Authors Access

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