a "checking conference" to discuss it and give their input.
(More on this tomorrow...)
8 comments:
Renae, I copied this comment from yesterday's post, as I am not sure you saw it once I archived it...
Renae, I'm not sure what a query letter is?? So maybe I need a lesson in protocol on this... Off the top of my head, it sounds like a letter asking if they need/accept devotionals for publication. But that might not be correct, I know. Please clue me in!
Hey Auntie! I like the blog! Keep writing, and Anthony thinks that you are a WONDERFUL/EXCELLENT/GRAND writer!!! You write beautifully. So keep this book idea in mind.
Thank you so much, Andrea and Anthony!! I'm so pleased that you guys came over and visited me on my blog! I gave it a long rest, but now I am really enjoying writing again. You just made my day, you two!! I'm beaming (if you could just see me!) See you soon!
Jeanette, a query letter is what you described, with a little more added. Something like, "Because of your interest in missionary stories, I thought you might be interested in this story about my mother." It would also give the reasons you are qualified to write such a piece.
For the "Grossly Normal" article, you might include your background as a nurse - or was it a medical transcriptionist? Sorry, my memory fails me. Make sure the publication prints articles similar to yours, then write them a letter describing your article briefly, and telling why you are qualified to write it. Some publications will allow you to send the article along with the query, others will want only a query. :-) It is a slooooooow process . . . I sold one article last May and it didn't appear in the magazine until this past Feb. Most magazines have anywhere from a 6 month to one year turnaround. Some are even longer.
You can contact me through my e-mail if you want. I'd be glad to take a look at a query, and at your article if you wish. :-)
That said, I am amazed at your mother. What a servant! You and Carol-Ann might consider writing a biography of her. Perhaps aimed at girls, ages 8 - 12 . . . kind of a "Heroes of Faith" type book? If not, I'll volunteer! ;-)
E-mail me, and we'll "talk"!
--r
"Heroes of the Faith", indeed, Renae!
Hmmm... Anthony! This name keeps showing up! So far he has said many right things :)! Hi Andrea! And Anthony!
Regarding mimeographs -- do you remember how Pops took the drum of an old mimeograph, de-inked the entire thing (I know not how!) and converted it into a coffee bean roaster? We had coffee to die for! Tim Horton's, Timothy's, Star Bucks ... eat your hearts out! Ya never tasted coffee till you had Pops' brew from true Liberia beans!
Yes, Carol-Ann! For those who don't know, a mimeograph has a round hollow cylinder covered with little holes with a handle on the side. The stencil typed on the typewriter has holes on the top end that fasten to the drum, and then the whole stencil wraps around the drum and sticks there, held on by the ink that you put inside that hollow drum. The ink oozes through those holes and out the little letters cut in the stencil. Then when you turn the handle the drum goes round and round and is pressed tight against each piece of paper as it is pushed through the machine under the drum. Ingenious little device, needs no electricity, and the best part...the whole process can frustrate the life out of you!
Carol-Ann is referring to our very creative father who took apart an old mimeograph, cleaned out all that gunky ink from inside that drum (again, HOW??), and created a device to hold it over a fire. He then put fresh coffee beans in it and turned it by hand (or oversaw someone else turning it) so that they would all roast evenly. He then kept his perfectly-roasted coffee beans to be fresh ground for each use. Only one cup of coffee with his meal, mind you. That was his limit!
He was such a connoisseur of his coffee! I can still hear him say with dissatisfaction, "Well, Margaret, I don't know what happened, but I must have got one burnt bean in there somewhere!"
OH, I can smell the coffee now . . . you are making my mouth water!
Somehow, the earlier comment I made didn't post properly, so I'll try again!
Thanks for all the info, Renae! I would LOVE to have you look at my query and article when I can get it all together.
I realized it was a slow process from what I read in my brief search online. It seemed like 12 to 18 months was not unusual. It is just a long time to wait to be published when you are the author, I guess!
I'll email you later (through your website, right?) Thanks so much for all your help and encouragement!
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