On January 6 I returned my first edited review to Newman Springs Publishing. The entire process has progressed from the colorful world of writing to the black & white vastness of editing. It was painful to scrutinize every sentence. I also found the experience to be exhilarating. Line by line, I reviewed the suggestions my… Continue reading The colorful world that’s now black & white.
Author: sdjonason
Am I a serious writer now?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Most often it’s been for someone else, whether a homework assignment, newsletter, grant proposal, sales piece, amusing letters from Santa for Facebook friends … I enjoy the parts of any circumstance that involve writing. “Writer” is not a stand out in my resumes, however. It… Continue reading Am I a serious writer now?
“The first draft review can be a bit overwhelming.”
On December 1st, I received the first draft edits of “I Knew Men” for my review. My double-spaced manuscript of 341 pages had been reduced to 170 pages, sized to fit a 6″ by 9″ paperback. I realize that text styling to make things look pretty is coming further down the road, but to see… Continue reading “The first draft review can be a bit overwhelming.”
A Leap of Fate? Here We Go, Newman Springs
It’s October 10, an important date in my novel, and now, in my life. Sean Senatore, Senior Publication Consultant at Newman Springs Publishing, answers the phone after requesting a chat about what I’m working on. I explain, “Covenant Books accepted my novel, but I turned them down. The story was too R-rated for them and… Continue reading A Leap of Fate? Here We Go, Newman Springs
The Unexpected and Fateful Publisher Search
I remember taking a deep breath when “I Knew Men” counted out to 99,700 words. It was time to pursue the big dream of publishing! Backing up a little, I first dared to look into publishing a few years ago, when I announced at Rotary that I wrote an unpublished novel. For the first time,… Continue reading The Unexpected and Fateful Publisher Search
12 years is a long time to complete a novel — or is it?
In his book, “On Writing,” Stephen King said, “I believe the first draft of a book — even a long one — should take no more than 3 months.” Given that it took me 2 years to complete mine, does it come as a surprise that it took me 12 years to complete the editing… Continue reading 12 years is a long time to complete a novel — or is it?
Cut? But I love this part so much.
So many words! So many words! Turning one novel into two helped to solve my giant word count problem, but I still had a long way to go to get “I Knew Men” into shape if I wanted to pursue publication. There were scenes and experiences that I had thrown my heart into, that I… Continue reading Cut? But I love this part so much.
Whose head is this? The POV lesson
When I received the initial manuscript review of “I Knew Men” from Marg Gilks 12 years ago, I felt both encouraged and discouraged. She gave me confidence about the story itself, but serious editing was needed if I wanted a chance at living the author’s dream. I didn’t have resources to pay for anything beyond… Continue reading Whose head is this? The POV lesson
261,007 words. It’s a magic number – not.
Writing “I Knew Men” was so much fun! The epic story flowed from my brain to my fingers, and once again I was grateful that my parents gave me piano lessons. I can type very fast, to the tune of 261,007 words! What I didn’t know at the time is that the typical novel averages… Continue reading 261,007 words. It’s a magic number – not.
I wrote a novel. It was accepted. Now what?
“I Knew Men” was inspired during long cold winter nights in northern Minnesota where one of my good friends and I would play “Last night I had a dream” – trading dramatic stories starring ourselves as ‘Cinderellas’ in the arms of whoever the 1970’s teen idol of the day happened to be. I’ve been reading,… Continue reading I wrote a novel. It was accepted. Now what?