Coffee Break

Hello, my loyal readers…grab a cup of coffee (iced if it’s as hot and muggy as it is here in NY) and let’s catch up.

So, about 2 months ago I finished the second round of revisions on my debut novel, The Art of Lying, and sent it to a professional editor. I took a little time off - about a week - and then jumped into working on a novella that I’m hoping to give away for free when I start up my newsletter. But my amazing editor (shout out to Sarah Fox over at The Bookish Fox!) sent me her notes already. Amazing! So far, her notes seem fair and balanced - she tells me when she loves a line or section of dialogue and then she also tells me when I should show and not tell, when I should blend some of the info dumps into the scenes more naturally, and that my love interest seems a bit cartoonish (she’s right actually, I just couldn’t see that). If you are writing a novel, seriously - get a professional to look at it, I’m so incredibly happy with the results and I know that by working with Sarah, making the needed changes, and sending it back to her for copyediting my book will be simply the best it can be and me a better writer in the process. Who could ask for more?

Now, of course, that leaves me with a tiny dilemma - do I start working on my baby (the big novel) or finish outlining and drafting the novella? I mean, I could possibly work on both these next two months, but it is summer and my son’s summer Extended School Year program is a tiny bit shorter than the normal school day, and there’s still the day job. I don’t want to burn out, confuse stories in my head, or just start hating both projects. I’m going to take a few days, work on a reverse outline for my Editorial Skype call with Sarah, and see what my next few weeks actually look like in terms of work, shopping, and other activities.

The plan was still to have my novel ready to self-publish this Fall/Winter but I have a feeling to make it the best book possible, give me time to write and edit the novella, set up the newsletter, and have family time (and a Disneyland vacation!!!!) I might need to push the timeline back to January/February 2018, and you know what? That’s okay. I know I’m going to learn and grow so much with this book and this whole self-publishing process that I will be better equipped to write, edit, revise, and publish the next few books.  And, once the novella is ready and in my eNewsletter system that will pretty much be "set it and forget it".

What fun stuff are you doing this summer? Vacation plans? Netflix and chill? Summer school or camp? I want to know what you’re up to and if you’re creative and writing, singing, dancing, etc then let me know that too! Keep cool, read something funny, and catch up on your favorite series.