Some experiences stretch us more than others. Some books require more fortitude. So far, HMII has required more of me than any other writing project to date. I love this story. Sometimes it makes me bleed.
Which makes when I pass a milestone all the sweeter. I finished the Alpha edit on HMII last week and passed it off to Beta readers. I’ve been so thick into the editing that I reached the end and felt like I was missing something, like somehow I couldn’t actually be ready for the next phase. I’m at loose ends, but it’s an amazing feeling to sit back and let my brain relax for a while.
My primary goal with the Alpha edit was to cut 15-20% off the rough draft and pull together the themes my readers had pointed out. When all was said and done, I edited about 24% out and managed to work in some much-needed breather scenes without adding back too many words. The manuscript now sits at just over 137K words as opposed to 172K. It took about three times as long as I’d hoped.
I’m tentatively hoping for a spring publication now but will keep you updated if the rest of this takes twice or three times as long as what I expect. Thank you for being a part of the writing and publishing journey with me! I apologize for my silence over the last couple of weeks. I figured you’d rather I’d be editing than taking extra time for blog posts in which all I had to say was, “Yup, still editing.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a note out of the Sidekick’s book and take a nap.
Blessings,
Jennifer
Yay to progress!! And woah that’s a lot of word chopped! I’m hoping for that kind of thoroughness in word count reduction too 🙌🏼
My brain is still trying to edit out words even in my fun reading! 😆🤦♀️
Good luck with your own writing! It’s a lot of work but so worth it when you can see the story starting to shine 🙂
Nap – good call. 😴👍
I know the feeling of finishing up a stage and thinking it’s too good to be true. (“What have I forgotten?”)
Congratulations on your accomplishment!
Right!? It’s hard to shift gears after weeks of editing 🙂
The Writing Sidekick is definitely enjoying the longer naps 🙂
How exciting! Every time I look at the first book I wonder how the second book is going, so, yes, I’m very glad you’ve put your brainpower into that instead of blog posts, even if I have missed your posts. I hope you enjoy some down time and some napping!
I’ve missed the interaction here too! Someday maybe I’ll figure out a balance where I can do both things consistently but that day is definitely not today 🤪
Peace be still. Great job.
Soaking in the down time…kind of 😉
Goode job, Jen!! Now for a deep breath and a little family time, too.
Right!! The family time is important 🙂