Back to the Manuscript: Part 14

The contract for my next novel has been signed, sealed, stamped and is on the way to the publisher.

It has been assigned ISBN numbers for print and electronic editions. The tentative release date is Oct. 1.

To backtrack, when I finished the manuscript on Aug. 1, I submitted to my publisher. It was then forwarded to an editor, who recommended a contract for the work.

Now I will await word from an editor for the final edit. It will probably take several weeks for this phase. It's time-consuming but worth the effort as we both endeavor to make the manuscript ready for publication. 

I will also be working with an artist for a cover, providing her with information about the book and sharing any ideas I have on making it eye-catching, noteworthy, and marketable. She'll come up with some covers and we'll decide which best reflects the story, and that involves a few tweaks along the way.

There is still more to come, but I see light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

Until the next time...

Back to the Manuscript: Part 13

I'm proud and relieved to say that my manuscript has been sent to the publisher. 

The word count is nearly 87k, an increase of about 7k after the ninth rewrite. It started at about 65k with the first draft. A big reason is that I changed hats from telling to showing the story. 

Another chapter was added, making it 38. At one time it was 40 chapters, then dropped to 37. It could go back up to 40 or so since several chapters are rather long. 

While I've let go of the manuscript, that's only the end of one phase. Now it goes to an editor, who will make suggestions on various parts -- dialogue, scenes, characters, grammar, etc. -- and comes back to me.  

In the meantime, I'm taking a short break.

Until the next time.... 

Back to the Manuscript: Part 12

I've completed proofreading the hard copy of my work in progress, which actually turned into two revisions (you called it, Roger!).

I've made all the red-pen corrections, rewrote several passages, added several more, and deleted a few as well as ran the usual spelling-and-grammar check.

I will have one more read this coming week before submitting to my publisher. I should make my self-imposed July 31 deadline with a day or two to spare. 

There are a few minor timeline items I need to fix, change some words here and there, and create a little more tension in some scenes.

As it stands, I've written 79,991 words, nearly 900 fewer than after the seventh rewrite. I ended up slicing and dicing rather than adding to the manuscript.

I still have to come up with a title. I already know the dedication.

I'll be back.

Until the next time...


  

Back to the Manuscript: Part 11

I've completed the seventh rewrite of my work in progress. 

The manuscript is now about 81,000 words as I've added two more chapters, expanded two characters, and focused more on the narrative.

As with past WIPs, I've printed a hard copy for the next phase in the process. Coming from a background in print media, I find it easier to proofread, edit and rewrite when I have something tangible in front of me rather than going back and forth over copy on the computer screen. 

I'll have my red Sharpie to mark up the pages with needed edits as well as reference books for easy access to answers. I also find that I can better assess the flow of copy when I read it on paper. 

I hope to finish this eighth rewrite by the end of the week.  After that, if everything looks good, I'll give it one more read before sending it to my publisher. 

I've also come up with a title for the novel, but that's for another post.

Until the next time....

Back to the Manuscript: Part 10

I've completed the sixth rewrite to my manuscript. As I mentioned in a previous post, the end is in sight.

The problem is that I misjudged the distance. There's light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, but the tunnel is longer than I imagined.

My work in progress is about 77,000 words, an increase of nearly 5k from the fifth rewrite. Overall, it has grown 12k from the first draft.

And it should get even longer as I have two subplots to resolve and several timeline issues to fix. I'm sure it'll top 80k.

I'm pleased with the progress I made on this last rewrite. I accomplished most of the goals I wanted to, especially in character development and additional backstory. 

I'm still tinkering with the title but there's no hurry on that at this point. 

Now it's on to the seventh rewrite. 

Until the next time...

Back to the Manuscript: Part Nine

I'm back at the grindstone, er, manuscript for the sixth rewrite.

One thing I did, thanks to a Write at Home.com meme posted in Facebook by Grammar Cop Cheryl Norman, was check to see how many times I used "went" rather than an action verb. Too many! I did a "find and replace" command to fix that problem.

As with any rewrite, you try to tighten dialogue, remove extraneous words, tweak characters, recheck timeline, and improve flow.

One thing I find helpful, as in Norman's posting, is to read articles, blogs, and books about writing to keep my mind focused on the mechanics as I go over the manuscript.

I like Cheryl's posts because they're informative, short, and to the point. I also regularly read blogs by Elizabeth Spann Craig, Martina Boone's Adventures in YA Publishing, and Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi's Writers Helping Writers. 

And I also read novels and nonfiction for pleasure, relaxation, and perhaps learn something from other writers.

Back to rewrite.

Until the next time...
  

Story Songs: That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be

Have you ever gone along with something simply because that's the way it's always been done? Of course you have. We've all followed the norm, at various points in our lives, whether it's the right thing to do or not.

That's how I interpret Carly Simon's "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be." In this case, it's about getting married and settling down even though there are strong indicators that it may not be a wise decision. 

This heartfelt and melancholy song opens with the narrator walking through the living  room and notices that her father is sitting alone in the dark, smoking a cigarette, commenting:

 "I walk by, no remark."

Then the narrator walks past the master bedroom, where her mother is reading magazines: 

"I hear her call sweet dreams, 

But I forgot how to dream."

Then the chorus:

"But you say it's time we moved in together

And raised a family of our own, you and me -

Well, that's the way I've always heard it should be:

You want to marry me, we'll marry."

Then the narrator reflects on her friends from college who are married:

"They have their houses and their lawns

They have their silent noons,

Tearful nights, angry dawns.

Their children hate them for the things they're not;

They hate themselves for what they are"

That's followed by the chorus.

And then the narrator views considers losing her identity despite the other person's reassurances: 

"You say we'll soar like two birds through the clouds,

But soon you'll cage me on your shelf -

I'll never learn to be just me first

By myself."

And in the end:

"Well OK, it's time we moved in together

And raised a family of our own, you and me -

Well, that's the way I've always heard it should be,

You want to marry me, we'll marry,

We'll marry."

Simon composed the music and Jacob Brackman wrote the lyrics of this 1971 hit, her first, which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. She received a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Simon, along with Carole King and Joni Mitchell, led the way in recording introspective and socially relevant songs. Vanity Fair magazine referred to them as "the rebel angels."

Simon, who still performs and records, turned 70 on June 25. 

"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" lyrics