Done and done

Whenever I do two things at once, I tend to say, “Done and done.” I got to say that yesterday, with a WIP. When I received a success story from a writer for Book Two in the “How to Revise Your Writing Like a Pro” series that will be published by AWOC Books, I pretty much had completed gathering everything that I needed for that particular book. In other words, I was done. And given that Book One is with the publisher and Book Three is complete, I was done and done.

That’s right: All 3 books in this series are complete. They have everything that is supposed to go into them – quotes, interviews, end-of-the-chapter features and success stories – so now the only thing left to do is create the files for Book Two and Book Three.

All this time, I have kept a “master file” of the book. This was so that I can see the book as a whole and have EVERYTHING that goes into all 3 books in one place. Altogether, the three books make 65 chapters and 714 pages. (Though that might change later on. I had to write new chapters for Book One after the second time it was accepted and I might need to write new chapters for the other two books.)

It has taken me a long time to complete this project. I got started on it in 2009. The book was originally accepted by another publisher but that contract was later canceled. I am thrilled that Dan Case will be publishing these books and I look forward to working with him on getting these manuscripts into print.

I am also very happy to complete this series. On one hand, it’s a huge relief to complete it. It’s one of the WIPs I wanted to finish this summer and I’m glad I was able to finish it. On the other hand, it’s a little surreal. It’s like I have to pinch myself! I keep thinking, I’m done with it? Really? Wow. It seems like I have been working on this series forever. But I’m finished working on it now and soon it will be time to move on to the next books. I have another “writing book” going on but not sure yet when I will resume working on it. For now, I look forward to getting these writing books published. I have a feeling they will be a big help to writers who are struggling with the revision process.

Thank you to everyone – the writers, editors, poets, scriptwriters, songwriters, freelance writers and authors – who took the time to be a part of this project. I am very grateful to you all and I hope you will all be happy with the book you are in when it comes out. Thanks for taking this journey with me.