Winter                                                              Moon of the Winter Solstice

As I’m writing the laser printer spits out the first copy of the revised manuscript.  268 pages single-space.  It’s cheaper for me to print them on my laser printer, then have Kinko’s bind them.  3 copies, two bound.  One bound copy to Lonnie and Stefan, one to Lydia.  Kate and I can read the loose leaf copy.

This time I’m going to put a full court press on finding an agent.  If you read this and have a way to connect me with an agent or an author you know who has an agent–and are willing to share–please let me know.

Kate said the other day that I preferred long projects.  I’d never thought of it that way.  But she’s right.  Getting to the point of proficient Latin translation still has some years ahead and I’ve already invested three.  I have more degrees than make sense and each one took years.  Then, there’s this whole writing thing.  I’ve been at it now for over twenty years, off and on.

Each book takes at least a year, sometimes more depending on the amount of delay in getting through the rough draft.  Then, there’s revisions.  And now there will be a serious quest for a publisher.  This time I feel good about what I’ve done.  Not necessarily a good sign since writers are notoriously bad judges of their own work, but there you are.

Anyhow it feels to good to have arrived at this point and tomorrow, I plan to start Loki’s Children, the second volume of the Tailte novels.

Samhain                                                      Moon of the Winter Solstice

Over this weekend I will print out my first draft of Missing, that is, the first copy after the rough draft.  This one has many more revisions in it that I had planned.  It will get reproduced and bound for my beta readers.  I’m hoping they’ll finish it by the end of January, then I’ll go at it again.   Meanwhile on Christmas Eve I’ll put initial key to electrical impulse on Loki’s Children.

Samhain                                                         Thanksgiving Moon

As I proceed in the revision of Missing, which has grown to include a couple of more scenes imagined before going to sleep, I’m beginning to be excited about marketing it.  I can see using Facebook, this blog, my tumblr blog, other lists to get it out there.  Partly thinking about how to market Kate’s work has lead me to think about my own.

I’m going to need Beta readers within the month.  A Beta reader reads the novel still in draft form and provides comments:  what works.  what doesn’t.  pace.  grammar.  typos.  plot. characters.  anything.  I’ve got some ideas, but I’m open to others.  Missing is fantasy, not a literary novel.

Samhain                                                             Full Thanksgiving Moon

Picked up Kate yesterday.  She missed the grandkids, but was glad to sleep in her own bed.

Eric, at Armstrong Kennels, said the snow up here on Thanksgiving night was so hard you couldn’t see through it.  Darn it.  I missed it.

(the holly king’s castle)

I’m closing in on the final chapters of Missing.  I was further along than I thought I was.  Once I get to the end, I still have a few things to do.  First, I have a character I’m going to eliminate and that will take some spackling and a fresh coat of paint.  Then, I have scenes that either need to get added to existing chapters or become chapters themselves.  Finally, I have to add location descriptors to the beginning of each chapter.  Not a lot of work, but some.  After all that, I have to figure how to compile the whole thing (using Scrivener) in a uniform format, then print it out.

At that point I’ll read through it again, editing as I go, this time with a pencil.  If it needs drastic changes, I’ll go through a third draft.  If not, I’ll print out a copy, then hand it out to readers.  After them, the third or fourth revision.  Probably one more round of reading, then a final draft.  At that point let the flogging of the manuscript begin.

Feels good to have gotten this far.