Saving Stuff

At a recent gathering of authors, the topic of STUFF came up.

As in, what do you do with all the critiques from your Writers Group, the notebooks, the scribbles, the literally stacks of boxes filled with what can be called the ephemera of writing. 
(Although the purest form of that word means useful for one day, which is WAY LESS than most of us spend on the treasures that turn into our novels...)

I know of at least three places that preserve and share and digitize and save all this.

One is the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota. Among many esteemed writers, you can find Barbara O'Connor's goodies there. You can also read all about it on THIS BLOGPOST.

Many Tampa Bay and Florida authors, as well as those from all over, have given their saved manuscripts, signed galleys, and other fun stuff to Joan Kaywell at the University of South Florida's HIPPLE COLLECTION. My friend Shannon Hitchcock wrote about it here.

(Joan has an extensive collection of signed finished books as well as Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) there. Including mine. Thank you, Joan.)

I'm proud to say that my books' extras are housed at the DeGrummond Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. 

MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG IS now in the mail!
Off to find a new home where it will be available to researchers, lovers of kid-lit, or anybody who's curious about exactly how we write.  

It's hard to say goodbye. 
But nice to know somebody is saving it all.