Yesterday I found a manuscript I wrote 40 years ago
Typed on an IBM selectric, only 1 copy (odd pages & a few chapters were all I had left)
Believed I mistakenly threw it out late 80’s
For decades this belief pissed me off considerably, so much work
I can’t contain my excitement & had to share
Congratulations!
The IBM Selectric was the pinnacle of haptic experiences. I miss it so.
Ah the rat-a-tat-tat of the IBM Selectrics
To me the word "manuscript" implies vellum or parchment, and a quill or fountain pen. And joinedy-up writing...
I wrote things that I didn't keep and I'm still kicking myself over it, so I sympathize entirely.
Congratulations for this joyful occurrence. 🥳
So the real question, reading it 40 years later, is it good?
Reading it after all those years, does it still feel like your voice? Or does it seem like a stranger wrote it?
And what happened to the Faeries Gold?
I started writing years ago on a manual typewriter, then lost the pages after several moves. I still have the vague idea of a story, but the rest are buried somewhere in my subconscious.
I am so happy for you! I lost the only paper copy of a research paper I did in 1993. But I still have the floppy disk. Grieves me so.
nothing better than that! congrats!
That's really awesome! It's like a time capsule, but better.
Ah, the IBM Selectric! The Steinway grand piano of typewriters. :)
I remember when an IBM selectric was a huge leap in technology from earlier typewriters like the ones I learned how to type on ca. 1974 in 8th grade typing class (despite the primitive typewriters, it remains one of the classes that has served me most in my life)
Yipeeeeee
Congrats dude....
do u still believe in the manuscripts content?
Aww
I am a short story writer and believe me I share your pain and joy, I once had an HDD die on me. Luckily I had rediscovered (I forgot I did it), though it took several days I'd set up synchronisation with my NAS. I recovered 80% of my stories.
I have my Baltimore Catechism from 1st grade...
Scan to PDF, open in Word or Pages, should be able to edit it, instead of retyping the whole thing.
I found a manuscript I thought I'd lost a few years ago and was thrilled. And it wasn't too bad, either. :)
Good for you!!
The "whir" when powering on an IBM selectric 🤗.
👏👏😀😀
I love treasure!
Buy a lottery ticket 😎
Get ready to hurt your own feelings when you read it
👍
👍🏾💯💪🏾👏🏾
Wow! That's what I call a true Christmas, Birthday, Wedding ... gift all in one!!
Wonderful news! Hope that recharges you to work harder.
Cool!! scan it to PDF ASAP and put the original in a safe.
I'm smiling with you. Congrats. ☺️
What a great rediscovery
Awesome
👍😊
How wonderful!! I lost a lot of mss. in the various moves, so I can feel the ache of loss and the joy of finding again.
Great!! Keep us in touch!
What model Selectric?
Hello! We are The Unity Center Cincinnati, supporting families through peer support, education, and creating a friendly environment. Please help us spread positive energy by liking and following our account! 💙✨ #SupportFamilies #CommunityCare
Awesome! I can help you get it into a Microsoft Word document so you can complete it. I can re-type it As Is. abneyseditingservices.com
PROOFREADING | EDITING | FORMATTING
Nothing was more exhilarating than typing on an IBM Selectric. It felt more like a collaborator than a machine.
Almost like finding $20 in your coat pocket!
Every time I find old writing of mine, time stops existing and I hours pass before I get out
What a find! When that happens it is the best feeling…🌷
Not to change the subject …but…..I hope Americans vote to get Democracy, decency, and proper rule of law back soon!
It will be the “biggest sign of relief” on the planet - to find the “ethical moral compass” - 💕👍🏼
I am emptying a walk-in closet and have discovered manuscripts of mine that I did 40 years ago as well. I haven’t had the nerve to look at them yet, but there’s no way I would throw them out. Congratulations!
Wow that's cool. How do we scan it to digital text?
Groovy
IBM Selectric, the real Iron Maiden!
That's a cool story. I wonder why the Universe hit the pause button on it?
See what you did? Here are my rules for navigating life (The 4 Agreements):
To that I add:
#5. Always stay open to receiving miracles.
I'm happy for you! Yay. Fun. Ugh... more work?
Glad you found it!
I had a studio in my loft 30 years ago. I had one of the 1st versions of Cubase. I did a version of Nobody's Diary - Yazoo. It took forever. I burnt a copy of it on a CD. It got thrown out. It gets better every year
Actual treasure.
Freaking awesome! Thanks for sharing your good news.
Glad you found it again. Keep smiling!
