It’s some writing news of my own for this week’s post.
Bring on the rewrites
My next book is now with my editor and I’m braced and ready for the rewrites that will inevitably be required. I always think I’ve polished my writing until it cannot be improved before I send it off, but then I get the editor’s comments and realise it’s not perfect after all.
However, I do enjoy the editing process. I like the constructive criticism and I love to see how my writing is improved by rewriting. And even when I don’t at first agree with suggested changes I almost always see that the editor is right after I’ve slept on it.
I call my editor the Alchemist because he takes the base manuscript and gives me the means to turn it into writing gold (she says modestly).
Sequel challenges
Some of you already know that this new book entitled Settlement is the sequel to my most recent novel Displacement. I’ve never written a sequel before and it’s a slightly different process to writing a standalone book. Continuity and consistency in relation to the first book is vital and so is having the story make sense to people who haven’t read the first one without boring those who have. I think I’ve managed it, but I’m sure my editor will pick me up on any failures there.
Next job for Settlement will be cover design. I have a few ideas and will be discussing them with the cover designer very soon.
Next up
And while I await the editorial feedback, I intend to sketch out the third and final part of this series of books and to make some notes for my next children’s book. So, no, there will be no slacking at the writing desk.
Writing conference
However, I will get some time away from the desk this weekend as I’m heading off to the annual conference of the Scottish Association of Writers (SAW). I always enjoy this conference – a whole weekend of workshops, networking and meeting up with writer friends, as well as the announcement of the SAW writing awards for the current year. And the food’s always good too.
I’ll report back on how the conference goes in my next post. Until then I’ll leave you with a question: Do you like reading sequels and/or novel series or do you prefer standalones?
You are at an exciting time in your novel! I enjoy sequels as you really get attached to the characters. Enjoy the conference. I want to attend one this year as well. I look forward to your report. Perhaps I will go to the one in Scotland next year.
Thank you Darlene. Yes, it was readers attachment to the characters – and my own – that persuaded me to do the sequel.
I enjoy both Anne though as you say, I imagine it can sometimes be tricky to get the balance right if writing a sequel when the reader may not have read the first book. Sometimes I would like there to be a sequel but there isn’t! A sign of creating good characters I suppose that I want to know what happened next for them.
Thank you for visiting and commenting, Joanne. I didn’t originally plan to write a sequel – but following reader feedback it seemed like a good idea 🙂
I accidentally found myself using some of the same characters from Mariah’s Marriage in Daisy’s Dilemma and the whole process was very difficult. I’m not sure I’d do it again. However, I enjoyed Displacement hugely and look forward to its sequel, Anne Stenhouse.
Thanks, Anne, for taking the time to visit and for your kind comment about the book. Yes, sequel writing is definitely tricky!
I don’t like reading sequels as standalone books – I’m happy to read series, but I like to read them in order – even if the 2nd/subsequent books are written to make sense as ‘standalone’!
Hi Catherine, thanks for visiting and commenting. Yes, I tend to be the same.