I finished my first edit of Chapter 1 last night. I swear I've been over those pages, at least a dozen time, and still I found things that needed to be fixed. Tense issues (changing "is" to "was" or "are" to "were"), paragraphs not being broken where they should, and even spelling mistakes... SPELLING!
Oh well, calm down, and take a deep breath. (oohhmmmm) Okay, much more zen now :)
So yeah, my first read-through and edit of Chapter 1 is done. Yay! However, I haven't started my query letter yet, and my summary is still untouched. I'm nervous about letting people read it, trying to get it out there, and about my possible failure. Don't get me wrong, I did write the book for myself, and I finished it for myself (even after all the wrong turns and breaks in writing).
There is still a big part of me, though, that needs this book to succeed. I know that the odds are against me, and there are thousands of "writers" out there that never have a word published... I don't want to be one of them. Also, I know that the art should be for me, and it is. I love writing, always have, and probably always will.
I guess these jitters are to be expected. I am, after all, in brand new territory.
Hey! I also got the new Scott Pilgrim graphic novel (an early birthday present from a beautiful lady) which I intend to read within the next few days. I'm very excited to finish the series, and the movie was pretty rad ;)
that's it for now, I think.
Thanks for reading
congrats on editing 1! i edited through my entire WIP six times, had my hubby edit, my mom edit... then i met up with some other aspiring writers, and i found that their input was much more impartial and helpful. nothing has been better for my WIP than meeting my crit partner! have you visited the bransforums yet??
ReplyDeleteThank you, it seems like it's taken a very long time...
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've heard of Bransforums, but I'll check it out. I'm actually a member of critters.org which is a pretty great writer's workshop, probably along the same lines as what you're talking about.
i had trouble with critters for my WIP. unless you do a request for dedicated readers, then you're limiting the ability of your critters to understand the context and big picture of your novel. it's an excellent site for short stories, but for the novel...
ReplyDeletenathan bransford's blog (he's a literary agent) and forums, and backlog of informational posts has been the single-most educational source on the craft of writing for me. of course, i knew nothing when i started. :)
the people there are super nice and really know their stuff. this is also where i found my brilliant crit partner. i definitely recommend checking it out, although watch out, because it's addictive. :)
it'll be nice to see a new face!
and first novels always take a long time to do right. i've been on mine for 14 months... but like i said before, when i began writing, i had no clue. and there were like eight months of sheer learning in the middle... not to mention the procrastination. :) hang in there! :)
I've been to his site! I actually used his site to help write my query letter :) I didn't know he had anything like a workshop though.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
your welcome!
ReplyDeletei forgot to leave the link for you!
*headdesk*
no coffee yet... that's my excuse!
here you go!
http://forums.nathanbransford.com/
have fun!
:)