Some links for you

I dont normally provide a post with a list of links but I have found two places you need to visit.

First, if you are in the market for an EXCELLENT editor I have just the one for you.
Tristi Pinkston is a frelance editor and is an expert at it. I have had the opportunity to have her look at a few small pieces of work for me and I have been completely pleased with her work. For her info and prices go here.

Second, Nancy Campbell Allen has posted about how she does her "Project Notebooks". I love her ideas and plan on usung her formula from now on. Imagine, everyting you need for one book in one notebook. (And I just bought a TON of spiral notebooks at the back to school sales) Here is that link.

Third, I am at 49 followers!!!!!! I need ONE MORE FOLLOWER to make it to fifty! If you havn't followed me yet and want a FREE SIGNED BOOK (Key Lime Pie by Josi Kilpack) become my 50th follower. :)

I suppose it's the journey . . .

That makes you stronger. Yes I know I am waxing philosophical, but such is the day.

While my writing journey started when I was young, the serious "I really want to get published" mode hit me about 3-4 years ago. Since then I have written many things and edited many more.

Last May (2009) I submitted a re-written MS that was actually "story worthy" to a publisher. They rejected it and asked for revisions. (Which is actually a good thing) At that point in time I also had a friend offer out of the goodness of their heart to help me edit this MS to get it ready to re-submit.

It's been just over a year now and the LAST edit came in my email over last weekend. I downloaded it to my computer, (I swear I saved it) moved my laptop to a nice brightly lit quiet place and started editing it. I was 2/3 of the way done and when I came back to it that night I somewhow erased, deleted, overwrote it and it was "poof" gone from my computer.

All 244 pages of the edit I had worked on ALL DAY. I was so in shock I couldn't even cry. All that work gone in a second. I tried everything to find the document and after two days I decided to just reload it and start over.

So yesterday I sat down early in the morning and started to edit again. I finished that afternoon and saved it, sending to some friends for safekeeping too. The edit is done the MS is as perfect as its going to get w/o a contract and an publishing editor.

While I was feeling so sick about loosing the pages I worked on this overwhelming sense of calm was there with me also. This MS has faced adversarial forces the whole time I have worked on it. My friend has lost it, and has lost hours of editing work on it too. This MS has a mind of its own and seems to have some potential that someone doesn't want me to explore.

The journey of the last few years have been a deep learning process for me. I have seen both the hands of God and Satan at work in my life regarding a simple stack of 300+ pages. I hope that most of the time I am running with the good crowd on this endeavor. LOL Timing in this has been perfect even if it was only seen in hindsight. Connections I have made in the last few years and the knowledge I have gained has been amazing. I often stand in awe of the "tour" I have been given this last few years.

The next few weeks, before Elias is born I am hoping to research and send out my MS to many agents and publishers. It's the perfect time seeing that I will have my hands full and not be actively writing or editing.

This journey has made me stronger in ways I never knew I could be strengthened. I have recieved inspiration and interpretations of feelings that I didnt know I was allowed to recieve. I have grown and I am thankful for it.

A freind once told me to "Expect Miracles" I did and this is what's happened.

WOW!

I am done!!!!!!!!!!

ELEVEN days short of a year and I am done with the line, content edit and revisions that have been requested of me. I have sent the MS back to my friend and I will be preparing to send it back to the publisher that rejected it and asked for the work I have done this last year.

This has been the LONGEST year of my life I think. I am brain dead and mentally exhausted. Yet very happy in the knowledge that I am so finished with it. I know what it feels like to not be able to STAND one more look, pass or edit of the MS. To want to throw the laptop out the window if someone asks one more thing of you concerning the MS.

The MS is great. I have people who can't wait for it to be published because they only read the first chapter. I had a reader that had to read it twice because the first time they were so caught up in the plot and story the forgot they were proofreading it for me. My BFF and I have worked the plot on this puppy to perfection. It is a great story and now it is clean and shiny, I even added emotions to it. :)

This is a major milepost in my writing career. Something I have been working for, for the longest time. Therefore it is a time to celebrate. Since I have nothing to give you my devoted readers I have come up with a unique idea to thank you for the long years of support you have given me.

Those of you who comment on this post will recieve thier first names written into the sequel of this book as characters. Or book #3 if I run out of secondary characters in #2.

