Yesterday, I reached the end of a first draft: the YA
thriller that I started to develop in October last year. The 78,000 words are
very much a ‘messy’ draft. While I’ve been writing, I’ve put together a list of
things that need to be reworked, including aspects of plot and
characterisation. I’ll be tackling these areas in the coming months, and it
won’t be until that point that it will be ready to share with early readers.
With After Isla, I shared the first draft
exclusively with my agent. I have yet to learn its fate, but it has been
several months, and the more time passes, the more I’m steeling myself for
rejection from the major publishing houses. With this new one, therefore, I’ll
try a slightly different approach: gather feedback from a small group of
readers, revise, and then share with my agent. I might be able to get the
second draft to her at the start of 2026, and hopefully it will be a ‘tighter’
one that can go to editors at publishing houses more swiftly than After Isla.
September and October will be busy months. Alongside novel
revision, I will be working for Fiction Express to publish a novella
called Crash Course for their 12+ audience. I will also be
back at the school doing reading intervention with small groups on Wednesdays
and Thursdays. The school made my temporary contract permanent, and it makes
sense to stay there while I’m developing my tutoring business. I have one
tutee, but I need between five and ten to make quitting at the school a viable
option (or to receive a book deal, of course!). Much like the new novel, my
employment goals are very much works in progress!
