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M10 in Action Film Posted


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Harry.

Just wanted to say that I saw your book Steel Victory at a Borders store a few months ago, and was pleasantly suprised to read the forward and find you were a CM player!

Congratulations on getting published. Could you explain a little how you went through the process of getting your book published? Any advice for someone like me who might like to follow in your footsteps someday?

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Michael: The film gives no other indication of the target.

Runyan99: The first important step is to find a really good story to tell. My personal philosophy is this: The world does not need yet another book on D-Day or the Battle of the Bulge. I look for stories that have generally been ignored before. You'd be surprised how many such stories there are in a field as well-tilled as World War II.

The second thing I have learned is that the story you write must have the human dimension woven in through mechanisms such as the personal recollections of men who were at critical places in your narrative or who offer a tale that represents the experiences of many other men. The occasional humorous anecdote never does any harm, either. One editor told me that the same people who buy military history also buy men's action stories. We do not write in the same era as B.H. Liddell Hart, I guess.

Third, research using as many primary sources as possible. I have the good fortune to live 10 minutes from the National Archives. You would be surprised how often you will find things heretofore either passed over or cast in a partial or distorted light. Sometimes you will face the problem of having to figure out a most plausible version of events from conflicting contemporary accounts. I try to give some idea in the foreword of how I have tackled that situation. In "Steel Victory," I state clearly that I am using the tankers' version of what happened, which seemed appropriate to the subject. In "The Longest Battle," a history of the campaign along the Roer River (September 1944-February 1945) due out next year, I give as equal weight as possible to all sides and therefore spent considerable time cross-checking battle reports from various American and German sources (the British section is compact enough that this was not a big issue there). I should add the veterans can be a great source of information, but that resource is quickly becoming lost to historians.

Fourth, write solid standard English (or whatever language you use). A good story badly written is doomed.

Fifth, I got my entré to the book industry from a generous Combat Mission forum member who knew the right guy. My bet is that there is always someone out there in our community who would be willing to help you out.

I hope that's helpful!

Cheers,

Harry

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