Research Doesn’t Stop with Publication

by Glynn Young @gyoung9751

It was a year ago that the manuscript for my historical novel was attached to an email and sent to the publisher who requested it. I felt an incredible sense of relief. The thing was done. I could take a break from literally years of reading and research about the Civil War. Nine years of reading and research.

I had started this even before I’d thought about writing a historical novel. I started reading about the Civil War because I was interested in it. It was only when I stumbled across an event called Grierson’s Raid, a Union cavalry raid in 1863 that the idea for a novel arose.  The raid began at the border between Mississippi and Tennessee, swept down through the state, and eventually ended at Baton Rouge in Louisiana. It was designed as a diversion for Ulysses S Grant to quietly move his Union army across the Mississippi and attack Vicksburg from the east.

My ancestors had experienced that raid. They lived in the Brookhaven, Mississippi, area, one of sites that Grierson’s raiders had visited.

I researched everything I could about the raid and the broader war. Once I knew I would be writing a novel, my research intensified. By the time I sent the email to the publisher, I was close to exhausted, at least mentally.

I had a few months off, until the publisher responded with a yes. Then my life became all the things you must do to see your book come into the world. What I didn’t expect was to have to re-engage in research.

It happened for two reasons.

First, a book club invited me to attend their meeting when they discussed the book, which they’d selected as a monthly choice. The host has some very specific questions they hoped I could answer about both the book and the background for the story. When I looked at the list, I realized I had to go back to what had become my fairly sizeable Civil War library. A few of the book club members had their own Civil War ancestors and had done considerable research. So, I reviewed some of the texts I’d used, checked a few online sources, and soon discovered that I was right back doing what I thought was behind me.

The second reason involved marketing. Not only was I researching people and organizations who might be interested in the book, I was also seeing new books being published that involved or touched upon my book. For example, I saw a new book about the 6th Wisconsin Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade or the Black Hats Brigade. My book has a short scene involving that brigade, and I thought, perhaps there’s a tie-in opportunity here.

Something similar happened just last month. One of the main characters of the novel is something of a fan of the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He knows much of it by heart. And while it’s only briefly mentioned, one of the most famous Longfellow poems is “Paul Revere’s Ride,” first published in late1860, just as America was careening into the Civil War. Last month was the 250th anniversary of the ride (which wasn’t quite what Longfellow described,) and I had my tie-in. But it required more reading and more research.

If I planned a sequel novel, more reading and research would be required. No sequel is planned.

I’ve learned my lesson. Research for a historical novel doesn’t end with publication. When it comes to research, historical novels seem to take on a life of their own.

Glynn Young is a national award-winning speechwriter, communications practitioner, and novelist. He’s the author of five published novels, Dancing Priest, A Light Shining, Dancing King, Dancing Prophet;  and Dancing Prince; the non-fiction book Poetry at Work; and the recently published historical novel Brookhaven. Visit Glynn on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, his blog, the Dancing Priest book page.