The Edit Letter Has Arrived

The eagerly awaited edit letter has finally arrived from my editor. This is my first edit letter for my first novel, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had been lucky enough to briefly talk to my editor before I agreed to sign with Eos and she warned me that NIGHTWALKER needed heavy revisions.

She was right. However, I am happy to report that the book does not need to be re-plotted. The focus needs to be shifted here and there. Characters needed to be fleshed out some more and developed. Also, I need a lot more detail when it comes to my world.

When I handed in the book, it was roughly 95,000 words. When I hand in the final draft, I expect the book to fall between 110,000 and 120,000 words. That's a pretty good size for a first novel.

I am also happy to report that there were a few things that the letter didn't do:

1. It did not drive me to drink. (as I feared)
2. It did not make me cry.
3. It did not make me feel like an idiot (another fear)
4. It did not depress me.
5. It did not make me drop my head into my hands and say, "Oh sh*t! I'm f*ck*ed."

There were a few times where I wondered how I could have possibly missed such an obvious flaw in my book. But I think we spend so much time completely immersed in the world we are creating that some of the more obvious problems just get overlooked. But there was definitely more than one "duh" moment and a couple "d'oh!" thrown in for good measure.

So far, I will say that the thing I have learned the fastest from my edit letter is that my editor is absolutely brilliant and that I am very, very lucky to have her. I am confident that with her help, my writing style and strength will continue to grow, and for me, there is nothing more exciting.

The final draft of the book is due to my editor on October 16. However, I am planning to be in Las Vegas the week before so the book has to be done before I step on the plane. So, I have roughly 1.5 months to revise and polish the book. I may go missing from the blog for a few days here and there, but I promise to pop in and give you updates. I will also supply writing tips as I learn them.