I'm still waiting for the final edits.
Now the end is in sight, I've learned more than I ever anticipated. While I find "writing" simple, converting my ramblings into a book has proved anything but easy. It takes months and months of working and reworking. Editing is so much more than spotting typos.
Reviewing my experience so far, I can see that my difficulties began when I first put pen to paper, writing purely to satisfy my creative urge. I didn't consider that my writing might ever be published and submitted it to only three publishers in a fairly frivolous mood. My reasoning was no better thought out than "I've written something that I think is rather good, so why not send it off?" I was seriously surprised to be offered a publishing deal within two weeks.
I've promised my publisher that my second book will take credible characters through a logical plot, in polished prose that works within a certain genre. Am I worried I can't deliver such a MS? Not in the slightest. After all, by the time I finish working on my second book, I'll be a published author. (Are you sensing a slight insecurity here? Or have I succeeed in convincing you that I'm feeling confident? Have I convinced myself?)
