"Let it
be known: Friday the 13th day of January, I finished my monster in a box. It is
done! Final count: 160,004 words, 519 pages. WHOOOOOO HOOO! Time to celebrate.
*bounce*"
Facebook 01/13/12
One year later… I have
finally finished revising and editing.
What took me so long? My
husband would love an answer to this question. His as well as everyone else's
excitement for me dwindled as the days lengthened to weeks and months, and I
still couldn't put my stamp on it. But I only get one shot at this folks. My
book needed to be as polished as possible before letting it go.
Any agent or editor could
look at my FB post and tell you right away why I was still editing. Too long. When I started writing, I just
wrote. I focused on my story. I didn't research the industry or what
agents/publishers looked for in a debut manuscript. I knew the kind of novels I
liked to read. The ones that hold you gripped in their hands and won't let you
go. The ones that when you finish leave you desperate for your next fix. I've
been a literary junkie for years. I know what gets me going and keeps me
reading. Because I was writing the first of a series, I had to plan for the
future. Some of my favorite series do a fabulous job of foreshadowing the next
book.
As I wrote, I kept the
following things in mind:
- The major story arc that would span the first
several novels.
- The characters that would become important in
later novels.
- Building the tension between future couples.
And I accomplished my
task. Too well. I had too many characters,
too much tension, too many side stories, too many points-of-view.
So I simplified.
I focused on the main
HEA. I cut scenes I loved. I scrapped characters and put them on a waitlist. I slowed
the build on one of the couples. They needed cooling or they would never make
it to book three. That alone shrunk my monster from 160k to 118k.
The next step was
focusing on the nitty gritty. Words. I had to cut the fat in my manuscript.
Filler and filter words had to go. I learned my sloppy words (look, thought,
that, so, just) and nixed them. And in doing so, I made my writing better.
Showing, not telling. A lesson I always taught my students but didn't fully
understand until now.
My monster in a box is
now a respectable 106K.
It's ready. I'm ready.
Today I'll be sending out my first query letters. It's scary and terrifying and
all that jazz. But it's time.
A few thanks to the
following:
My husband for his support
and putting up with me in general. Jason Kiniry for being my
personal hole-poker and not the dirty kind :P. (See Poking
Holes.) My girls who read my manuscript
and gave me feedback (Angela Johnson, Elicia Arwen, Tanya Barnes, Shea Precht, &
Sarah Haney). You guys are awesome. My mom aka babysitter.
Without her help, I would have never finished my book and would never have
clean laundry. Del Dryden for beta
reading (and giving it to me straight), general sounding board, and industry
question answerer. Your feedback was invaluable. Seriously, you rock. I owe
you. Angela James for
B4UHitSend. Her workshop helped me clean up the nitty gritty. I can't recommend
this online class enough.