Revision Time
The agony.
Well, editing was a humbling experience. I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so frustrated with myself as when I was reading through the first draft of Iron Hooks & Holy Books. Every paragraph had some sort of ‘Why would anyone say it like that?’ and/or ‘WHO thought that was a good idea?!?!’ and ‘The order is all wrong, this part of chapter 10 should be the beginning of chapter 4'.’ But I made it through and I’ve begun the revisions (yay!), which comes with it’s own set of challenges:
First of all: I lost count of the amount of things (yes, literal things) I forgot to have Ava collect over the course of the book. It might be nice for her to have a religious text to take with her for Iron Hooks & Holy Books…
Second of all: I managed to ruin the friendship between two of the main characters. And no, not in a cute romantic Taylor Swift kinda way, in a ‘with friends like these who needs enemies’ kinda way. Ava and Sister Gisela are supposed to be friends. GOOD friends. Their friendship is supposed to become the driving force behind all of the books in the series… but in the first draft they just weren’t getting along. This contentious issue between them (where they only argued and never bonded/became friends) persisted into the second book and it’s become a real problem. In large part this was due to them not having enough time to get to know one another before the adventure kicks into high gear (hence having to add more chapters to the story). In theory, they will get along now… in theory… tbw (to be written).
Third of all: I cut 2 chapters and have decided I need an additional 6 to accommodate the revised order and really establish basic things in the story i.e. who, what, when, where, and why. I face-palmed so hard, my forehead was red for a week, when I realized my original chapter 1 was a poor answer to these questions. Because each sub-plot also needs these basic questions answered before you can begin building the plot around it. I’d forgotten to answer the BEGINNER QUESTIONS from primary school English class…
Nobody said revising was easy… but I thought I’d be exceptional. The silver lining in all of this is that I am exceptional: exceptionally delusional, and THAT is going to be the secret to my success. Because I’m going to suffer through the mortification and get this story sorted and put myself out there to get this thing published. Because putting out a book that I wish I could have read in 7th grade is the dream here. And I won’t stop until it’s something I would have wanted to read in middle school.
There. I said it. My target audience is my past self (a deeply angsty, Twilight obsessed 13 year old). And since I have no idea how to market to that audience, or market at all, I’ve got to make sure these books stand on their own two legs. Because then, even if ‘the book-tok campaign could have been better’ the story will still be worth reading, and find readers.
If you’d like early access to these chapters, as they’re released/revised, then sign up for the FEW!
Yours truly,
Frances-Elane
