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I really think I did - finished the second book about Tom and Mischa, that is. This has taken me incredibly long time; I think it went wrong when I decided that this book was going to be a bit... Well, I thought "better", but I realize as I write this that I hadn't really thought about what "better" meant. Which is your recipe for if not disaster, then a very long work process right there.
But now it's done, and I'm going to send it in. I really have to keep myself for adding "after just reading through it one more time." I have already done that a thousand times so I'm probably completely blind by now - and if I know my editor, she's going to have a suggestion or two:). Now I'm going to enjoy my holiday (which means working a lot, but working on the stuff that I like. Okay, and lying around in the sun a bit, as well. It is a holiday, after all!). Enjoy your Sunday! You either love it or you hate it. I do both.
Or rather, I used to love it - since I'm a nerd - but then I had to edit two books pretty much back to back. That was incredibly stressful - especially since I got sick halfway through and Real Life was incredibly demanding at the same time. As a matter of fact, I might have sworn never to write another book again sometime during that process... Luckily, I don't seem to keep my promises. At the moment, I'm editing "Himiko: Warrior", and it looks pretty good. Of course, I can't see that; I'm obsessing over all the flaws (some of them only visible to me). But, taking a step back, I think this last part is going to round off the story nicely. "Himiko: Bonding" was all about the relationship between Matt and Pietr, while "Warrior" is far more dramatic. I still have an issue or two that makes it more sigh-fi than sci-fi, but there you go. I probably wouldn't be the overachieving perfectionist I am if that wasn't the case! It turns out that sci-fi or anything close to that genre is a bit of a challenge to write. For example, your editor will hardly ever accept "because I say so" as an explanation for why things are the way they are in your fictional world. As a matter of fact, she will never ever accept that explanation. No, no, she's determined to have reasons and logical explanations and even rationality. It kind of sucks.
Of course, it does have the added bonus of vastly improving your story. And getting to know your characters a lot better; I now have a side plot that I can't wait to explore in the next Himiko book. Did I mention that it's a lot of fun, too? I'm really looking forward to sharing Matt and Pietr with you - only a few days left now! Sometimes the author is the last person to know: It turns out that my next book, Himiko, was really two books instead of one. So, Himiko: Bonding will be out as planned on February 9, and then the sequel will be out later this year. Don't worry, the first part can stand alone, and the second part is already mostly written - it was just getting too long for one book. I will enjoy the opportunity to let some of the secondary characters get a bit more space, though; one of the best things about writing is getting new fictional friends, and I definitely got a couple or four while writing Himiko.
Or should I say behind the pages (it doesn't really work that well, though...)? Huh.
There. That's a sentence you wouldn't see in one of my books. Because I would have written first part, my editor would have written the parenthesis and I would have thought the last part before deleting all of it. Which brings me to my point: A book isn't all that good when it's just finished. There're typos (even if you read over the stuff over and over), you repeat yourself and then there's the rare case where the author's so deep into the story that the author doesn't care to explain who's speaking (happens very rarely. Only about once every paragraph. Okay, who am I kidding: Once every sentence). Then the editor steps in and do her or his magic. And it shows. My god, does it show. It's the difference between okay and "hey, I want to read this." That's why authors love their editors so much. As a matter of fact, I've got several - release dates, that is. I'm going to share my fictional friends with you in only a few months: "Himiko" will be published on February 9, 2011, and "Alphabet Soup" on April 27 along with the print edition of "A Russian Bear". I can't wait to have them out.
Editing, on the other hand, is something I try not to think about at the moment. It's not even that I don't like it; I'm nerdy enough that I actually think it's kind of fun. I've just been all written out these last couple of weeks. Well, I guess that was to be expected after the pace I've been keeping, so I'm just taking a break right now, reading for fun and reconnecting with my couch. Who said an author's life isn't exciting? |
CB Conwy
I read and I write - everything from corporate to kink. My naughty fictional friends are always there to make my life interesting. And pester me, of course. Pesky creatures. Archives
February 2018
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