I figure I owe you all an update on what's been going on with my manuscript.
1. Spared is still the working title of the novel. It's stuck around the longest of any title so far and I don't even have room left in my brain to wonder about it anymore. So that's it! For now.
2. I am on the 200th revision of my query letter. I think it's looking pretty good. I have a PR guru willing to look at it. I guess we'll see if the pitch is punchy enough for the publicity peeps.
3. I've received 2nd-hand, quick, more-to-come feedback from a beta reader who said simply: "I love it. I love her style and 'turns of phrases'". That's always good to hear. Especially when the reader is a published writer. (After hearing this, I immediately reverted to middle school and asked, did she say 'like'. Or 'love'? Are you sure it was 'love'? 'Cause there's a big difference between 'like' and 'love', ya know. I was assured it was 'love', but I still don't believe we're going to the dance.)
4. I've also received more in-depth feedback from a beta reader that provided me with A LOT of valuable insight for my next edit.
5. It's in the hands of 2 more readers from my original writing group who were with this thing from the very beginning, when it was in absolute shambles.
6. I'm working on line editing what I have, knowing there may be some additional chapters and re-worked chapters from the incoming feedback. I already have a lot to think about regarding some of the pacing and plot points that need to be fleshed out more. Or the ones that need to take a step back.
7. That's about it on the novel front.
8. In other news: On Thursday I will meet Ann M. Martin, author of the Babysitter's Club series, and consequently die a happy woman.
Helpful is the word I'm going to use to describe this post because I like hearing how other writers work. It's inspiring actually to know how hard it really is, how many revisions it really takes. Thanks Melissa and best of luck w/editing and the query! Love (not like :)) the working title.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lori! I'll try to post more about my process in the future, since you are my most dedicated reader! :-) lol. I always feel weird telling people what I do because my process does not have any successful, proven results yet. But I do enjoy hearing how others work, no matter where they are on the road to publication, so maybe I should take that into account. Thanks again for your kind words :-)
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