So comment away and come celebrate with me. I am pulling out the sparkling cider and eating at least a few brownies tonight. :)

And so it Begins

Just two days before the Writers conference I recieved an e-mail from my friend and editor. The final "grammar/content sweep" is done and they sent me a detailed letter as to what they want done in a round of restructuring.

To be honest it freaked me out a little. When I first read the e-mail I was imagining this huge insurmountable second edit. So much so, that the thought of starting a new hobby was entertained. I knew the conference was only a few days away so my best defence was to forget the e-mail even came until after I was home. So I went and tried to forget that there were five things I needed to do to every chapter, all 44 of them. (Well 42 chapters one chapter has been deleted and one was imaginary by way of chapter numbering errors.)

Sunday I started pondering the restructure in earnest because I can't ignore something like that for too long. It was still just as intimidating and I was vacilating between curling in a ball and crying or pulling out all of my hair. Monday I was about the same. By Thursday I was begining to gather ideas and the thought of changing hobbies was begingng to fade.

This morning, with a much more level head I looked at the email more objectively and realized that one suggestion only effects a few chapters, two of the suggestions will only effect minute parts of every chapter and two are going to effect every chapter. But that's okay because the work load has been significantly lowered because reason has stepped in place of the panic.

So starting tomorrow or Monday I will begin this chapter by chapter revising. I know what is needed and I know that I am capable. I have friends who believe on me and people to cheer me on in this process.

I know that my friend who is doing this HUGE favor for me out of the goodness of their heart believes in me and the story. They have taken time from thier family to read my story and tirelessly edit and help me along the way. Although I have given them gifts, I can never repay what they have done and I will forever be in thier debt. Thank you again and again.

I have altered the editing update on my side bar. You can watch it or read my posts as I go through this process.

I am on my way to a beatuiful manuscript.

Time To Celebrate!!!!!!!!!

I honestly planned on posting a few days ago. Really. But then I got an edit from my friend. THE LAST TEN CHAPTERS EDIT. So the last few days have been spent going over and doing a grammar and content edit on 67 pages.

I am brain dead, oozing out of my ears dead. Yep.

I was planning on doing this big celebration as I went through the last ten chapters. This is a big deal to me, I have spent the last year working on this edit.

So we are going to celebrate regardless of the process of finishing this book. To celebrate the end of the first sweep being over. I am giving away a pack of my favorite pens all the way from Rock Springs Wyoming. All you have to do is comment on this post.

Furthermore, I'll be doing a reader participation/giveaways for the ramaining steps of finishing this book. (content changes, restructuring, and final read over.)

So, comment away. Keep coming back, and I will keep you updated on the last part of this process.

You get what you ask for. . . . . .

Post 294!

I am such a dolt sometimes. While I may be a story teller, the English language and English grammar are not my friends. It is not second nature to me and when I write something, anything, for that matter it needs to see a red pen. I have tried to find someone who would trade me red-line edits for content and plot edits for years now.

In desperation I went to an online group and asked for a red-line edit for a short story I needed an edit for. I sent it off and then a few days later I got it back in all its red lined glory. I thanked the editor and went to work on it. Through the edit I was sometimes feeling confused. Some of the comments they made made me say huh? But still thinking that I was the one who knew much less then they did I believed that the edits were what I needed. So last night after the edit was finished I printed the seven page story off and took a second look.

Boy was I wrong. The story acording to the editor is a mess. There is punctuation where I know it doesn't belong. They removed words that were needed, and added things that let me know that the editor didn't have a clue about the "story". I was disapointed but I know that I can go back and fix what is wrong with the story before the deadline. I will be fine and I have definately learned my lesson.

I will trust my friends before I send domething to a stranger again. Lesson leanred.
Life experience: 1 Story: 0

A Little Funny. . . .

So I am writing Latent, a MS for Nanwrimo and I am still editing Emergence. My "editor" is a wonderful friend who is helping me with my MS Emergence. This person is amazing and I learn things everytime I work with them.

Well I am sitting at my computer yesterday and I was writing about a sub character ordering pizza. As the scene closed, I wrote about the character taking the pizza box from the delivery guy and placing it on the coffee table. In the back of my head I hear my "editor" ask: "did he pay for the pizza or did he steal it? Please clarify."

After I laughed for a while I went back and added that he placed it on the coffee table after he paid for it.

Now I not only have characters in my head, my editor is in there too. At least they're wonderful company.

