I guess it’s been a while since I updated. I have a perfectly valid excuse! No, I really do.
I spent the final four days of 2011 editing. Almost non-stop. Thursday and Sunday both came and went in a flurry of words. Reading, cutting, adding, cutting, changing, reading reading reading. For me, editing fiction is a very particular activity. I have come to terms with the fact that it will never be a tidy process.
On New Years Eve, I ran around outside with some sparklers at approximately 9pm, Perth time. I have more of a tradition of celebrating New Years with Sydney, who are three hours ahead of us at this time of year, than anything else. This is simply because I would normally be asleep for any celebration here! This year, I greeted the turn of midnight in my hometown still editing. Approximately twenty minutes later, I touched the last line and declared it a success! I’d reached my goal!
I woke to the first day of 2012 with my mind buzzing; I knew something I needed to go back and modify more. I often wake up with story ideas, since my subconscious is very well trained in making adjustments and working through problems in my writing. My sleeping mind was totally right, and I spent all of yesterday editing even more.
Last night, I provided my beta readers with their copy of the story. I hope to hear back from them pretty quickly about their initial impression, and just hope I haven’t overlooked some kind of atrocious error! But honestly, I am confident in the place my story has come to, and I am really looking forward to getting right back into drafting book two.
At the end of the second draft, traditional means of word count estimation puts TDM at 54,500 words. Yes, that breaks free of being a novella by 14,500 words. I knew when I began editing that this story would stretch to become a short novel, and I simply had to accept the fact. It changes what I will do with the series, slightly. I haven’t made any firm commitment to how I want to publish TDM, and won’t until the final edit is complete!
In the meantime, I have a sequel to write.
~A
The Fane 
It’s only been 5 days, Ash. Chillax. 😉
Ooh, sequel! I haven’t even read the first one, & already I’m intrigued…
But, my schedule. XD
Hooray! I hope they don’t disappoint. 😉
~A
I’m very proud of how dedicated you are to you writing Ashlee! I can’t wait to hear more good news in the near future!
Aww, thank you, Katy-Rose! Even with my ego, it’s hard to admit this does take dedication and not just a passion for writing. 🙂
~A
Awesome way to ring in the new year, my dear! Please send some of your discipline and dedication-to-writing my way; I could use a 2012 turbo boost.
Thank you, Barb! Consider it sent, flying straight into your house, and colliding with things along its path to you. XD Just remember, everyone’s situation calls for different approaches. You WILL get there. I know it!
~A
Congrats! It’s always great getting to the end of a stage of a project.
Thank you! It sure is – right up until you acknowledge how much further there is to go before the book goes live. Eek. XD
~A
So true, haha. Distraction is so awesome for that. It’s a little like playing hooky from school. (“I have things I can think about, but I’m not gonna!”)
Ignore all the things! Write another book! Think about the terrifying future at a later point. XD
~A
You’re at 54,000 words and already have a sequel planned?
Here’s my unsolicited advice: Have you considered combining it and getting to a single novel at 90,000 words? Much more marketable.
Just something to think about.
I’ve debated this repeatedly, and still haven’t come to a perfect conclusion. The series was originally intended as a set of novellas, which is why the word count is so low. It’s broken out of being a novella during edits, and now sits in that uncomfortable territory of short novels.
There’s a very good possibility that I can condense the books into longer novels (two “stories” per book), but again, I haven’t decided if that will work for the best. If I truly feel the length suits the work, I will go forward with the full knowledge that a short novel is a hard sell. If there’s a way to combine the work into a satisfying piece, I would probably opt toward that, purely from a marketing standpoint. There’s just enough rebellion in me to defend my final decision; nothing worse than seeing a good story mangled to suit industry standards. 😉
~A