Something big happened a month ago.

I reached the end of a sentence, which was the end of a chapter, which was the end of a first draft, which was the first book I ever wrote.

It was kinda a big deal. And also, kind of not.

Because really, what’s a first draft worth? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you: not much. No one wants to read the first draft of anything. (Writers know this . It’s why we’re so stubborn about not showing it to you.) Most importantly, agents don’t want to read a first draft. And editors don’t want to read a first draft. And book sellers sure as heck don’t want to be selling one.

So here I am, like so many writers before me in this very same position, with my first-first-draft in hand, wondering, “Now what?”

Well, I’ll tell you what. Editing. Lots and lots of editing. Editing it down under 100,000 words. Editing it for plot. Editing it for meaning. Editing it for pesky things like grammar and spelling. So many kinds of editing. I knew that already.

But this weekend, I was told something more. At a writer’s conference, I was urged by several people to consider getting a platform. Not as in I shoudl just walk the plank and get it over with, though that may be what I feel like doing by the time this is all over, but developing an online presence so that I can share what I’ve been up to, network with other writers, share some of the research I’ve come up with and hopefully … HOPEFULLY … make myself a ltitle more interesting to would-be agents and editors.

Because having become so enamored of my blog – right? – wouldn’t you want to buy the book? Well, of couse.

So come along with me as I get this baby dressed up and ready to go to print. Or at least do my damnedest.

What is this project – and therefore this blog – about anyway, you may wonder? Well. In no particular order, I plan on writng about the following:

Baruch Spinoza, Amsterdam, Rembrandt van Rijn, diamond cutting, Sephardic Judaism, writing, editing, Francsicus van den Enden, Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam, vampires, Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel, Dutch trade empire, Rabbi Saul Levi Mortiera, folklore, kosher dietary laws, Hildegard von Bingen, Dirck Kerckring, Clara van den Enden, Louis XIV, genealogy, critique groups, beta readers and the Spanish Inquisition. You should definitely expect the Spanish Inquistion.