Saturday 31 May 2014

Monthly Goals: June

Summer's officially here! Well, I say it is, because there isn't snow on the ground. I don't care what other Canadians say– we only have two seasons up here: summer and winter. At least the good one has arrived. For me that means that I'll have more of a chance to write outside. It's one of my favorite things to do, and I find I can get a lot done when I'm relaxing outdoors. June is a pretty easy month for me, so below is the list of things I'm going to try and accomplish in the next month.

Hollow Hill is being sent out to a fellow author from a community I'm in. She's going to give it a review and play the role of a story editor. Once I make any changes she might find necessary, I'll be sending it out to a fantastic copy editor I've found. I basically just submitted some questions to him, and was very pleased when he got back to me efficiently, gave me honest, professional advice and was still willing to help. I really look forward to working with him in the future and think it will help my work a lot. I won't lie– I have a minor fear of editors. Everyone sees their story through their eyes. I'm proud of my work on Hollow Hill and want to release it so badly, but I also understand that I want to release the best product I can. It's not going to please everyone, but I'm going to do what I can to make someone accept/buy it.

Which leads me to Needfire. You've all seen the cover (and if you haven't, it's right here), and hopefully I'll be getting the remainder of the editor's review in the first few weeks of June. Once that's done, I'll send it into this new copy editor I've found. Yes, I know it's just a stand alone short story, but it's also my first taste of the self-publishing world. I want to know what I'm in for if I decide to go this route for future work and as I just said, I want to make a good first impression. After all, they're the most important. There will be ups and downs, but that's what defines a learning curve, right?

The plot line for Eternity Blood is also finished and so far I'm pleased with it. The story might dance around a little once I get writing. I haven't decided if I'll work on it for this years NaNo, since I won't lie– my plan was to get back into Agents of Limbo. I really miss Leon and Jace's adventures, and the series is my baby. I love it to pieces, and am aching to write it again. However, I haven't forgotten about my other projects...

Once I'm done my current project, the third story for the Blood Moon series, I'll be getting back into the Cursed series. I hit a little writing block but it's not too tall. Once I receive the final feedback from my editors, I'll see what I can do with the Cursed trilogy. I've been toying with the idea that it will be a self-published trilogy while the Areios Brothers will be sent to professional agencies. You might have noticed that I go back and forth a lot, so anything could change between this post and then.

And last but not least, Derek and Liam. The moment Cursed: Damnation's Door is finished, I'm getting back to them. I've done a little bit of the opening and some scenes for the third novel, Faithless Hunt, but I don't want to make any major progress if I'm advised to do major changes to the series. It wouldn't be the first time I was suggested to make major plans for a series based on colleague and professional advice, and I have a knack for integrating my own ideas into those offered to me. One thing I'm learning quickly about this career is that you can't always put out the first draft. Editing is crucial, though it doesn't have to be loved. I've been lucky so far to adore and have pride in everything I've written so far. So if I can make it better, then I will.

I get the feeling that June will be a huge month for realizations, learning, and grumbling, but it's part of the process. The copy editor I'm interested in hiring gave me an excellent piece of advice:

"It's not an easy path, but the people who've taken it and survived all those pitfalls would do it again, every time."

Anyone who thinks writing a novel is easy has clearly never done it before. So far I've been lucky, unlucky, unsurprised, and ready for the hammers to drop. But I'm still writing and learning and listening. I know I'll make mistakes and bad decisions and be paranoid at every other turn and still wind up with something unexpected happening, and I anticipate nothing less. This is still a roller coaster ride for me, and it's one I never want to get off of.

Amy

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