Monday, 7 March 2016
Spring Thoughts on the Cavalry Book
A March 2016 progress update on the manuscript of Finnish Cavalry in the Swedish Era — the project is nearing completion, though the scope has grown considerably.
It is early spring and the manuscript of Suomalainen ratsuväki Ruotsin ajalla (Finnish Cavalry in the Swedish Era) has grown. What was originally planned as a manageable book has expanded considerably — it is now clear that the work will be a single large volume rather than two smaller ones.
The research phase is essentially complete. What remains is editing, indexing and the final preparation of the manuscript for publication. I have now worked my way past the Great Northern War in the text, leaving only a few smaller matters to resolve. I still need to read a handful of books — perhaps a thousand pages in total — and hope that no new important publication appears that I would have to take into account.
The index poses its own challenges. Which terms to include? Should it be a full name index, a surname-only index, or should other place names and terms be included as well? With 790 pages and names on every page, the task of marking index entries is substantial. Fortunately, once the entries are marked, the computer assembles the index automatically.
With these thoughts, and looking forward to the green of spring.