A new personal best

Today I produced over 8,000 words for my latest book - about two thousand more than my previous personal daily 'best'.  It's flowing really well (70,000 words so far), and I'm very pleased with progress.  (Of course, whether it's good enough to be pleased about is a judgment that will be rendered by my readers!)  At this rate I'll be finished the book by the end of May.  Editing has already commenced. I've had half a dozen alpha and beta readers looking at it, identifying areas needing improvement and helping me to get a better overall view of it.  As a result of their comments I've already ripped out about 20,000 words from the first half and added another 30,000, incorporating more action and changing several of the characters and sub-plots.

It's amazing to realize how my writing skills have developed over time.  If I'd tried working this fast with my first book, it would have been a disaster.  When an alpha or beta reader would offer a criticism of it, my first reactions were often frustration and despair - "I've already put so much effort into this!  How can I change it?  I don't even know what to fix!"  Now the reaction is more, "Oh, yes - I see what they mean - no problem - I can handle this."  There's a confidence that comes with experience, and I'm very pleased to be developing it.

I've already talked with Oleg Volk about the cover, and we've identified a suitable image (although I still have to improve on my working title). Miss D. and I will work on the blurb to have it ready by early June, when we'll see Oleg again to finalize the cover. Who knows?  The book might be released in time for LibertyCon, if all goes well.

Peter