Susanne Remembers:
A Mennonite Childhood in Revolutionary Russia
Susanne Willms Thielman. 2009. 11 x 8.5 inches, 176 pages, 100+ images. Casebound. Book design by William Glasgow and Neil Klassen. Cover design by William Glasgow. Published by Judson Lake House Publishers. 1,000 copies. ISBN. 978–0–9739618–2–9.
In the early 1980s, the client wrote a draft of her childhood memories in revolutionary Russia. It sat until 2008 when she hired lifewriters.ca to organize and edit the manuscript and add material from the journals of other family members. Our services included:
- developmental, structural, and stylistic editing
- selecting additional material from family diaries, journals, and autobiographies. Integrating it into the manuscript
- writing a 4000-word background article on Mennonite history to provide context
- writing the preface
- copyediting the manuscript and back cover content
- proofreading the design proof
- advising the designer and publisher concerning the front cover
- writing a media release for the book launch
- creating a promotional poster
After publication, the client wrote,
“About thirty years ago I wrote my memoirs of growing up in Russia. I didn’t do anything with them until a year or so ago when my family urged me to make them into a book. After meeting Philip, I decided to hire him to organize my manuscript, add some of my father’s writings, write a brief article on Mennonite history, and edit everything. He did a wonderful job, and I am very happy with the book, Susanne Remembers.
“Philip is hardworking and indulges himself completely in his work. He is dependable and respectful of me and my work, and I knew I could trust him. In every way he was professional and easy to work with — patient, but gently pushing me when I needed pushing. Some of my writing was awkward in parts, as my mother tongue is German, but Philip smoothed it out while making sure that it still sounded like me.
“I am 95, and I don’t think I could ever have done this by myself. I am very grateful to Philip for making my book as good as it is. Without him, my manuscript would still be sitting in a drawer.”
