Been meaning to put up this post for a while but life has been very busy recently so not really had much time for writing. Luckily that is changing and I’m about to dive back in to start making changes to the second draft and I thought I’d share my feelings after re-reading it.
There were two outcomes I feared when I was reading it. The first was that I would lose all hope and despair and that I’d have to re-write the whole thing. The second was that I would think it was absolutely fine when I know it is not as I made a note of some of the issues when I was writing it. That outcome would mean I hadn’t given myself enough time before taking another look at it, I would have been too close to it.
Thankfully neither happened. I thought it was good, not perfect there are plenty of things to be changed before it is finished, but there is a good story there and some interesting characters. I can make it better, which is the next big step.
As I read through I made notes of what I wanted to change, story lines that needed to be resolved better or added in earlier in the plot. That file now sits at 6 or so bullet points for each chapter and are my guide for my next round of revisions. I don’t expect it to be perfect after this, and I’m going to be ignoring some of the issues as story and character are my priorities before it goes to the editor I’ve hired.
Oh, pro-tip for first time self-publishing authors like me, book an editor well in advance. I’d originally aimed for an editor to get it at the beginning of September but the one I wanted to work with were only free from the end of the month instead. That has worked out quite well with how busy I’ve been but lesson learned for the future.
So onwards I go, closer and closer to really finishing my first book. There is a good story in what I have, now I need to make it great, time to make it mine.