Word Imperfect

I sent my third draft to Taryn on April 16th.  After a couple big re-writes and a lot of little changes I am really confident with this draft.  It is amazing to see how the story has grown and changed over these three drafts.  My first draft was just barely over 52k and now I'm nearly at 60k.  I have developed characters to a level that I never could have expected.   I've had a few people asking what's next.  Well, that depends.  If Taryn has more notes for me, then I will start to work on my fourth draft.  If Taryn says "Ok you've gotten this as good as it is going to get," then we begin working on my submission materials.  This is writing my query and making sure my first 10 pages sparkle. I'm really excited to have come this far.  I've been working on this for so long that it's hard to believe I'm actually getting there. So for now....we wait....and see what Taryn has to say. 

So last week, I handed over my manuscript to my editor and asked her to tear it apart and tell me what I did wrong.  It's never easy receiving criticism, but this was about as painless as it comes.  My editor is so wonderful.  She has taken an experience that could potentially be so frightening and made it a breeze.  I cannot say it enough.  If you need editing and/or critique services, check out Taryn Albright .  You won't regret it. This is my second Reader Report from Taryn.  The last report prompted some major changes and a lot of work.  What did she have to say this time?  Well, I'm on the right track.  There are a few things that still need work, but the good news is the major changes I made the last go round worked well.  Basically there are things here and there that need to be improved and I need to work on my use of commas and periods, and dialog tags. (Confession: I suck at grammar.)  So at least one more pass is n...

I did it!  I edited/wrote over 50K words in 30 days.  I am mentally exhausted, but I couldn't be more thrilled.  I have two weeks until this draft is due at the editor, and it's done.  I can honestly say that I am happy with ever change I made. Over the last couple weeks I've been really tempted to make some changes that, in the end didn't make a lot of sense.  Thank goodness for some awesome advice and some support from my friends and family. After sitting on it for a few days I may decide to rework the ending...I am happy with it right now, but someone recently told me that your brain can only make so many good choices in a day, so maybe I won't like it after I sleep on it. Heck...maybe Taryn will be able to take it early and the decision will be out of my hands all totally. So...here it is...25 minutes until midnight on November 30th and this is my final word count. Thank you all for your continued support.  I'll keep you update...

Ok, so the cover was bothering me.  It was VERY Twilight.  If you like Twilight, more power to you, but my book is nothing like Twilight, so to have that connection made would be a mistake.  So, I did a little work and came up with this. I really think this conveys Fantasy more than the last one, but still feels very pigeon holed to me.  I'd really love to be able to shoot a cover...and have control of every aspect right from the start.  NaNoWriMo's twitter account challenged everyone to make a post-it note sketch of our covers.  I came up with this.  Warning: I'm a writer, not an artist.  We can't all be Christopher Paolini and do both. :)  Anyway...It's not like the cover matters, because I'm not finished with the second draft yet.  Covers can come later.  First things first, editing. So once again, I find myself a NaNo rebel but I'm finding my form of rebellion is common AND people have figured out a form...

So here we are, 12 days since I sent my MS to free-lance editor Taryn Albright .  For the last week I have been quietly worrying what I would receive back in my Reader Report.  After all this time of working I was so afraid that it had all been for nothing.  I was worried that she would come back and say "there is nothing worth keeping here, you need to start over or abandon this story all together." That, however, did not happen. What did happen, is that I received an email that told me she understood how scary this could be and that she wanted me to know that she enjoyed my MS and thought I was going places.  Then she told me to calm myself and settle in with some chocolate and/or wine before reading the report. This is my report.   Yes, that is a six page report.  Yes, I printed it and highlighted parts.  I laid out 12 points she made that need work. I cannot say enough about how amazing my experience with Taryn has been.  Sh...

So I was supposed to send my manuscript to the editor April 11th.  Today I received a surprise email, she had finished a project and could take my MS early. Yep, I totally freaked out.  You can ask my co-workers.  "Is my face red?  I feel like my face is red.  Oh god, I'm not supposed to be this scared am I?  That can't be normal.  Oh god." I was so excited, so scared, so nervous, all at once.  It is amazing that one person can feel some many emotions together.  I don't know anything to compare it to. So, I came home, gave it a once over, made sure the format was correct to Taryn's specifications, and then I did the scariest thing I've done in my writing career.  I sent my MS, my 10 year journey, my 4 month old baby, to an almost complete stranger. Taryn said she should be done by this weekend, but life happens so it may be longer.  Until then I am supposed to stay occupied.  Shouldn't be hard as I have a stac...

So writing the book was a huge step, but the next step has to happen if anything is to come of it.  In my case, the first step is both exciting and frightening.  That step is letting someone who is neither friend, nor family (thought sort of a friend and I see her becoming more so) read and give input on my baby. For over 10 years this story has lived inside me.  It is part of me.  It is a huge chunk of my life to this point.  To allow someone who knows so little about me to see it, examine it, and critique makes me feel extremely vulnerable.  At the same time this is an opportunity for some truth.  Up to now I have had no way of knowing if the opinions I'm getting are truth or lip service.  Do they like my work, or do they just love my so much they think they do? So...here goes.  April 11th Stone of Virtue: Book One in the Fairies of Erdavol will be in the hands of Freelance Edito r Taryn Albright and her famous green pen.  S...