Whew! Been busy and haven't had time to do much of anything but working. So much for writing, huh? As promised, here's an update to what's going on with my book – MIDNIGHT CONQUEST.
I heard back from The Wild Rose Press – the publisher considering my novel right now – and they're putting ANOTHER revise and resubmit offer on the table. *groan* This makes number three. In all fairness to them, each revision I've done has indeed made my book a better novel. Not only do I think my story is gaining more substance, I'm also learning to be a better writer in the process. All-in-all, though frustrating, it's been a good experience and all part of learning to be a better master of prose.
I'll share a bit about what's happening here for others to see what goes on during these blossoming stages of a writer. At the same time, I want to be careful about what I reveal here as I don't want to create any “spoilers” for my book, as I know a lot of you have expressed your desire to finally read it when it gets published. I'm also fortunate that they gave me the comments for two test readers, which is where most of the revisions are coming from – their comments. So, here a few of the revision points:
Historical Inaccuracies
One of the gals states in her evaluation that she has “spent many years delving into the history of England and Scotland and am familiar with this period of Scottish history. I was also interested in reading a historical romance, as this is the genre I write in.” Admittedly, there are many minor points she makes that I will be changing, so her comments – though sometimes rude – are very helpful. However, not everything she touts about are historical inaccuracies and I have the research to back them up. The research I did for this book spans over 15 years, but now I'm having to site my historical references, which means back to the drawing board as I have lost a lot of these reference. NOTE FOR AUTHORS: If you can back up the historical points of your novel with reliable historical references, you can keep what you want in your book (for the most part). PLEASE be sure to note where you get your historical information so you can site them, if needed, in the editing process. Just make note of the book title and author OR the web site address and as much info as you can just in case that web site goes away someday.
Not Enough Backstory
Most of my backstory was woven into the first three chapters of my book, but I was told to cut those out and re-distribute the information throughout the current story. That proved to be very difficult without taking my readers through flashback hell. Unfortunately, I didn't weave enough information into the story and both evaluations stated they wanted to know more about the villain and his motivation. Also, they wanted to know more about the vampire lore that Broderick is a part of. I intended for most of that to come out into the second book I have planned and spend more time on the romance…however, that is leaving my readers unsatisfied. SO, I'm taking the chance of inserting two new chapters at the beginning of the book which will bring the readers into the moment and answer these – and many more questions they had. NOTE TO AUTHORS: This is a bit risky as they already told me to cut out the first three chapters and have the book begin where Rick and Davina start their love story. However, I am opening both of these chapters with rather intense scenes that throw the readers into perilous situations with the main characters, allowing them to get to know them on many levels and help build sympathy for them from the start. These two chapters are NOT what they told me to cut out. They are two brand-new chapters, so the publisher will be getting new information that is more action-packed. We'll see how that goes.
Where is the Series Going?
Both readers made comments that wanted to know where the series was going. As one reader stated, “…I’m not really sure where the writer is going with this series. Most series involve a different couple in each book so I’m not sure who would be featured in the next story and why Broderick’s major resolution with (name of person omitted to prevent spoiler) was left for the next book.” The other reader said, “I am assuming there are more books to come. The HEA was satisfactory relationship-wise, but the conflict wasn’t fully resolved in regards to (name omitted to prevent spoiler).” The main point in this “problem” they seem to have is something I don't actually see as a problem. BOTH of them are asking what comes next…which is a good thing, if you ask me. Perhaps they'll buy the next book to find out…which is what I want.
If you've been to my web site, you know that Broderick and Davina remain together from Book 1 (MIDNIGHT CONQUEST) to Book 2 (MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE). Book 2 is Cailin's story (Davina's daughter). From Book 3 through Book 6, Broderick “appears” to have other lovers. This is a big contention for romance readers, as they want to have the hero fall in love ONCE and it is the love they have forever. Without spoiling anything, that's exactly what will happen. Nuff said! 😉
Moving On
The new job I have (tutoring from home via the Internet) and the upcoming holidays have me a little to busy to be working on the revisions. I've drafted the first chapter, but I have to go back through and do my layering of the scene details and a bit more on the character development…but that's as far as I've made it on the revision to date.
Thanks for your letters of encouragement and inquiries about my progress. I thought it would be quicker to respond by making a post. I'm interested in how things are going with YOUR revision process. What's been your biggest challenge in your revisions? How have you overcome them? What have you learned from the process? I'd love to know!
Bright blessings to all of you over the holidays!!!
That's my two pence…
Arial 😉
