As I mentioned in my previous post (only about 10 months ago), there would be lots of editing and rewriting on Endless Horizon. It is my first book, after all, and I’ve already learned a great deal which will make my second novel better. But I am not giving up on Endless Horizon. Here’s what has happened over the past ten months.
One of my beta readers had a LOT of feedback for me. Part of that feedback was a suggestion to restructure the first part of the book, interweaving two storylines in alternating chapters. This would somewhat gut the original last half of the book, but it made for a lot better story.
What followed was pretty much a rewrite, because a number of small details had to change to support the restructuring. Then, after I’d restructured it, my lovely wife edited what I’d done. She found so many things that I went through the whole book again. Then she re-edited the rewrite. Poor Amy: she’s now read the full book three times, and she’s not a person that rereads books, ever!
So here we are: Endless Horizon is much better than it was, and I’m turning loose some new beta readers on it, as well as inviting some previous betas to have another go at it. While they’re reading and commenting, I will need to resume my search for an agent to represent the book to publishers. This is one of the key points in the traditional publishing process: finding an agent to represent my story, and me. This is the first point where rejection comes into play. Some famous authors had their books rejected dozens, even hundreds, of times before getting their first work published. Others were accepted, published, and the sales languished. In both cases, the author persevered–and, eventually, prevailed.
Rejection is hard for anyone; no answer at all (limbo land) is even worse. Both of these outcomes are likely, and I’m trying to be ready for them. Even after getting accepted by an agent, getting a publisher to agree to putting the book out, going through the publisher’s editor to–once again–tweak the manuscript, there is no guarantee of significant sales. But, without all those intervening steps, there’s NO chance of ANY sales. So I plan to press on, and damn the torpedoes.
By the way, I have a second book in the design stages, and a trilogy on the drawing table after that. So I’m forging ahead. What I’d really like to find is an agent at a full-service agency, an organization that can handle a lot of the business end of publishing on my behalf. My goal is to spend a lot of time writing, and less time on money management, promotions, and other stuff. It’s the story development process, and the writing itself, in which I get to express myself and, hopefully, entertain my readers.
Beautifully written. I enjoyed this book very much. Sad to have come to the end. Hope to see more from you soon!
Thank you, Margo! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m writing the next book as fast as my stubby little fingers can type!