pbray

The project box has a number of purposes. First, everything is in one place, clearly labeled. So, for example, when it came time to compare the galleys to the copy-edited manuscript, I knew right where to lay my hands on it.

Since this book is part of a series, I have a working folder with the series notes and a copy of the proposal, but the box serves as a backup in case I ever want to go back and look at the beginning.

I keep the box for intellectual property reasons. I can clearly demonstrate the evolution of my idea from proposal to finished book, showing the steps in between. I hope I never need it for this reason, but I'd rather have project boxes taking up room on the basement shelves then find myself wishing I'd kept a paper trail.

I keep the box for satisfaction. It's like a giant ticky-mark, a physical manifestation reminding me of how I spent the past year of my life and countless hours of effort.

Finally the box is a historical document. At some point down the road I may decide to donate it to my alma mater or another worthy institution, where students can pour over the various iterations of the story, and write papers describing how the themes and characters evolved during the writing process :-)