About Writing, Hard Work and Perseverance

Cover illustration on “Health Care Professionals and Medical Scientists on Postage Stamps”

Medium is popular among writers. Chances are you are a writer yourself. You know how difficult it can be to produce a compelling story out of a vague idea. It takes a little inspiration and a lot of transpiration as the saying goes. That is true for an article of about a thousand words. But it is even more true for a catalogue.

Catalogues are books we easily take for granted. The physical version is a dying breed. It is being replaced with digital, online accessible versions. But physical or online, the information in the catalogue must be orderly presented and we expect it to be accurate. Have you ever thought about what it takes to write such a book? I had the privilege of getting a closer look at that.

We are running a small guesthouse in a rural part of The Netherlands, a nice and quiet place.

Rudy J.F. Burgmeijer depicted on his favorite collector’s item.

For Rudy Burgmeijer this was the perfect place to retreat and work on his magnum opus, a catalogue of stamps that depict people working in health care and medical scientists.

For years he regularly visited us to free himself of the noise and distraction of crowded Amsterdam, to work in deep concentration on his book. It is a tactic that…