DONE…For Now.

Today, after spending fourteen hours on revision this weekend, I can finally say that this wave of revision is done. Yesterday afternoon I e-mailed copies of the manuscript to my beta readers, most of whom – poor souls – will be reading it for the second time. I am a lucky man to have friends like these.

It’s a wonderful feeling. And honestly, I have to be rid of the thing for a while. I’ve stared at it so long, the words are running together. I need objectivity. I need an external perspective to tell me what’s boring and what’s interesting, what makes sense and what doesn’t. I need to hear a voice besides the crazy ones in my head.

When will The Counterfeit Emperor be simply “DONE” and not just “DONE…For Now”? That all depends on what kind of feedback I get from my beta readers. If the consensus is “It’s good, you just need to tweak X, Y, and Z,” then maybe it won’t take too long to whip it into shape for querying. If my readers determine the text could replace ipecac as a means to induce vomiting, then perhaps I have a longer road ahead of me.

(Of course, even querying doesn’t mean you’re done with revision. If your agent doesn’t ask you for changes, your editor surely will.)

So what am I doing while I wait on feedback? Well, I’m going to submit a story for Volume 2 of Machine of Death, which probably means I should write one first. The deadline is July 15. Better get cracking, Buckley.

After that, I think I’ll relax for a while. Read more than I have been lately. Write some poems. Maybe read through The Counterfeit Emperor again, slowly, with a fresh eye.

And, of course, refresh my inbox every eight seconds as I wait for my beta readers’ critiques.

Ha ha! Kidding, of course. Oh, man, that would be crazy.

*opens Gmail quietly*

So, uh, that was my weekend. What are y’all up to these days?