It has been a year or so since I blogged, but 2017 was a year in which I had to focus on some heavy editing of my books in progress, including my most recent release, Guardian’s Return. I find that in the world of writing, the best part of the experience is actually creating the work—building characters, worlds, delving as deeply into your imagination as possible, and trying to write something a little different than anyone has seen before.
And that writing process usually takes me, a part-time writer, about a year.
But that manuscript, as magical as I might think it is, is far from finished after that year. You are really only half way up the mountain by the time you have finished a first draft of a manuscript. For me, writing the last line of a novel simply begins another year of editing. And while that editing process can be challenging, even painful sometimes, it is absolutely necessary. About half of that second year is spent editing on my own; the other half is spent working with an editor. Then, after that year of editing, I finally have a finished, polished manuscript ready to send to publishers or agents. But, the truth is even then the editing is not complete because if an agent or publisher decides they like your work enough to represent it or publish it, they will want to do another round of edits. It’s enough to make your head spin, but—as I said—it is necessary to ensure the book that reaches the hands of an excited reader does not disappoint them. It is certainly time consuming, and it is the reason why it has taken the second book in my Guardian series so long to reach readers.
This year, 2018, is an exciting one as a writer. It is a year in which I can enjoy some of the fruits of my labor. Guardian’s Return has been released and as a local comic book artist and writer recently told me, holding that book in your hand is 50 percent of the reward. I agree. Later this year, the second book in my pirate series will be published, and my first pirate book—The Dangerous Legacy—will become an audio book available on i-Tunes by this summer. Last, but certainly not least, a new manuscript tentatively titled Tripp Unleashed, now represented by a literary agency, will soon be going out to major publishers. Hopefully, one of them will take an interest.
But this year’s joyful moments would not be possible without the labor put in throughout all of 2017 on those edits.
Anyway, I promise in 2018 to take more care of this website, including keeping you posted on the latest updates, and maintaining a monthly blog. And if you ever have any questions for me that I might answer in this blog, feel free to contact me on this website’s contact page. Perhaps you have questions about writing as you try to write your own book. I am by no means an expert, but I would be happy to address any questions you have on the topic of writing, editing, character and world development or regarding the publishing and marketing side of writing.
Stay tuned for more to come.