FOLLOWING MY SYSTEM OF FIVE TO SIX REVIEWS BEFORE SENDING:
I am a diligent plotter and planner when I write. Starting in Scrivener, I construct the story and go over it from six or seven different angles before I even compile it to be worked on, massaged and proofread in Microsoft Word.
So after this process, the book never feels rushed to me. The last ten to twenty tweaks give me the feeling that I have finished.
IT FELT DONE - BUT WAS IT?
During the writing of my last book, Murder at the Car Wash, I had the same feeling -- that the book was done and ready to go to the editor.
I had checked it constantly to make sure there was enough background information for the book to be read alone, even though it was written as part of the Jack Nolan Detective Series. I went over the plotline, the sub-plotlines, the balance of the story -- everything, like I always do.
BUT MY MIND IS STILL PERCOLATING
However, once the book was gone to the editor, within a few days, I seemed to have a second wind of creative energy and had more ideas of deepening the intrigue or mystery 'popping' into my head.
I know when the book comes back that I will be adding to it with these ideas that have come to me over the month the book is being edited.
Looking back, I remember the same thing happened with my first few novels. I didn't notice it like I did this time. Luckily, with self-publishing, you can fix something or even add something and then re-upload it! These are the gifts of self-publishing.
WAITING 2 TO 3 WEEKS TO GIVE IT TO THE EDITOR NEXT TIME!
Thinking about this in terms of the future, I will add this 2 to 3 weeks period of allowing the book to rest unattended to see what else pops up when my mind turns to other things. I write fast enough where this will not create a problem.
I have a list of things I check in the novels to make sure I cover everything. I will add this "process" of waiting a few weeks to let my mind get busy with other things and then see what else my creative mind throws up as it is still percolating with the storyline.
Although this is my 1th book, I still consider myself a new author and am still learning my way through all this.
Has this ever happened to you?
