Good morning, Readers!
Image courtesy of miriadna.com. Click for link.
Well, Daughters of Britain is away with the first Beta Reader. They kindly accepted the duty last night, and now have the manuscript to tear to shreds. I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about it. I'm really eager to see what she thinks. It might prove to be a very disappointing story, and that I'm the only one that likes it (because, you know, Celtic Studies nut).
Once I get her comments back, its yet another round of edits, then off to Beta Reader Two.
Beta Reader Two is busy as hell, though, so I expect that he won't be able to get to it for a while after I send it to him. Once I get his notes back, it's another round of edits, then off to Beta Reader Three.
When he's done with it, it's yet another round of edits and then, finally, I submit the manuscript.
So, to recap the submission process for those who are still unsure, I write a manuscript. Once finished, I make three editing passes before filing the thing away for about a month. I make a final editing pass before sending it to the first Beta Reader.
That's four edits before the Beta Reader.
Then there are three more rounds of edits (one after each Beta Read), for a total of seven.
Seven edits.
Depending on the state of the manuscript, several of those seven edits could be quite extensive.
Seven edits.
I take my writing seriously. I want to produce the best books I can. This is why it takes me a year to publish a book, even if I've written three in that time (oh 2013! You were such a productive year!). I don't want to rush it. I want my books to be good.
And still, even after all of the edits, I still find typos and mistakes once the books are published. Granted, they're usually quite small and not a big deal. Still, upon finding such errors, I throw a very small hissy-fit, and then go fix them for other printings. Still, it gets incredibly vexing when I find those errors!
So, it's seven edits before it even gets to submission. Provided that the manuscript is acquired, there will be more editing (notes from the in-house editors of the publishing company will be headed my way), before the book goes to print.
Anyway, this was all to say that a lot more work goes into writing a book and getting it published than many people think. It's also why I price my self-published books the way I do. I don't just crank out the titles. I work bloody hard to produce them. It's not out of this world for me to expect to earn a living wage for that hard work.
Bear that in mind next time you grumble about buying eBooks. For less than $10.00, you're getting something that took between eight months and a year of hard work to create. Frankly, that's a steal.
Right, now I have to turn my attention to writing a blurb for Sky Road Walker. If you hear screaming, that's just me trying work through my vexations.
Ciao!
Once I get her comments back, its yet another round of edits, then off to Beta Reader Two.
Beta Reader Two is busy as hell, though, so I expect that he won't be able to get to it for a while after I send it to him. Once I get his notes back, it's another round of edits, then off to Beta Reader Three.
When he's done with it, it's yet another round of edits and then, finally, I submit the manuscript.
So, to recap the submission process for those who are still unsure, I write a manuscript. Once finished, I make three editing passes before filing the thing away for about a month. I make a final editing pass before sending it to the first Beta Reader.
That's four edits before the Beta Reader.
Then there are three more rounds of edits (one after each Beta Read), for a total of seven.
Seven edits.
Depending on the state of the manuscript, several of those seven edits could be quite extensive.
Seven edits.
I take my writing seriously. I want to produce the best books I can. This is why it takes me a year to publish a book, even if I've written three in that time (oh 2013! You were such a productive year!). I don't want to rush it. I want my books to be good.
And still, even after all of the edits, I still find typos and mistakes once the books are published. Granted, they're usually quite small and not a big deal. Still, upon finding such errors, I throw a very small hissy-fit, and then go fix them for other printings. Still, it gets incredibly vexing when I find those errors!
So, it's seven edits before it even gets to submission. Provided that the manuscript is acquired, there will be more editing (notes from the in-house editors of the publishing company will be headed my way), before the book goes to print.
Anyway, this was all to say that a lot more work goes into writing a book and getting it published than many people think. It's also why I price my self-published books the way I do. I don't just crank out the titles. I work bloody hard to produce them. It's not out of this world for me to expect to earn a living wage for that hard work.
Bear that in mind next time you grumble about buying eBooks. For less than $10.00, you're getting something that took between eight months and a year of hard work to create. Frankly, that's a steal.
Right, now I have to turn my attention to writing a blurb for Sky Road Walker. If you hear screaming, that's just me trying work through my vexations.
Ciao!
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