Cool
I have an epic-length poem that wrote itself in my head. I can recite it, with flair, on command. I canNOT, for the life of me, get it down on paper. Makes me crazy.
That’s very cool.
That is fantastic!!!!
Sorry but I can’t help myself: Since you typed it, doesn’t that make it technically a typescript?
Congrats on the rediscovery!
My parents had an IBM selectric
I can still hear the ding
That is a good find.
Awesomeness. Your excitement is contagious.
This has made me so happy. I lost my completed first draft of my first novel in a car that got stolen in 1994. I haven't tried to write a book since.
It’s gonna be a while getting this all scanned lol!!!
There is a reason that you have found it again.
Did you copy it or save it somewhere else this time?
Happy for you!
What a relief.
Well, now let’s get it published
Congrats. Sadly, all those years of angst, frustration, etc.
Happy for you
How cool! I'm happy for you!
Treasure 💯
Congrats!
should have mimeographed it, dude
/s
What fun! Let us know what you do with it!
Well good for you - plus you organized stuff from the 80's!!!!!
WOW. I can feel so many emotions jumbled here. I am happy for you.
This is like a fairy tale! So happy for you!
Wonderful news :-)
This is AMAZING and gives me hope that I might someday stumble on a copy of an important poem I wrote in college -- before most of my stuff burned in a fire. I DO have some old floppy disks, if I can find a way to read them...
Thats very cool!
Woo hoo! Send to a publisher
I'm so interested to hear what you think of it. Baking for 350,400 hours has to be fascinating.
Congratulations.
Enjoy your hard work.
Mental health and justice.
That hits the heart. Congratulations 🎊🎉
That's wonderful!
Fantastic! Will you digitize it?
Oh, I remember my IBM Selectric. I thought having one made me officially a writer.
Congratulations on finding your manuscript. I'm getting vicarious tingles up and down my arms as I picture the scene.
That’s wonderful. Congratulations.
Outstanding! Congratulations!
Only a writer can appreciate the toilsome effort of creation . . . and its priceless value when lost (ostensibly in your case).
I’m excited FOR you!
That must feel so great! Have fun writing ✍️
realize it’s not the point of your post, but those Selectrics were some amazing machines
I still have the original copy of my 1978 master’s thesis that was typed on an IBM Selectric driven by the university’s mainframe computer.
Several years ago, I started writing a novel and had written quite a lot of it. I had it saved on a portable hard-drive along with several other really great stories. Recently, I went to check it out again and, now, I find that my computer won't communicate with the hard-drive. Frustrated for sure.
Good for you! WC, I learned to type on an IBM selectric.
Ah, the good old IBM Selectric with its silver ball of letters that would spin around when typing. I remember it well. I also remember IBM card punch machines, very noisy, and you needed hundreds or thousands of cards.
i threw my future out in the 80's. This gives me hope I will find it
Like finding $20 in an old pants pocket
Working title: “The Matrix”.
Damn your irresponsible self!
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🤗
Eureka! Nonfiction writer here-I found a file I misplaced for over a year. Phew! I’m giving a talk in November on early 19th-century Quaker agricultural experimental farming as data for Abolition. = Yo! white folks, use science, free slaves, pay them to work, make more $! Few in the South listened.
Nice. I never typed my first draft. All hand written. Now I can't even read it. Due to how drastically my hand writing altered. Still have it.
Hello,how are you doing today buck,hope you’re having a nice day dear
I recently found a memo I wrote in 1989. I had originally kept it because I was proud of it (at the time, I was described as “brave” for writing it). But I hadn’t seen it for many years until unearthing it by accident. It’s a good feeling to still be proud of it.
I lost a decade of work in 2008, so a story like this cheers me up!
You Go, Buck!
Congratulations!!
I hope you can make something of it. When I look at stuff that I wrote 20 or 30 years ago, it kind of sucks.
That's awesome! I was moving Christmas boxes into our attic earlier this year and found a script that I wrote with my older brother, who passed away 7 years ago. Thought I'd lost it. We wrote it in one weekend for a screenplay contest. I'm excited and nervous to read it again!
OMG that is so cool! Great news. I similarly thought I lost a short children’s play I wrote, but eventually found a copy. No clue how I misplaced both physical (it was performed twice) and electronic copies.
I loved my Selectric (changing of the font balls was annoying, though).
Love this for you!
And AI didn't help you find it, did it?
I published seven or eight issues of a zine my junior and senior years of high school - I wish I still had copies. 😕
Having a similar situation with a manuscript that I believe I did accidentally get rid of, I can certainly understand the thrill you are experiencing.
I have one packed somewhere that I wrote when I was in my 20s. I hope to find the thing someday.
