These latter chapters of A.C. are proving to be difficult because I'm having to make huge cuts and rewrites, so they're going slow. I've already cut it down by a chapter, and may end up cutting it down by another. Right now, I have 3 chapters left. If I lose another will depend on how much the chapter I'm working on now gets cut. The sad thing is the chapter has a good ending point, and I'm not so sure how well it will work out if I end up needing to split the next chapter between this one and the last chapter. We'll have to see.
Based on average chapter counts, the novel should end up somewhere between 130-133k. I am very aware that this might be too high a count for a first time novelist, but I have a couple of chances for cuts before I start submitting. Once this last round is done, I need to make some corrections and make sure that the world building is consistent. Then I'll run through the novel again, hopefully fairly quickly, to align it with the changes I have in mind and to make sure any fixes in the world building make it to the novel. Once that's done, it will go out to beta readers, and I'm sure more than one will tell me what I can lose without killing the story.
I've been thinking about the query letter and the synopsis, and, honestly, they scare the crap out of me. One thing this novel isn't is simple. And bringing 600 pages of novel (double spaced, folks) down to 3 is a daunting task. And the query? Let's not go there yet.
The good news is it's almost done. Never imagined getting there with how much hair pulling I've done over it. And if it never gets published, it did do the one thing I really needed me to do: it taught me A LOT. I know how I need to write now, I've learned a lot about process in general and mine in specific, I've even learned quite a bit about the critiquing process and how to respond to it. But most importantly, I've learned that 1) I can write well and 2) I can finish a novel. Both of these are important since they help with what started off as a near non-existent confidence. This novel may have been a pain in the butt, but it also employs a lot of advanced techniques, and whether I managed to do them well or not, I did finish. That alone if a huge boost. The years have also given me time to work on my confidence level myself. Still have a ways to go, but I'm 100 times better than I was, and that's probably a bigger accomplishment than the book.
I currently have two other novels in progress: Phoenix Rising is almost to the rough draft stage and Blood Charms is in the early plot building stages. Both need some world building done, though Phoenix needs less than Charms because it's in the same world as A.C. Right now I'm just working on writing them at their particular stages. A.C. is work enough and I don't want to have two novels in a work place at the same time. I'll wait until A.C. is out to betas then transition to world building for Phoenix. I'm holding off on "work" for Charms because it's so much fun to write right now, and I want to keep the fun. I think this is one of the reasons I work multiple projects: so I have something at the fun stage while working on others. Of course, another reason is the ADHD. The books allow me to control my distraction and help me keep going forward by giving me enough variety so I don't get bored.
Other than the books, I've been revising a short a week and have started subbing again. Word counts slacked off for a couple of weeks because of illness and schedule changes, but look to be on the rise again. Most importantly, I've been very happy with where I am. Leaving my editing job has not only helped me get to where my first novel is almost done, but has made me a much happier person in general.
