I haven’t published a book . . . yet. But that’s my ultimate goal as a writer, and I’m not that sort of person who says he’s writing a book, but never does any writing. My inner Stewie badgers me enough to keep writing.
I do have a book, a novel, or rather a second/third draft — I’ve lost count of the revision. I’ve been working on the novel since 2005, when I began writing it. I finished a second draft, a full rewrite in 2007.
Since then, I had a beta reader read the manuscript, not a professional editor, but someone who might actually read the novel if it were published. She loved it, so I married her.
My next next step in the process — submitting the novel to an editing service — seems to get delayed every year for some reason or another (lack of money for various reasons the main culprit).
Anyhow, I did submit the first few pages for a free sample to one editing service recently, after I corresponded with debut novelist Karen Harrington about the value of using an editing service.
Even just that sample edit has given me valuable insights into the novel, and I’ve begun a third revision, restructuring the novel. Diving back into the process of writing, as I restructure, I’ve developed new insights into the characters, the plot, the whole narrative.
Taking the plunge into the writing process again has, in turn, revived my imagination, my whole drive to write, a drive that had begun to wane almost to nothing last year.
Now my goal is to finish this latest revision, and I want to finish it by April. After that, I hope I can afford to submit the novel to an editing service. From there, I hope to start submitting it to publishers.
Exile on Ninth Street 