It’s just over a month since The Lie She Told was launched, and sales are still going steady – whoo hoo.
I was feeling a little smug, I’ll be honest with you. The second book had been written and I decided that I would invest in the services of an editor for this one. I just want all my books to be the best they can, and as I consider myself a very new author I know I need support. After much research I came across Rebecca Millar Editorial via Reedsy.
Rebecca’s background in publishing is impressive, and I could tell from her website and blog posts that this was an editor who wasn’t just passionate about the publishing world, but was also super supportive of the authors that she works with. We arranged a Zoom chat, and I knew within minutes that Rebecca was the right person for me to work with. In fact, I think we’ll make a formidable team!
So I polished up The Web They Wove draft and sent it off. Somehow she managed to turn it around sooner than we had agreed (I was working on Book 3 in the meantime) so I opened her email with a sense of trepidation, heart hammering. I had opted for the developmental edit and also a copy edit. Rebecca had talked through both options with me so I knew exactly what to expect.
I have had my work reviewed in the past, through writing courses and I once paid about £50 for a review which was so bad (my writing, not the review) I threw it away and it took me 10 years before I started writing again so you can imagine my nerves!
When I opened Rebecca’s email I speed read through everything on the Friday, chewed it over all weekend and took a more detailed look the following week.
Well, what can I say? I wish I’d met Rebecca sooner! Her comments were thoughtful, constructive, helpful and actually inspired me! In fact, you read what I replied with here….
So now the REALLY hard work began. I took the observations onboard, and decided that I had made tragic rookie errors; overcomplicated, too many characters, glaring errors & plot holes.
It didn’t suck exactly but it wasn’t great, and it certainly wasn’t the book I had intended to write. There was only one thing for it…
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!
And that’s where I am right now. I’ve re-written the synopsis, replanned the chapters, stripped back the storyline and still managed to include an exciting twist. It will go back to Rebecca for a copy edit (I have until 31st Dec!) so publication will be pushed back to mid-March 2021 but I would rather do that than publish something I’m not proud of, and that would disappoint the readers.
As the re-write is so fundamentally different, I’m also making The Web They Wove the first in the series and leaving The Lie She Told as a standalone.
“BUT WHAT ABOUT KATE, JOE & JACK?” I hear you cry.
Don’t worry, I have planned a mini-series of short stories with each of them, and I have BIG plans for Joe’s future so you will be hearing more from them. The best news is that the series will be FREE, all you need to do is make sure you’re signed up to my newsletter and they’ll be delivered once a week starting in January. You can sign up here >> https://www.subscribepage.com/whatcatdidnext
Anyway, that’s all from me (I have a book to write!) so take care until next time and be kind to yourself and one another.
P.S The picture at the top is of Gairloch, the setting for The Lie She Told. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I’m back there!
