Yesterday I picked up five copies of the manuscript which I had arranged to be printed and bound and gave four away: to three dear friends who have been waiting in the wings to read it finally, and our clever Penelope who, hopefully, won't find any holes. The final one has not left my side: the shiny cover and its thick body amaze me.
It's like looking on the face of my new born daughter and thinking, did I make this? I guess I will behave the same way all over again when the real copies arrive in August.
Anyway, I was so nervous handing them over to my dear friends who have suffered months of me talking about the characters and my highs and lows of the writing.
These ladies are very, very intelligent (and know so many big words), are inhalers of literary texts and are great wordsmiths themselves. What if they are disappointed? What if, in my telling of the story, I've made it sound much better than it is.
Still, one of them (an Oxford Grad no less) has a gifted daughter who sent me this encourging text yesterday afternoon:
'Am eating toast reading banquo's son at lounge table. is delicious. the book i mean, not the toast.' Though her past English teacher and her current creative writing tutor, I shall forgive her punctuation errors - afterall, not everyone is as anal as me when it comes to txting.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I'm finished!
Wow, what a strange feeling. This morning I emailed the final manuscript to the publishers. I'm a bit crossed eyed with all the track changes info on the screen so I hope Vicki will be able to make sense of it all.
Today is athletics day but I hope to make it to town to get the manuscript printed and bound so that those who have been waiting (that's you Jo) can finally get their hands on it.
Now what am I going to do with my time? I guess there's always the housework.
Today is athletics day but I hope to make it to town to get the manuscript printed and bound so that those who have been waiting (that's you Jo) can finally get their hands on it.
Now what am I going to do with my time? I guess there's always the housework.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Finding cool bits....
I'm up to chapter 21 of the 'accepting or rejecting my publisher's edits' stage of the process and am delighting finding wee snippets. I think to myself: did I write that? Hey, that's kinda cool.
Here is one such moment found in a 'Rosie' chapter:
“The low times are more important and testing than enjoying the high times,’ Ma had said. ‘To find purity in any metal, one must expose it to the extremists of heat. So it is with love. Any weakness and it will not endure.’
‘Do you think Flea and I will endure,’ Rosie had asked.
‘Only time will tell, lass,’ Ma had said and turned back to pulling out weeds with her bent and twisted hands.
Here is one such moment found in a 'Rosie' chapter:
“The low times are more important and testing than enjoying the high times,’ Ma had said. ‘To find purity in any metal, one must expose it to the extremists of heat. So it is with love. Any weakness and it will not endure.’
‘Do you think Flea and I will endure,’ Rosie had asked.
‘Only time will tell, lass,’ Ma had said and turned back to pulling out weeds with her bent and twisted hands.
word count and new readers
I can't believe I've hit the post 120,000 mark. When my publisher first suggested, way back in late November, that this would be an epic, a swallowed down my apprehension and nodded. And, who would have thought back then that, within three months, I have the sequel firmly secured in a five page synopsis and the third in a one page outline. So, what started as a one book story has become a trilogy.
Also, apart from receiving Annie's lovely picture, I had given three copies of the alternative beginning to three Y12 students who had heard nothing of the story or its process. Their comments?
'I LOVED it,' sez Greer.
'Yeah,' sez Leigh. 'It's sooo cool.'
'And,' I asked nervously. 'What did you think of Rosie?'
'Loved Rosie!' Lauren said enthusiastically. The other two nodded. 'Yeah, Rosie's cool.'
Sigh. Great, mission accomplished (so to speak).
Next period, I had my Y13s and they asked for the whole story (all three books). At the end of the period, two of my lovely internationals sidled up to the desk. 'Can we read?' they asked pointing to the manuscript on top of a pile of marking. 'You want to?'I asked. They nodded vigorously.
I DO actually teach my classes, it's just that the Y13s were less than half a class cos of a Bio trip and it was only a short interruption of their work - promise.
As Annie said, the alternative beginning doesn't work for her because the prologue isn't really a prologue and chapter one (in the original version) is so good. I agree. Somehow I've got to maintain the impact of the initial start with the lovely introduction of Rosie and Flea's first real 'kaaziing!' moment.
Piece of cake.
Also, apart from receiving Annie's lovely picture, I had given three copies of the alternative beginning to three Y12 students who had heard nothing of the story or its process. Their comments?
'I LOVED it,' sez Greer.
'Yeah,' sez Leigh. 'It's sooo cool.'
'And,' I asked nervously. 'What did you think of Rosie?'
'Loved Rosie!' Lauren said enthusiastically. The other two nodded. 'Yeah, Rosie's cool.'
Sigh. Great, mission accomplished (so to speak).
Next period, I had my Y13s and they asked for the whole story (all three books). At the end of the period, two of my lovely internationals sidled up to the desk. 'Can we read?' they asked pointing to the manuscript on top of a pile of marking. 'You want to?'I asked. They nodded vigorously.
I DO actually teach my classes, it's just that the Y13s were less than half a class cos of a Bio trip and it was only a short interruption of their work - promise.
As Annie said, the alternative beginning doesn't work for her because the prologue isn't really a prologue and chapter one (in the original version) is so good. I agree. Somehow I've got to maintain the impact of the initial start with the lovely introduction of Rosie and Flea's first real 'kaaziing!' moment.
Piece of cake.
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