Publishing

Something you may not know is that my first book was by no stretch an academic one; it was actually a People’s Friend serial-turned-paperback, published in 1996.

Fiction

Not many people know (there’s a theme here!) that I published 30 short stories and that serial, long before I made my second start at an academic career. Writing helped finance my first maternity leave, and even enabled me to replace my car at the end of it. OK, it was a comparatively little-used Lada. But it had four gears compared to the previous Lada’s three, and more significantly, I’d earned it through writing. I was proud of that. I owe a big debt of gratitude to D. C. Thomson, who gave me these writing opportunities, and plenty of feedback along the way.

Writing Skills: Clarity

I honed my writing skills. Clarity was one thing: a story must progress logically, and readability is crucial. I still try to avoid big words for big words’ sake, unless they are the obvious, unavoidable choice.

And Writing about People

Writing about people was another skill, and I have continued to enjoy this in my subsequent work. No, it’s more than enjoyable – I love it! I’m never happier than when I’m writing about people whose lives I have researched; I feel as though I actually know them. Walking through Edinburgh, their ghosts surround me, and I’ve often reflected that I probably know as many deceased Edinburgh musicians and publishers as live ones!

I turned my PhD thesis (2009) into my first monograph (2013), then came a few contributed book chapters, amongst other writings:-

Book cover: A Social History of Amateur Music-Making and Scottish National Identity: Scotland's Printed Music, 1880-1951 — *A Social History of Amateur Music-Making and Scottish National Identity*

My second monograph was published at the end of 2024. Research has never occupied as much as half my working week, with the exception of last year’s IASH postdoctoral fellowship, so I have to resist making unfavourable comparisons with other full-time academics’ output; mine doesn’t compare. But, taken in context, I can hold my head up pretty well.

But enough of celebrating my books for World Book Day – I need to get back to the research that will ultimately, I hope, give rise to my third monograph. I’m making up for lost time …

Book Stack

And Her Family Never Knew
Our Ancient National Airs: Scottish Song Collecting from the Enlightenment to the Romantic Era
‘Wynds, Vennels and Dual Carriageways: the Changing Nature of Scottish Music’, in Understanding Scotland Musically
‘National Airs in Georgian Libraries’, in Old Songs, New Discoveries: Selected Papers from the 2018 Folk Song Conference
‘Alexander Campbell’s Song-Collecting Tour: ‘The Classic Ground of our Celtic Homer’, in Thirsty Work and other Legacies of Folk Song
‘Strathspeys, Reels and Instrumental Airs: a National Product’, in Music by Subscription: Composers and their Networks in the British Music-Publishing Trade, 1676-1820
A Social History of Amateur Music-Making and Scottish National Identity: Scotland’s Printed Music, 1880-1951

Whilst I was going through archival materials today, looking for music-related documentation, I came across all sorts of non-musical correspondence. I wasn’t surprised. Sometimes, it’s rather nice to see what falls out of Pandora’s box, after all. All the ‘extra’ material vastly enriches the ultimate narrative. And other tidbits just raise a smile:-

I found one publisher offering to order whisky from an Inverness wine-dealer for another publisher holidaying in Raasay. Very fraternal!
I found someone looking forward to ‘frizzling in Paris’. (Considering Glasgow’s set to be 4 degrees Celsius tonight -in mid June – I can empathise!)
Then there was a job application letter. No clues as to the manager’s selection rationale – things were very different then – just, pencilled across the top – NO.
I found a terse letter from a professor who was distinctly unimpressed by the unavailability of a book (no, not a music book) that he wanted to purchase:-

‘It’s damnable that such a valuable, well-written & cogent book should be off the market.’

But in 1947-1948, Britain was in economic crisis. There were restrictions on business activities, and if a publisher decided a reprint was non-viable then that, dear Professor, was that. Tough. (I wanted to tell him that eBay and Alibris would have helped alleviate his evident distress.)

I found travelling salesmen being asked if they wanted any books from a particular series. Music-related ones, even? I sat up straight at that, until I realised that the subtext was probably, ‘these books aren’t selling terribly well, old chaps.’

It wasn’t until I got home that I got myself into deep water:-

I looked up what was happening to the British economy in 1947-1948. I knew there WAS a crisis. Britain was in recession. I had never heard of ‘convertibility’ in the economic sense, and I find myself only slightly the wiser after a bit of Googling! World War II had taken its toll, and on top of this, the US had insisted on convertibility, it seems, and we very quickly descended into an almighty mess. However, such a simplistic summary doesn’t sound exactly satisfactory.

I’m undecided whether I need an Oxford Short Introduction, or can I get by with a more basic understanding? Oh well, plenty of time to ponder on that! (But if you’re a modern historian reading this, and you can think of something that would give me an intelligent layperson’s overview of post-war economics, then please do get in touch. Thank you!)

READING LIST?

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Economics
The Economics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
Economics for Dummies
Rough Guide to Economics