Life goes on and so does editing

As much as I would like to hibernate in a room and just write, life keeps on moving around me and requiring my attention. So, this week, I took the dog to the vet for some unexpected surgery and then was up all night with her, was at the ER till 1:00am with my EMT boy the next day (he keeps passing out), and the next day I took my mom to the ER for her Congestive Heart Failure. It's like a central Indiana ER tour, without sleep.

My body is still trying to recharge, so I spent the day surfing, the internet, not the waves. There are not a lot of waves in Indiana, and I found an interesting blog at BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency: How Long to Query.

BookEnds, and I hope they will forgive me for quoting, but BookEnds states: "Hands down one of the biggest mistakes I see authors making is spending all their time and energy revising, rewriting and reworking that first book. I know from experience that over time you can do more damage than good with all of that revising."

This is something I have wondered about as far as the book I am writing. I am actually working on my third book, none published though, so I tend to worry about everything a bit. But, I found one way to resolve that issue.

Never, ever, ever throw out or delete anything. I have printed this book out twice in full and I have CD backups for over three years now. I back up a minimum of once a month, and I do a flashdrive backup every night. And, I will say, that any time I thought to myself that I was not improving the book, I have been able to go back and so far the improvements have been improvements. That said, I will add that for my picture book, I still favor my original version and am very glad I kept a copy of it.

I did, however, reach a point with this book where I felt I had gone as far as I could and that is when I called in my Super-Hero .....Master's Daughter, to the rescue. Originally, it was for grammar and punctuation but it turned into so much more.

Master's Daughter is a sixth grade teacher, a writer, a worker with electron microscopes and now for her summer will be working with an Atomic Force Microscope. Her heros are Einstein and Yoda. She is bright and funny, knows today's kids, and we work so well together.

My book has been a family project: inspired by grandsons/sons, ideas from them and husband and now a massive tweaking with daughter. Her ideas have really added that touch I was searching for. And, no matter how much I wanted to get it out to agents and editors by June, the extra months will be worth it.

So, the lesson is, always keep backups at every step and try to stay out of the ER.

Publisher's Questionnaire

I do not have a publisher yet, but am thinking seriously about marketing. A wise teacher I had stated to me that things come to you when you are ready for them. And, two days in a row now, blogs that I follow have been about marketing. Yesterday, I filled out my wish list for marketing my book, on Shrinking Violet Promotions. And, today BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency: An Author Questionnaire has a post regarding a publisher’s questionnaire.

I do not have an agent or publisher yet, as I am still in final edit and that is slowed by working on revamping my website, etc, etc. But, I thought the publisher’s questionnaire would be a good exercise. The brain kind--not the hip kind.

· What are the main points about you and/or the book that should be emphasized to the media?

My Middle Grade Fantasy (Yes, folks, it has decided it is DEFINITELY a Middle Grade fantasy) is about a boy has had enough of his life and with the help of two of his brothers, a half black dragon fairy, and a tiny deteriorating fairy he leaves for a new home, where he must grow to trust others and learn that being a friend means accepting help from others.

· Who so you think will buy your book (i.e. your market)?

I hope through word of mouth, and my promoting it to every library and school I can, that the children, approximately sixth grade, themselves will be the biggest instigation in purchasing my book.

· Are there any anniversaries, occasions or events upcoming to which we might tie publicity for your book?

The setting for my book is in a magical part of Yellowwood Forest. There is a real State Forest in Indiana called Yellowwood, but in my part of the forest, there is a grouping of trees that contain folks whose ancestors have walked the land, alongside humans, since the beginning of time. They live a primitive/self-sufficient life and hold with ancient festivals such as having a Beltane Bonfire celebration for the coming growing season and lammas for the harvest. The book actually begins with Imbolc, which is another name for Groundhogs day. Which just happens to be my birthday, and a very cold time of year that was needed to start my novel.

· What was your inspiration for the book?

The three grandsons I have taken into my home, and their struggles are the inspiration for my book. This, and the fact that I have been told that it is often the other students who know what is going on with a child, who is having problems at home, before any adults realize it. This caused me to wonder what I could do to inform children on the issue of abuse, while creating an entertaining story that they would want to read for it's own sake. The abuse is but a small portion of the book, really relegated to a few paragraphs of dialogue.

It is the ensuing struggle of a boy who has been neglected, by his family, and abused and his ensuing struggle to deal with a world he has been kept separate from, that is the heart of this first book in the series.

· What do you hope readers will learn/discover from reading your book?

As I was writing this book, I was having a wonderful time learning all sorts of things that lead to more new things to make the book enjoyable and create a solid world, with a history, for my characters to inhabit. It really wasn't until my "Master's teacher daughter" began helping me with the final edit, that I learned how much information I had snuck into the book. It was all just fun for me, but made the teacher in her jump for joy. She is currently working on a Teacher's guide to go with the book.

There are tie-ins with cave painting, Roma camps, ancient festivals, clothing from the 1700s, winter survival, Native American traditions such as gifting, and it is 9:30 and my brain is shutting down, so I will continue this later, along with the four questions I skipped.

So, good night to all. Dream of your own world to inhabit in your head.