Book edit, book design, proofreading
Marc Bolan A Tale Untold
This was one of the most challenging projects of my self employed career. It was also one of the most interesting – a non-fiction account of the last few years of Marc Bolan’s life.
Not only did I edit and proofread this book, but it was the first one I laid out and designed – something I offered as a free service on this occasion as I had never done it before.
An author puts their heart and soul into a book. I truly appreciate that when I work with them and am sensitive to their requests. The author, Bari Watts, a Marc Bolan fan and musician himself, won’t mind me saying that he was very demanding. But we had great fun – something I always try to do with my authors.
I wish Bari all the best with this book and it has certainly kicked up a storm amongst the T-Rex fan base on social media. You can buy it direct from Bari on his website.
About the book
Marc Bolan: A Tale Untold is an attempt to dispel over 40 years of oft repeated, erroneous and misleading information. Watts attempts to bring some clarity and accuracy to the final period in the life of one of the UK’s greatest and most colourful pop music icons.
It is the result of five years of painstaking research. Starting with the transition of his acoustic duo Tyrannosaurus Rex to the full blown pop sensation of T. Rex, Watts gives a voice to many from that period.
Interviews with the director, crew members and featured guests from the Granada TV series, MARC, and many others who worked with and were close to Marc during his life are also featured, including his close friend and producer Tony Visconti, who has kindly contributed to the book’s content.
After three years dealing with the police and coroner, Watts describes the accident in Barnes with near-forensic detail. The book includes previously unseen police photographs, documentation and interviews with members of the emergency services who attended the accident.
The sequence of events following Marc Bolan’s death are also documented. Attention is focused on the people who gained access to his home just hours after his death was announced, removing many of his personal belongings. For decades the identities of these individuals have been covered with a sycophantic cloak of secrecy. This book lifts that cloak and reveals who Watts believes they were.
Every author needs a strong editor / proofreader / layout professional on board and I was lucky to make contact with Nichola Evans. She stoically put up with my endless changes, rewrites and myriad phone calls and turned my rambling manuscript into a book. I am not the easiest person to work with at the best of times, so I can’t praise her professionalism, attention to detail, empathy and patience highly enough. Sometimes in life, we just make the right phone call and I did. Thanks Nichola.
Bari Watts, Author of Marc Bolan A Tale Untold
