Many people think that the process for publishing a book jumps
from writing ‘the end’ to hitting the printers. The real process is more
laborious, because first drafts are rarely the finished product. My current
novel is now in its fourth draft, with different ideas being tried and tested
along the way. Sometimes new ideas work, sometimes they open new opportunities,
and sometimes they take the novel in a problematic direction, and they need to
be unpicked. I sent the latest draft to my agent today, and I’m keeping my fingers
crossed that it might be ready to pitch to publishers soon...
Last time I updated the blog, I mentioned I’d been busy
researching and outlining for a new YA project. I also started to draft it last
month (and completed the first three chapters). Now that draft 4 of the other
novel is with my agent, I can return my attention to the new project. I’m
hoping to get a good chunk written before I hear back from my agent – perhaps even
a full draft.
The dream remains to earn enough from advances/royalties to cover my living costs while I’m developing a new novel. I’m not there yet, and sadly, I don’t have any updates in terms of getting work as a private tutor, either. I signed up to an agency that I used before, but they’re still processing my details. Today, I started a Facebook page for a bit of self-promotion. Hopefully, I can establish this before the end of this academic year, as it should be something a bit more flexible to cover my living costs in future.