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Revived novel progresses online
By SEAN BARRON
BOARDMAN
It might be easy to assume that anyone who started writing a book but sidelined the project for 14 years has no serious intention of proceeding further.
That may be true for some aspiring writers, but not for Jim Jones.
“So far, 11/2 chapters are finalized and on my website,” Jones said recently from his Lockwood Boulevard home.
Jones, who’s also a lawyer, decided to revisit the book he started in 1996 and is taking an approach some might say is unconventional. His plan is to proofread and finish the chapters and, if he’s convinced they’re interesting enough, post them on his site, jamessidneyjones.com, he explained, adding that the method allows people to read and offer feedback on his work as it progresses.
In the mid-1990s, Jones sent a rough draft of his book, “Unforgiven Territory,“ to the agent who represented the writer John Grisham, he recalled. He was told the first 120 pages of the manuscript needed certain revisions and to resend it when finished.
Over the years, however, family, work and other obligations crept in, which prevented him from following through, Jones continued.
He received a second law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and was accepted in 2007 to a two-year position with a money-management firm in Washington.
After that job ended, Jones said, he set out to dust the mothballs off the book and get to work.
Jones has adopted the tack of writing on Microsoft Word documents, then pasting them to his website, he explained. More than 100 pages have been posted.
The essence of the plot explores the drama that unfolds with the merging of two families through marriage and the “baggage” each brings to the table, Jones hinted.
The daughter of one family and the son of the other marry, “and that’s where the fireworks begin,” Jones said.
The project has many elements he hopes prime it for success: dirty family deeds, financial fraud, sex, mystery and — oh yes, a murder.
“Every possible wrong family value is in the book,” he added with laughter.
Jones said he’s aware of the difficulties associated with getting a book published and that this would be his first. He also thinks it could make for a good movie.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to think that all of Jones’ thoughts are on murder and other nasty family secrets.
He’s contemplating other ways to get the word out about his efforts, such as posting a certain number of chapters at a time, then removing some of those to make room for others, as well as trying to develop a loyal fan base.
Another consideration is having advertisers on his site while allowing the entire content of the book to be free, Jones explained.
“Hopefully, there will be a commercial aspect to this at some point,” Jones said, adding that he also has developed an outline for a second book.