Yes, I was a little behind schedule, as I had aimed to finish by the end of April. But the end of May is not so far off! It was an extensive overhaul, fixing unsatisfying plot points, tweaking boring characters, cleaning up repetitive language. 135 manuscript pages and there was not a single one that didn't have some purple ink on it.
That's just the front...some of the backs are entirely covered!
It was a tremendously satisfying moment. I still have to type up all of my edits (and even as I am planning to start this immediately after this blog post, I still haven't decided if I'm going to edit my file or re-type in a blank one!) and then there is the daunting prospect of queries, synopses, rejections, and more edits. But just moving on to that stage is a thrilling feeling. I am so ready! It is important to savor these small victories and not just dwell on the inevitable problems to come. Life is full of good moments, and I won't let anxiety take those away from me.
Novel 6 is in the bag!
Awesome job! I'm about 36 (out of 409) pages into my edit/rewrite (I format my pages like a submitted MS: double spaces, 12 pt Times New Roman font). The more important question is what's next?
ReplyDeleteI hate MS format and only ever use it for actual submissions. I usually go with single-spaced Arial, size 11. Plus it makes it that much more exciting when I see the pages multiply when I go to MS format!
DeleteI have a plot bunny bouncing around for a fantasy novel involving pantheons and family betrayals and such nonsense, but I may take some time to work on some short fiction first. That's an area in which I think my skills are severely underdeveloped. I know that the old "couple of short stories then a novel" formula isn't as prevalent nowadays, but I still wouldn't mind giving it a shot!