My goal is to have my novel, UNDER THE BUBBLE, ready to query in 2023. Okay, honestly, my goal is to get an agent in 2023, but realistically, I need to get it done and query first. I ran into a snag a week or so ago. I was sick for a few days and couldn't write a thing. When I returned to the book, I realized how lost I'd been before. Had I left anything out? Were events out of order? Had I repeated myself? The answer to these and other questions was a resounding "yes." I didn't have to read through the thing to know; I felt it in my bones. I knew it before getting sick, but I was stumbling along in the dark.
I decided to let Microsoft Word read what I had so far so I could take notes. I am so glad I'm doing that! Since I don't outline anything, at least I haven't so far, this experience has been extremely helpful. When I got sick, I was about halfway done with the rewrite, changing from first person to third and dual to single point of view. Now I'm close to finished with the read-through and note-taking. I believe I'll have a much easier time rewriting the rest of the manuscript. When finished, I'll listen to the second half, then listen and edit the entire thing.
It takes a long time to write a book. I've heard some authors on podcasts say it took them ten years to write their first published book. I've written two others, but they are "in the drawer." One is the sequel to UNDER THE BUBBLE. Since I hope to be traditionally published, the sequel will never see the light of day unless book one is successful.
I have a cover I hope might be used for this novel showing an empty field of tall grass. Wish me luck.