A Novel Approach

Hey, it's been a while (again). I've been busy going over the edits from the publisher, and we've finally finished them! It's back to them now for the Quality Check, which will hopefully pick up anything everyone else has missed. I should have that back in late January, so will wait and see what that turns up. Otherwise, the manuscript is looking great! Just need to relax now and enjoy Christmas with the family! Oh, and if you want something else to read (if you're even reading this), check out my wattpad and the story I've started to write on there. It's unfinished, and in progress. So sign up for free and you'll get notified every time I add a new chapter. I'm trying to write one chapter a week, but don't hold me to that! https://www.wattpad.com/user/BeakerZ I'm also working on a new manuscript, so these little side stories help me to experiment with ideas and writing styles.

OK, so it's been a while. How are you doing? Really? That's [delete as appropriate] good/terrible! I said in my last post that I was finishing my 4th draft and getting ready to submit the manuscript to my editors ... yeah stuff happened. Mostly because juggling two young children (not literally) and finding time at the end of the day to write, has been a struggle. I missed out on some writing time on the family holiday, due to ... well not going (kids with chicken pox and border control aren't best friends). So what have I been doing? Another edit! But, I think this has been only for the best. I've seen lots of things in my writing that I suddenly realised, I didn't like, or didn't read well. I've revisited the dialogue and made improvements there. I've trimmed some of the waffle, which makes the text easier to read. A few changes to the plot and characters here and there, hopefully makes them more believable? About a year ago I posted a chart show...

Phew! It's taken a while, but I "think" I've finished editing! I'm still a perfectionist, so could easily go back and do another edit ... then another ... I need to know when to stop Any advice here would be appreciated! I've been writing my first novel for about 2 years now and just don't know when to let it go. I've got another BETA reader lined up, so will let them take a look and see what they think. My problem now is, will I ever be happy with my own work? Maybe I am happy with it? But I can just keep seeing ways to change the story and keep turning it into something a little different each time. Does anyone else have this problem? When do you stop and call it a day, let your editor have it and move on?  I have lots of ideas for other books (which I think I've mentioned in other posts) and am keen to try something else now.  I'm sure my editors and publisher will come up with plenty of changes, but I have to remember that this...

Just realised I've neglected my blog for a while and it's feeling a little sorry for itself. So here's a quick update on progress on the novel. 4th Edit/Rewrite After having some amazing feedback from my BETA readers, I've decided that I need to take a more severe hatchet strike to my manuscript. It was apparent that some things weren't clear to the reader, some of the dialog needed revisiting and some of the plot needed ... adjustments (" The Plot Adjustment Bureau ", sounds like a Jasper Fforde  novel!). Having this as my first exposure to writing and polishing a manuscript has been a struggle to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the learning curve, but it has made me think about how I write. Finding time has been a bit of a problem recently, what with two demanding kids and a busy family life, but that's just an excuse really. Aren't they all? So I am about two-thirds of the way through the manuscript for the upteenth tim...

Yay! Finally I've finished editing the 3rd draft of my manuscript! It's down to about 75,300 words now, so have dropped a fair chunk (was 81,000) out of the book. There are some bits I would have liked to have kept in, or expanded on, but I think I need to listen to my publisher on this (being my first book and all) and keep the work count lower. I've clearly got some material that could be used as "Bonus material" on the website once the book is released, so maybe have to think about that in the future. Beta Readers I'm still looking for beta readers and have just put a post on GoodReads in their Beta Readers groups to see if anyone is interested. Would be good to have someone other than a friend read it, they would be much more likely to give me honest feedback/criticism. If you're reading this and want to read the 3rd draft, get in touch at my website . Once I've had a little feedback, it's off to the editors for their review and the...

A huge thanks to my publisher Rowanvale Books and Alex Paise for the cover design that is ready for my novel, due for release sometime in the middle of 2015 (as long as I get my edits done before XMas!). I just need to finish my second round of edits and rewrites, work out some Blurb text for the back cover and get this off to the editors! If you're interested in being a BETA reader, please use the contact form and then I'll randomly pick someone to get a copy of the manuscript for feedback soon. Ah yes, the book title. You can see now that it is: Benjamin Sorrow: One for Sorrow So the sub-title says something doesn't it?

I'm not enjoying the editing process as much as I did the writing process, but it's all new so still exciting in its own way. My wife has read my first edit and added her own comments, suggestions and feedback. It was certainly a worthwhile exercise, as it highlighted a thinking issue (of mine) that I hadn't really thought about before (pun intended?). There are things I've written about in the manuscript that I assume the reader knows about, purely because "I" know about it and hadn't written it down for them to consume yet. These aren't major things, but it's just a thing I needed to learn about my writing style. Some inconsistencies need to be addressed, apparently my tense is a little here and there. So I'm now trying to find time to go through all my wife's notes and begin the second edit proper. I've got the afternoon off work tomorrow (catching up on time owed from working at the weekend) to progress as much as I can. Once ...