Members of the Cast had a long and rocky road to publishing. I started the book in the 1970s on a manual typewriter. Then we had kids, and 5 acres, and a few cows, and a mortgage, and—well, those in the mainstream of life understand.
The book languished in a manilla folder in a file cabinet. The original title was The Old Piano Roll Clues, a clever play on the title of a song written in the 40s. The book needed a player piano and a 1920s “backstory.” I don’t write backstories, but the plot required a 1920s player piano roll company. I won’t test your patience with “Why??”
In 1915, with the encouragement of our son, I got out the eight chapters and intended to hammer them into my laptop. It wasn’t long before I thought, “I can write better than that.” Perhaps my teaching kids to write for 32 years rubbed off on me. I wrote the book with all the confidence proffered by my new skills.
In 2016, I met a lovely agent who read 50 pages. Her kindness knows no bounds, and she told me that the book had a strong premise but wasn’t ready. Of course, I sent the book out on query to other agents. I made the changes she felt were needed and submitted the book again exactly one year later. At that time, she felt my MC “wasn’t letting her in.” (my words) I had been devouring Young Adult books and decided to change MOTC to 1st person.
If you are considering changing person (or tense) in a finished book, brace yourself for some problems. Months later, I was still discovering 3rd person remnants in the book. I worked like a dog. Undaunted, I sent the new overhaul (this was not a revision—it’s not that simple) to my favorite agent on the 2018 anniversary of having met. She assured me that the book had promise, and I was on her radar, but MOTC wasn’t ready for her list.
First Person Opening
Outside the apartment, I jammed the failed biology test into my binder. Inside, the test didn’t matter. My parents were leaving.
Again.
They did this––over and over.
It wasn’t like Father was in the army or they were missionaries. He dug in the ruins of ancient civilizations. Their story called to him like the sirens of Greek mythology.
You may be thinking, “Wait a minute, Members of the Cast isn’t in 1st person!”
To find out what happened, you will have to wait for the next exciting installment of Person-al.
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