I am on chapter 3 of my book, it was chapter 4, but since I started my first edit, I have condensed, clipped, changed and switched around parts and ended up merging it into 3 chapters, each around 6 pages on a word document each, or around 5k words, I’m not sure what the average is, if that is too many words, or too little – but its my average so I am going with it.
I’ve enjoyed reading back through my book, afterall, the beginning began as scribble in a book I had, and now cannot find – but 3 years ago I started typing it out and here we are, 120k words later, a full book and concept and I’m slowly going back over it and totally CRINGING at how awful my writing started off – its rushed, doesn’t make sense – comes over as very “teen” which is something I’m not sure I want to aim for – I think my book would attract a vast audience and I’m making sure I’m appealing to the market in the sense that I want everyone to enjoy it, men, women, LGBQT, teenagers, elderly – people who love science, people who love fantasy, people who love thrillers? so hopefully it has a little bit for everyone, apart from children, I wouldn’t say my book is for children, ha.
anyway, I haven’t edited anything in about 3 weeks now, its been so busy, I have been stacking up content for my instagram and twitter page, making my pinterest of concept art more organized as I use the images I look at to help me describe certain scenes, when I can picture it in my head and struggle to describe it.
I also find that I really want to give people a playlist to listen to for each chapter of my book, as music has helped me throughout this writing journey and I feel like its really key in helping set the mood and tone of a chapter, some music softly playing in the background can immediately change the dynamic of the story and set a completely different mood, after all – when YOU the reader, are reading my book, you take from it what you interpret – but if you listen to my suggested playlist at the same time, you would get more of an insight into how I want it to make you feel – and how I would like the reader to experience each chapter as more of a submergence into the world I have created – as apposed to “read my book and make of it what you will.”
Of course I welcome other peoples interpretations and opinions – its what I find the most interesting when I have let people read it and hear what they have to say, which characters they have loved, which ones they hated – of course I can’t tell you who my favorite is, I haven’t decided who I actually like in my book. The power is in my hands after all, so I could kill them all off if I wanted to! (Mwahahaha!)
It would be fantastic to get a bigger following on my blog, as its not long until I will be releasing chapter 1 for the world to see and read, and hopefully enjoy. I am nervous and excited at the same time, and I will be really disappointed if no one joins in and reads it – I would genuinely be devastated I think.
But still, as other writers have said, if nothing comes of this book, then on to the next one – its all experience. but this is my first, and I don’t want it to go unnoticed, I have worked so so hard on creating this and putting it together. I want it to be enjoyed – I don’t want to print it and for it to sit somewhere and no one hear the story of Atlas Crow and her journey into the new world. I have tried to keep the editing as sophisticated as I can, and like I said in my first blog post – beta readers have given me crucial feedback on the grammar and style of my writing so slowly chapter by chapter I am going through it and working my way to the end. In parts, I find it tedious, and its at these points I question if I am finding it tedious to edit – is it because the chapter itself doesn’t work?
then using my hugeee whiteboard, I create diagrams of “what if I changed this” etc., and before I know it, I’m hooked – back in creating my world and editing again, back with full love and passion for it.
A lot of books I have at home at the minute are editing books but the most helpful one I have to hand is “Self editing for fiction writers” it was £9 from amazon and is helping me with the basics, as when I looked into professional editing – £3k was the average price, and at 68p a word, I figured I better learn how to edit my own material to the best of my ability.
Patience isn’t my strongest point though and I did send it off to a few publishing companies, I’ve had 4 rejection emails so far, but again – I’m not Stephanie Meyers, this isn’t twilight, and it was unrealistic of me to expect someone to jump at it and want to read more, after all It’s not the strongest yet, but it is getting there.
anyway, that is my rant over for today! talk soon.
The Crow Series 