I finally see how footnotes work digitally, in an article on Vox. The footnote numbers are highlighted. Hit one and the footnote opens just below the paragraph. Hit it again, it closes. Hit a second number in the same paragraph, the new footnote replaces the old one. I see how this can work well for me. I don't have to have that material in end-of-chapter notes. And my gobs of footnotes do not overwhelm readers. Read one or two and you will know whether you want to go there or not, down my rabbit hole. 

.

My notes are generally amusing extensions of the story but not essential to following the plot. I think of them as the equivalent of Randolph Caldecott's illustration, embellishing the written story with scenes not found in the text. In my case, comments that have no business in the text but are additional gleeful fun. Gleeful serious as well, some of them. I got nothing that ain't gleeful in one way or another.

.

This tells me that my free-lance editor did not have a handle on this feature. Since my original purpose of my footnotes was to remove some of the on-and-on backstory from the body of story, she advised me that footnotes would not do it, the material was still not set apart, but only parked directly under. Now I see that it does not display unless you select it, and goes away at your command. Perfect! It need not plague those who are not manic-curious.

--edited by Mimi Speike on 9/6/2015, 12:46 PM--