Bill Forstchen
June 24th, 2005 10:26 PM
Dang,
I just discovered this place ten minutes ago and I'm completely overwhelmed! First off, I must extend a sincere apology to everyone! When I get into writing mode I tend to become somewhat autistic, just go into withdraw in my corner, hunch over the keyboard and start writing. Compounding that, for nine months out of the year having to come out of what I call "the zone" to shower, shave and then teach some classes at Montreat College. And yes, on a very personal note, the last couple of years have been tough ones, nursing both of my parents as they finally passed on, a situation that did leave me in complete shock and numbness for awhile.
Since this particular thread is devoted to 1945, I think it appropriate to break eleven years of silence here and explain what happened.
What was published bore little semblance to what Newt and I originally wrote. . . and feel free to quote me anywhere on that one.
Newt and I met early in 1994, months before the "revolution of 1994" hit. Newt had been kicking around the fundemental ideas for 1945 and we were introduced by our publisher of that time, Jim Baen. It was sort of an instant "hitting off" between the two of us, and within weeks we were both eagerly at work together on the project, even while Newt was formulating the Contract with America.
We turned in a rough draft of the book, about a week before the election of 1994. And please remember the words Rough Draft. That was the beginning of the unraveling, and after that experience never again, will we ever let an editor/publisher see a project before we are completely satisified with it.
The publisher, with rough draft in hand, and within days after the election of 1994, began a radical and heavy handed re-edit of the book. He did so, at first, by faxing me copy of what he was doing. I objected vehemently to what the changes were, and was bluntly told that it was no longer my concern. Several weeks later these "rewrites" were "leaked" to the media and the explosion started. The humiliating "sex kitten" and the direct insult of George Bush senior which hit the front page of the Washington Post. . .something WE DID NOT WRITE.
Newt and I were stunned. What was coming out as supposedly "our prose" had, in many places little resemblance to what the media was now reporting. The response from the publisher. . .all publicity was good, so be quiet and let him do "his job.". It had gone amok and has haunted us ever since. Frankly, by the time the book came out, both of us were sick with the result and just wished it would disappear. And yet again, it has haunted us ever since and thus my decision tonight to at least, obliquely point some things out. I think an astute reading of this short note can catch a lot of implications of just how bad the experience really was. . .in fact I was so disgusted with it all that I came close to quitting the publishing field all together since my name and Newt's was tagged to something that we felt, had been taken away from us and redone.
A few readers across the years have picked up on this by doing a comparison of 1945 to Gettysburg, or to my own individually written Lost Regiment books. A study of style and approach will show the nearly complete disconnect. My anger as well. . .for years afterwards, whenever introduced at professional events, there was always the snicker, "oh 1945" and it felt like being blamed for a crime I did not commit. . .nor for that matter a reflection of the genius that Newt has. Even more enraging when the "publisher" was sitting in the audience, and remained silent as to all that happened behind the scenes.
A major point. Our original draft was over 160,000 words, the printed version, a third less. In fact, the original carries the story through the "Battle of England" which all disappeared when due to a self imposed short deadline, the publisher, cut off the last third of the book, with the infamous "to be continued" line. . .a line Newt and I never wrote and absolutely never approved of.
Our apologies to all interested in the book. We have no plans at the present moment to aggressively pursue getting the rest of the book back out there, though rights have reverted to us (thank heavens), though all things might be possible someday.
If you wish to read a far more accurate example of what happens when Newt and I put our heads together, definitely go to the Gettysburg series. We had a quality editor and publisher there with Saint Martins Press and rather than rewrite, we worked with a fabulous team who helped us, through the editing process to polish what we wrote, which is the way it is suppose to be.
And a personal observation. There's been a lot of debate across the years as to who writes what. When it came to 1945, again something that's haunted us for years, which I now feel compelled to break silence on, well I guess the legally safe answer is to simply say, compare Gettysburg to 1945 and you will see a profound difference. The difference is 99% of the text of Gettysburg was untouched after Newt and I finished it. Newt is one heck of a co author to work with, in fact the best ever. It is a true team effort and there is many a plot twist, character development and commentary in our books that most definitely sprung from him. As Bogart once said to Louie. . . "a beautiful friendship."
