And after re-reading the original you think…
Okay, it’s a little rough around the edges, but I actually like it for this, and I’m pretty pleased with the story.
By the time of its release in 2014, I’d finished 4 drafts, and hired a professional proof-reader. (Great guy, Niall Carr. Would call up, giving me progress updates, while mimicking the voices of antagonists.)
Nearly ten years later, and I believe I’m a better writer now. I hope I am. Unquestionably, I’m full of gratitude for plying my trade as an A-Level teacher for nearly a decade. This definitely gives you a broader understanding of literacy; without question. More importantly, you have to disseminate the ‘A’ in ‘A’ Level – which stands for ‘advanced’ – constantly breaking down complex themes into forms that can be accessed, understood, and above all, enjoyed.
Hmmm…
Quite a lot like a story-line.
I have completely revamped MMMSC for 2023/24. (In fact, I gave it two whole run throughs.) Same story. Smoother. It blends nicely into volume 2 (and even if I didn’t opt for a revamp, it still would).
So, what I have learned from the re-read, and subsequent revamp, 2014 – 2024?
- Take care not to read an AMERICAN ARTICLE IN 2013 on how to use colons, when you’re publishing a novel using British English.
- Sort the occasional ‘clunky’ dialogue. Real life, please!
- What’s with the occasional random, errant capital letter? Bizarre!
- If you have a market plan – do not forget – your first book in a series can make a break whether or not anybody wants to read your second… so take a pro-longed break away from it if need be, and check and update, accordingly.
- That cover has to be spot on. I spent hours choosing mine, and I’m so glad the artwork is purposefully fine-tuned to highlight events/characters/themes in the whole book series (literally, down to the centimetre). Tony Midi did an absolutely wonderful job here.
- Hey, that’s… quite a good thing you just did there! (So, don’t be going beating yourself up too much.)
- Enjoy what you made. That real-life book in your hand; you made it! You dreamt of one day writing a novel, and you did.
- Be grateful to anyone who bothered to buy and review it. Whoever you are, Debbie – and I think you live in America – thank-you! You made me feel a million pounds.
- Love what you do. If you can’t help but write to ‘somehow’ express those deep, irrepressible layers within you… and birth, and consequently build those blurry blocks into a novel; that is wholly what you need to do. It’s soul-food for you. Honestly it is.
- Read and re-read your first in the series for clues to subsequent books. I wasn’t surprised to see that I had thought quite far ahead on this front already… and there are subtle (oh, so subtle 😊) clues to things happening further down the line.
The weather’s naff out there today, so I hope your insides are smiling instead.
James Steven Clark