“Done-ish”: That Time I Finished My Book—Until Catherine Seeley Said Otherwise

I typed “The End,” pushed back from my desk, and smiled. My manuscript was done. Complete. Finished. I even told people so. Silly me.

I was about 75% through reviewing my “finished” manuscript—one final read before sending it off to my writing coach for a developmental edit—when I decided to double-check a small fact. You know, just to be thorough.

The Discovery:
That’s when I opened my shiny new subscription to GenealogyBank. A harmless fact-check. A quick visit.

I found four new newspaper articles.

Not just any articles—illustrated, quoted, and utterly incriminating pieces that uncovered my protagonist, Catherine Seeley, boldly launching a fictitious “Aid Society” in 1895. It bore a very impressive-sounding name and used the letterhead of some of Chicago’s most prominent citizens—including Mayor George B. Swift. Catherine was never one to go halfway with a con.

Cue me, frozen in my chair, staring at the articles like a woman betrayed.
I had been so sure I was finished. I could have just pretended I’d never seen the articles. After all, I already had this “misadventure” of Catherine’s written into the story. The scheme was bold, even for her. She’d set up the “International Standard Aid Society”—a name so vague it practically dares you to ask no questions.

The scene I had written was pretty good. Good enough, let’s say.

But these articles… Oh boy… they really knew how to entertain their readers in 1895! When caught, Catherine’s response was part defiance, part deflection, and all comedy gold. Two of the articles quoted Catherine directly. I had to stop reading just to laugh.

What I Learned (Again):
This experience was a reminder that:

1. You’re never really “done” with historical research. Especially if your subject was slippery in life.
2. Newspaper archives are treasure troves. They are also tricksters—always hiding the good stuff until after you’ve declared your draft final.
3. Revisiting sources with new keywords or a fresh database can change everything. But a few years later, a new site, and a new search term made all the difference. Newspaper sites add new papers all the time, so keep rechecking! (They also drop papers, so be sure to download and source everything you find.)

The Takeaway:
Writers, genealogists, and history buffs: revisit your sources. Search again. Cross-check. Subscribe. And maybe, just maybe, don’t tell people you’re done with your manuscript until you’ve checked every 19th-century newspaper… twice.

Oh, and if your great-grandmother was a grifter?

Prepare to be writing for a while.