Today I received the final feedback from my Editor about my Middle-Grade book who said, “It’s also a light and breezy read, with loads of fun and excitement built in.”
It’s made me really happy as I had no idea how much work was involved in re-drafting the book in its entirety until of course, I started it.
It felt like I was slaving away altering sections, re-defining characters and the overall plot, all over again.
I’m sure there will be further requests for changes along the way, but for now, I need to make the tweaks and start sending the manuscript out to the two agents who have asked to see it in full.
In the wider scheme of the publishing world, these are just small steps.
But when you have something that you believe in and have crafted from the start, it’s hard not to invest everything into it.
And yes I’m sure there will still be plenty of rejection to face along the way, but with each and every no that I encounter, I will take it as a learning.
Where can I improve? What else should I be doing that I haven’t been? Is there anything further that I can change?
And so the next chapter begins.
Not only do I have the second James and the… book out at the start of November, but now I’m going to approach agents who may / may not like what I’ve written by way of my Middle-Grade book.
As with all things creative, writing a book is highly subjective.
I have to take comfort in the fact, that J K Rowling almost didn’t get published until Barry Cunningham and one of his team spotted the genius of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
For some reason that I can’t explain, the story that I’ve written just feels right. As if it was the book I was always meant to write.
Sometimes it’s just great to get a nod of encouragement along the way. Just so that you know you haven’t completely gone off on a tangent.
Happy rest of the weekend… x
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