Editing Takes F O R E V E R

Seriously. I've been working on the new edit for this book I'm on for so long. I keep thinking it's going to get easier, but it never does. I make goals that I feel are generous, but don't actually finish by then because I've discovered a previously unknown huge issue that needs a complete rewrite. It might just be this story though because I don't think I had this issue on this scale with my previous book. 

The one I'm working on, Shadow Warrior, is the first book I wrote. I think that necessitates a lot more editing since I was learning all the things when I was first writing it, and have since learned so many more things. And you can tell. Will this story ever be finished? Sometimes I wonder. This is the fourth major edit of this book, and I thought for sure that this edit pass would be the last major revision of this piece and it would be finished by the end of April. I'm probably not going to make the end of May (unless tomorrow is extraordinarily productive), but I'm so very close now. I should have this pass done and ready for beta readers in the next couple of weeks. However, I'm not optimistic that this is the last major pass anymore. I think there's going to be one more big one before I get down to line level stuff. 

We'll see. Maybe my beta readers will tell me I'm crazy and too hard on myself--which is definitely a thing. My ultimate goal for this story is to be ready to submit to agents by the end of the year, so that still seems possible. Hopefully.

Once that one is out with readers, I'm going to do one last editing pass to Child of Blessing and send it back out as well. The beginning wasn't doing what it needed to do, and a couple other scenes were problematic for another reason, so I'm going to fix those too. Anyway, that seems totally doable, and I'm looking forward to finally being finished with that one again.

After that (or somewhere concurrently in there), I'm going to finish the first draft of my latest story. I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and it feels so much more solid right out of my brain than the others. I can't wait to get feedback on this one from my beta readers this year!

If I get all that finished, I plan to make some decisions for Cruising the Cosmos, my middle grade series, and get the first book edited. Then brainstorm several of the next book ideas and perhaps draft one of those. Or perhaps I'll draft my YA alien one. Those are my top contenders at the moment, but I have a lot to finish before I'm allowed to start on those.

Anyway, wish me luck. Hopefully you'll get to read one or all of these someday. They certainly keep me busy!

Murderbot is my favorite!

Seriously, if you haven't read the Murderbot series by Martha Wells, you're missing out. The first novella is called All Systems Red, and it's a gem. There are four novellas and a novel out that are all excellent, and she has another novella coming out at the end of the month! Yay! (I pre-ordered mine in October) I may have read this entire series at least six times in the last year...

Murderbot is a Security Unit (SecUnit) for a company that leases it as cargo/supply to endeavors that might need security, like mining operations or exploration. It is made of both robotic parts and cloned human tissue. The story begins on a survey mission on an uninhabited world. Murderbot is the sole SecUnit for a team of scientists from an unaffiliated world (meaning non-corporation owned) called Preservation Alliance. 

But Murderbot is no longer SecUnit standard--it has hacked its governor module. Meaning, that there is very little actual control anyone has over it because the governor module can no longer inflict pain or death if it disobeys. That said, all Murderbot wants to do is watch its shows, so it continues to fake being controlled so that it can download and watch media all day long.

Also, Murderbot doesn't really like interacting with humans and doesn't at all understand its own emotions--especially the ones that mean it might actually like the humans it's working with almost as much as the characters on The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. So when things start conspiring to harm its clients, Murderbot needs to do something about it.

Okay, that's as non-spoilery as I can get. Especially since all I want to do is gush about how much I love all the things about it. Of course all I want to do is give Murderbot a hug, but it would absolutely hate that... I have friends like that. If you do go read it, I think Ratthi is my favorite human in the series, but ART is my favorite person...well, other than Murderbot.

Anyway, the stories are amazing, and you should read them. Enjoy!

I'm back!

Well, I obviously disappeared into the void somehow. Sorry. Without Finish That Thought to keep me engaged here, I guess I've found it difficult to remember to post. I've never been much of a diary keeper, and blogging feels similar.

However, I'm going to try again.

First, an update on how things have been going: 

I finished that MG story, and researched agents and whatnot, then sent it out into the void. And didn't get a nibble (Well, I got one request for a full, but that's it--still all rejections.). That story is currently waiting for another rewrite, but I think this time I may know how to fix it (Thanks, Cedan!). 

I am currently deep into another large edit of my YA fantasy novel, and I think it's getting close, so that's super exciting. 

I still haven't edited the MG Spaceship book, but I've brainstormed it, and I think I have a clear plan ahead for that one also.

In the meantime, I've started and almost finished a new YA fantasy romance. I'm probably about 80% through the first draft, and it's going well. I haven't made much progress on any of the other stories.

Second, a look ahead:

I think I can finish the edit of the YA fantasy novel by summertime. I'm hoping it's before then, but time is moving too quickly. Once that edit is finished, I'm going to send it out for another round of beta readers, then do the agent thing once I've made any tweaks needed.

I also expect to finish the first draft of the YA fantasy romance by the end of the summer. It'll go through my alpha readers and beta readers by the end of the year. I'm not anticipating this one will need the extensive edits that the other one needed. *crosses fingers*

In the fall, I hope to edit the MG Spaceship book finally. I'm excited to get this one out into the world, and I'm appalled that it's taken me so long to make decisions about it.

Finally, I'm going to attempt to tie writing a blog post to a weekly activity so that maybe I can be better about posting. Hopefully that works better than the last few times I've tried to jump back in here. :) If you have any great resources for writing prompts, post them in the comments for me. They're always fun to play with.