Today I met the first of two deadlines in my contract with History Press. My agreement says I will submit a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 80 photos by Feb. 1. I sent 68 pictures to them today, 12 days early. Actually “sent” the pictures does not describe what happened. I created a Dropbox file and told my editor of its existence. He and a photo editor will now review them. He’s warned me that some of the pictures may not meet the company’s technical specifications. I chose them carefully, once I learned what those technical requirements were, so I hope they don’t reject too many of them. I’d love to see the old newspaper stories survive. They are an important part of the tale.

My next deadline is Feb. 15. That’s when the manuscript itself is due.