The process of editing.

As you readers know, I am in the process of editing my MS making it publishing worthy. Well since last week I have done two edit sweeps on chapter one, that was pretty easy it is a short chapter and there wasn't much correction. I accepted the changes and added a few things. Then when my editor got it back to me I corrected another few things and then it was finished. Yay I thought this is going to be easy.

Boy was I wrong. My second chapter came in the email and one of the suggestions was that I make my ASSASSIN LIKEABLE. Huh? he's an assassin, he kills people. I know him I know he has a good heart but the reader? Not falling for it. So I did the easy stuff first. I accepted all of the changes and changed everyting else first. Then I needed to make my assassin likeable. Its not easy. I went over to one of My writing boards and my facebook asking how to make him likeable. We discussed it and I talked about it with my friend. While this was mulling it in my head I realized that i had a chance to change the readers opinion about my assassin as well as create a moment of huge betrayal in the book.

So the betrayal is set and I have made my assassin likeable and to be honest it came easy once I had more of an idea of what was going on. In fact MC #2 did it for me she said the words right in my head. Thank you! I actually did three sweeps on chapter two and it was declared good.


Now round three, chapter three. Same intensity of problem just a diferent scene, a dificult conversation between Antony my athiest MC and a religious leader. THAT was hard. A panic attack reaction which I have not experienced enough to write it throoughly. Add to that adding detail througout the scene requiring me to relive the scene in my head. Again not the easiest thing.

Yeah editing is hard. Dang hard. BUT I wouldn't have it anyother way. I LOVE my editor. I love that the scenes are coming out much better then they were before. This is going to be a dang good book when its done. I feel it in my bones. :)


To my editor and Paulette, thanks so much. To those of you at AI and Facebook thank you too. You guys are great!

Comparison and disapointed

I know from drought to flood, I can't get my voice to cooperate.

After I finish writing. I usually take a few days weeks to read some books this time is no diferent. I didn't, however, expect the disapointment I recieved at about one last night.

I picked up two "romances" for reading enjoyment at the library.

One was a campy paranormal romance which I loved and literally laughed through the whole book. I can't wait to find the sequel and read it too. The characters were great, the setting unique, and the plot really good. I would read lines from the book to my teenage daughter and we would laugh together. I finished that book with a sense of satisfaction and went happily on my way.

The second one I picked up and read just yesterday, I loved the begining of the book although there were parts that were so predictable. I was actually asking myself why I hadn't read something of this authors before, they were that good. I loved how the author played on the stereotypes and made it work I also liked that the narrator talked to me as a reader intermittently. I was sucked into the book and stayed up after DH went to bed (A BIG NO NO IN MY HOUSE) to finish it. Then I get to the end and the two characters in the book who have had all this romantic tension and SHOULD get together in the end don't. I sat there in my kitchen at the table with a blank stare and felt SO BETRAYED! It felt bitter on my tongue and I have vowed never to read this author again because the betrayal was so huge in my eyes. I laid in bed for nearly an hour after that and wondered about the end of this book. I am sorely disapointed.

Now granted there are those of you who will probably pick this book up and love it. Either the story WITH the ending will grab you, or you will love it solely because of who wrote it.

I am begining to think about it this morning and I am realizing a few things.

First, is that this book was marketed wrong, if this is literary fiction/chic lit it was not billed that way. The jacket blurb does not tell you this is not a romance, it lied to me and I feel that sting.

Second, this author in my opinion made certain plot promises at the begining of the book. The author didn't fulfill them and the reader, ME, is feeling riped off. So much so that I will not read anything they write without a million glowing reports of the book.

I've learned this the hard way this year. You make your reader plot promises in that first chapter and you stick to them. Even if you as a writer half to decide what those plot promises are, write them down, and hang them above your desk so you see them everyday. The reader does not like to feel ripped off, or go to bed and hate what they just read.

You have a message to tell your readers? Great, decide what it is and stick with it. Your tale has a moral? Make sure you stay consistent with it. Granted characters have a mind of their own. I know, mine do too. Infact, that is why I am writing a nine book series instead of two books like I origonally planned. But there is this thing called revising and editing to reign in what your characters have done. If your characters change the book completely? Fine go back and change that plot promise in the begining so your not turning you reader on thier ear at the end.

As a writer you owe it to your reader to not leave a bitter taste in thier mouths as they close that back cover.