Congrats! Now finish the process .
happy for you (I think) 🤗
That's awesome! Hope you are going to do something that will bring it to life now that it's been "resurrected". Best of luck!
I deleted a first draft around 15 years ago and grieved that it was probably the greatest thing I'd ever write. Around five years ago, I stumbled across a forgotten copy on an old memory card - I was delighted! And, reading back over it, it was actually pretty good. I feel your rush, man.
Keep writing!!!
Quick! Scan and save! I’m shaking with second-hand anxiety on your behalf
So happy for you!
I have goosebumps. Enjoy your reunion.
love it when stuff like this happens
I clacked around on a Selectric or ten back in the day. They make such a good sound when they're running.
Is it any good?
Happy for you!
Fantastic Buck! Buy a lottery ticket.
How exciting! A real glimpse into "the old you"....
I have something similar I just came across again, typed on a portable typewriter...
Isn't it fun to find old work like that and say to yourself, "Hmmm, this isn't too bad. I wonder if I could update it and make it work."
What an amazing find. So happy for you 👏🏼
Awesome!
I hope you publish it!
I am so happy you found your old friend. What a gift 🥰
I learned to type on an electric in grade 8. Drove me bananas. I was used to my father's old manual Underwood. I buzzed letters across the page a lot at first! 🤣🤣
Ok so now publish it.
Lucky chap. I made a manuscript in WordPerfect. And protected it with a password.
And forgot.
After five years trying to unlock it I pressed
Well...Whats it about?
Apologies for posting this here but Sudan needs you. Please read and help if u can bsky.app/profile/thom...
Urgent help needed!! This campaign was originally meant for 4 families as you… Maurice Wenig needs your support for Help Sudanese Families escape from war
✨️🦄✨️
Happy for you!
Wow!
The selectric was my favourite, it was my second kind of typewriter I learned on in grade 10, wish I had one🇨🇦😁
I loved my IBM Selectric
Amazing! I'm so happy for you!
This is the nicest thing I've read all week. Makes me genuinely happy for you.
more than 700 people rejoice for you! Me Too! 🙂
Shouldn't you be making a few copies? Chop chop. You might lose it again.
Vicariously sharing your excitement!
Better than finding a $20 in your coat pocket. Ngl, there are some days when I miss the selectric 😃
I remember when that typewriter was my obsession Congratulations on finding your manuscript 🤗
That's fantastic I understand I did the same but via different method
Dig in…see just how brilliant you were…and see where strayed. Good luck 👍
One like this?
Fancy.
I’m honestly confused. Isn’t a manuscript written by hand?
So excited for you!!! I know the pain of searching for work you lost and that awful empty feeling where your work used to be. So glad you filled that space and found your work! Hope you get to enjoy it, share it with those you want to, and bask in the joy of the pages ❤️
I'm about to get very nostalgic for the IBM Selectric. I learned how to type on that typewriter and nothing else comes close to the feeling of those smooth keys on my fingertips. I was also the girl who loved timed writing tests though 😊
Reminds me of some poetry I wrote on a Mac Plus and stored on 700k floppy disks…
…long gone in distant garage clean ups😢
Few feel the Cosmos align. It'll change your religion.
My screenplay sits idle! JACK
How wonderful, congratulations!
Fill in gaps and submit!!!
Fuck yea! 🥳🥳🥳
Sweet! Congratulations, all blessings to you!
I know that excitement.
Earlier this year, I found a first draft of something I wrote in 1989, along with a binder full of plot notes, research, maps, character profiles, drawings, ideas for edits...
Those kinds of finds are GOLD.
Happy you found yours, too!! Are you going to finish it?
Wow!
Great find!!!!
Whip out your trusty red pencil and go for it!
I am so happy for you.
Very happy for you! I wrote my PhD thesis on a manual typewriter in 1982. Amends after the viva required retyping lines/paragraphs to stick onto the existing pages of a bound thesis. If I lose my copy of that thesis then... aaargh!
Are you able to fill back in the gaps?
Good for you.
That must feel great! I am Happy for you! 😊
What a wonderful feeling.
I understand your elation! YAY!😁
That's such a huge win! Congrats!
👏
nice. feed it to OCR quick
This is so exciting! I’m so happy for you!!
A great find!
Always celebrate your victories, because there may not be any more.
Lucky you! I have some old writing trapped on one of those 2.5" disks from my long-gone Smith-Corona word processor (loved that thing!). Even though I'll never recover them, I can't bear to throw away the disks. You know, just in case. 😄
Will that be your new book now?
QUICK scan the whole thing & keep on two or more USB sticks.
