Tyler R. Tichelaar - Creating a Local Historical Book

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Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with local historian, professional editor, and entrepreneur Tyler R. Tichelaar about the ins and outs of producing books on local history, from research to marketing and distribution. Tyler R. Tichelaar,a 7th generation Marquette resident, has written five novels with more to come, all set in Upper Michigan including The Marquette Trilogy, the award winning Narrow Lives, and the recently published history of Marquette, My Marquette: Explore the Queen City of the North, Its History, People, and Places. We covered a wide range of issues, including:

What made you decide to write a local history book?
What makes your book stand out from other local history books?
How did you arrange the book and decide what to leave out and what to include?
What was the most difficult part of the research and writing process?
Beyond the writing, what other decisions had to be made, such as in acquiring photographs or the layout of the book?
What have you done to market the book?
What kind of response have you received so far

Tyler R. Tichelaar

Tyler has a Ph.D. in Literature from Western Michigan University, and Bachelor and Master’s Degrees from Northern Michigan University. He has lectured on writing and literature at Clemson University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of London.
Tyler is the regular guest host of Authors Access Internet Radio and the President of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. He is the owner of Marquette Fiction and Superior Book Promotions, a professional book review, editing, and proofreading service. Besides writing about Upper Michigan, he is interested in the Arthurian legend and recently published King Arthur’s Children, a study of treatments of King Arthur’s children in literature from medieval times to twenty-first century novels. Tyler lives in Marquette, Michigan where the roar of Lake Superior, mountains of snow, and sandstone architecture inspire his writing.