Oh, I crack myself up.
I didn’t go on vacation, but after three months of INSANE EDITING, I did hand in the final version of THE LAST BATHING BEAUTY to my editor.
Can I get a high-five?
I’m so pleased with this book and can’t wait for it to greet the world next April. Right now we’re in the cover and marketing stage and that’s exciting, as I wait for copy edits. I miss my characters, and it’s the first time this has happened to me. I’m eager to see where I messed up with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and the like. When you’ve read a manuscript seventy gazillion times, $hit gets overlooked.
You know how you wonder if writing books gets easier? My answer is no, not for me. Each book presents unique challenges. I welcome that. It’s intentional. But it also means that I am finding my way for the first time, over and over again.
With this book, I rewrote the first 30 pages 3 weeks prior to handing it in. I was reading and thought to myself — “Self, this is BORING.” So I handled it. Kudos to my critique partner for pointing this out months earlier. It’s not that I didn’t believe her or don’t trust her — but I didn’t SEE it until much later. And you can’t fix what you don’t see.
I also added a brand new character then too — or shall I say — I resurrected her. This might prove once and for all that nothing is wasted and that I should trust my own instincts just a smidgen more sometimes. She’s a new and improved version, and I didn’t see the need for her. Until I did. So when you meet Piper — don’t tell her she was sort of an afterthought, m’kay?
Through the craziness I lost several clients. Not in the sad and tragic way, but in the “READY TO MOVE ON AND QUERY” way or the “READY TO REVISE AGAIN” way, so I have spots in my schedule if you or anyone you know needs:
Feedback and Accountability
(When you add them together, without fail, it equals PROGRESS.)
And I’ll chat with you to see if we’re a good match!
And now, of course, I’m working on my as-of-yet untitled Novel #5. All I’ll tell you is that it’s set in 1962 — and that’s super fun. I’ll keep you posted, of course.
Back to the whole idea of vacation: I am going to visit my daughter at the end of the month and I’ll also see a few friends, so I guess that qualifies for now.
What about you? Have you taken a vacation from your writing? The notion, to me, is preposterous, but I’m willing to concede that might not be the healthiest attitude.
xo, Amy
That’s quite a feat Amy. I know how hard it is to sit your butt down and do the revisions. Ugh. I have created a new character for my book too and a bunch of new scenes to go with it to fill in a 2 year gap. It took a lot of additional research. Now I just have to put it all together. I love that you have a new book to work on right away. Hope you take some time for fun as well.
Sending a big high-five from Michigan, Amy! Congratulations on the final edits! Can’t wait until April! xo
So many congratulations to you, Amy!
Vacation? What’s that? 🙂 I’m thinking that, like you, when I get to the point where I cannot make revisions on this novel anymore, then it’s time to take a break before the next one. We’ll see if that happens!
And thank you for pushing me to make those choices in the current one…