I finished The Lost Gift! As the story wound down on Wednesday, I kept writing. The main characters, after surviving a plane crash and a kidnapping, needed to be at their family’s home for Christmas. I kept writing. The hero needed to propose to the heroine, even though they’d been engaged five years before. I finally put the pen down. Like other bits of the story, I’ll need to edit and tweak the ending. The time I’m giving myself on this is however long it takes to type into my computer. At this stage, some of the story I don’t remember, so I feel like I’m getting a fresh look at it.
I’m grateful to a friend who agreed to beta read for me. She gives me excellent feedback. I’m aiming for June or July as a release date. I’ll be sure to post here as it gets closer.
The question that hangs in the wings even at this stage is, what project is next? Even while a few thoughts swirl about that, I’m still in celebration mode because I finished the first draft, which always takes the longest. Editing and rewrites are easier because a bulk of the story is already on the page. And so often, I don’t really celebrate. I’ve noticed that it makes life more of a slog when it’s all work and just focusing on the next thing and never really enjoying the distance traveled or the accomplishments gained.
After I type the manuscript and do a bit of tweaks and editing, I’ll send it to my beta reader. I’ll consider her suggestions when I get it back. Then it’s a few more rounds of edits, adding front and back matter, getting the cover and ISBN, then letting readers know there’s a new romantic suspense story to enjoy. How do you feel about the steps in one of your projects?
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