Final edit is go go go. We’re nearly there, folks…
Tag: Ascension Point
Ascension Point, Meet Proofreader
Exciting news! I’ve just this afternoon completed the edit process with Misti, and ASCENSION POINT will shortly be winging its way into the inbox of a lucky proofreader at RedAdept.
Who will doubtless tell me that we got all of the ellipses wrong, and they should be em-dashes, and then we’ll have to have a grammar fight. I can’t wait.
What does this mean? It means, in theory, that I’m a mere week away from being ready to publish.
EXCITEMENT LEVEL: DEFCON 2.
Final Back Blurb for ASCENSION POINT
I’ve finalised the back blurb for ASCENSION POINT. This will adorn the back cover of the paperback version, and double as the book description for the eBook on Amazon, Kobo, B&N, etc. So without further ado…
Titan. A genetically engineered warrior for whom going home means a death sentence…
Commonwealth. A powerful politician chasing a legend from her family’s past…
Seryn. A young girl seeking adventure and hiding more power than even she knows…
Collective. A synthetically augmented scientist whose singular nature makes him an exile…
Representatives from each of humanity’s four feuding factions, each offered the chance to see the legendary Book of Ascension—an ancient artefact that might hold the key to immortality. The four form an uneasy alliance before discovering they have been misled: Before they can see the Book, they must find a mythical deity, protect the galaxy from an ancient evil—and save humanity’s future.
I’ll have another post in a day or two, as I’m nearing the end of the editing process. EXCITING TIMES.
Writer In Stunning ‘Writing New Material’ Shock
Just a quick one.
Somewhat amazingly, I’ve actually written over 2,000 new words of my second book, ROGUE, in the last two days. I can’t remember exactly the last time I wrote anything entirely new, but it was probably in June, what with the focus on editing ASCENSION POINT and, you know, getting married and stuff.
It was also pleasing for me to notice how I could immediately apply Misti’s feedback from her edit of ASCENSION POINT to the new scenes in ROGUE. This should mean my first draft is much higher quality than it would otherwise have been, and the editing process at the end will be even smoother.
Super Monday Morale Boost: Activate
Got a wonderful bit of feedback from Misti this morning. When I fired off my edited MS to her on Saturday night, I mentioned how baffled I was that she hadn’t given me any notes on the storyline, or characterisation–you know, the broader strokes of the novel. I was a bit worried that I’d accidentally bought the wrong editing service, and got just copyediting instead of developmental/structural/content editing.
Instead, I received this gem in Misti’s reply, which has absolutely made my day.
“As for the content question, you might remember me commenting on your outlining during your phone call, and asking about your reading habits. I didn’t notice any issues with the storyline, and the only character issues I noticed were the speech patterns. You’re quite right that so few content issues is unusual for first books.”
And… Send
Twenty-three chapters edited. 618 comments addressed. Several thousand words rearranged, deleted or replaced with better words. A manuscript that’s never been slimmer or more beach-beautiful.
Back to Misti it goes.
We’re getting close, people.
Ascension Point Edit Update: Editing is Super-Satisfying
I’m ten chapters of twenty-three through Misti’s edit of ASCENSION POINT, and loving it. Every comment and suggestion makes sentences, scenes, chapters just so much… tighter. The story is getting leaner and meaner by the minute.
Less:
More:
(Caveat: Book is not as funny as Jonah Hill.)
I’m super-excited about getting the edits finished this week, and I’ve got plenty of time on my hands to do it as lovely wife is in New York for a conference. Once I’m done, it’s back to Misti for an edit of my changes, then back to me, back to her, etc. until THE CHANGES ARE NO MORE. And then, oh boy.
Publishing time.
Pro Editors: They Tell You Things You Didn’t Know
‘Dictionary counts “then” as a subordinating conjunction itself, so it can be used without “and” to form a dependent clause.’
This is one of the 619 (!) comments which the lovely Misti from RedAdept gave me on ASCENSION POINT. Over the course of our hour-and-forty-five-minute chat yesterday–now that’s value for money!–I got the most concentrated lesson in grammar that I’ve ever had, as well as a ton of other excellent feedback. Phenomenal.
I’m still processing everything, but here are some snippets:
- I really like using dashes. Like, all the time. Even when I should be using ellipses, or colons, or periods.
- I’m far too busy and important to spell words consistently. See: light-year, lightyear, light year.
- I’m generally good at POV! Yay for me! But not so good at maintaining a single POV in scenes with several of my POV characters: it sometimes gets a bit muddled.
- Authorial intrusion FTW. Or: I’m not always great at keeping the narrative sections of a scene in keeping with the POV character’s voice. A key lesson.
- Scene transitions need some work. Too often it takes a few paragraphs before it becomes clear to the reader where the story is, and who the POV character is. Or as Misti put it, “Who? What? Where?” 🙂
- Dashes vs. ellipses. Phrases vs. clauses. Independent clauses vs. dependent clauses. Commas with modifiers. Commas with conjunctions. Phew!
- Unnecessary verbiage, e.g. ‘Emitting a yowl.’ Yowl is already a verb, Dan. Tut tut.
- Pacing needs some work. More shorter sentences in dramatic sections to build tension, keep the longer ones for more mellow stretches to diffuse it.
- And last, my personal favourite. I’ll let Misti’s example show this one: “His eyes followed them.”
- Interpretation #1: He watched them, following them with his gaze.
- Interpretation #2: His eyeballs popped out of his skull and trailed after them while he did something else.
Ahem… Yeah, the first one.
As I skimmed the edited doc I was pleased to see fewer and fewer comments in later chapters. No surprise, the first chapter, or 4% of the book, has 15% of the comments! Good to get confirmation from a professional that my writing really did improve as the book progressed.
I’ll probably post some more editing bits and pieces in the coming week or two as I beaver away at the changes. Having addressed the 92 comments in chapter one, I can already tell that enlisting a professional editor was absolutely money well spent.
But we already knew that, didn’t we?
Self-Publishing ‘Properly’, Or: Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
I got an email earlier from my editor, Misti, telling me that’s she’s almost finished her edit of ASCENSION POINT.
SQUEEEEEE-
Ahem. We’re going to have a chat on Wednesday, and shortly thereafter I’ll be able to start carving up my MS into a leaner, meaner form, with an eye on publishing before the end of October.
As this milestone nears, I just wanted to post on something I’ve been thinking about, what I consider the two different approaches a writer can take to self-publishing. In essence, one’s free, and one’s not. But there’s only one which I think is doing it ‘properly’. Can you guess which? Read more…
No Post For A Week! Are You Alive, Dan?
I am! Don’t worry, dear readers. I just haven’t been posting. Lovely wife’s lovely sister came to visit us in Sao Paulo, so we’ve been busy. Took her to Rio de Janeiro for the weekend, too.
Fun times.
I’ve not been reading, and I’ve not been writing, which has limited the nuggets of bloggy inspiration somewhat. Fear not, though–at the end of this week I should be receiving a shiny, gleaming, edited copy of ASCENSION POINT back from my editor, bedecked in fancy new red lines where before there was just cliched dialogue and over-exposition. And once I get that, you can be damn sure I’ll have a blog about it.
DAN HARRIS: 10% SCI, 90% FI 