I started reading through the first draft myself last week, and got to the fourth chapter. I quickly realized that I was too invested in the story to do the actual editing myself.
So today I compiled a PDF of the first draft and sent it to my buddy Austin, who’s got an eye for editing. He’s going to do the first draft edit for grammar, punctuation and whatnot before I can send it to the story editor.
I’ve also asked him to let me know if there’s anything glaringly wrong with the story or any of the characters. Hopefully there’ll be some positive feedback there.
I also sent an iPad copy to my very best friend Jennifer. She read the first chapter a few weeks back, and I asked if she’d mind reading the whole thing and letting me know what she thought.
To be honest, I’m terrified of this whole process. I’ve said it before, and I stand by it. The process of sharing something so personal with someone, regardless of how well you know them, is terrifying. Not knowing whether or not people are going to be receptive of what you’ve written, or if it’s not as good as you’d hoped. Not knowing whether or not your characters are likable or not. Not knowing whether or not your structure and chapters make sense. All of it is terrifying, and it’s keeping me up at night.
Like I’ve said, I’m not out to sell millions of copies with this. If no one buys it, I don’t care. I just wanted to write a book and get it out there. And so far, I’ve come close to doing that.
I bought the ISBNs today, though they’re not really required for an eBook, it ensures that if I ever get any printed copies of it made, I’m covered with the same ISBN number. Or at least that’s what I read on the website that sells them.
Hopefully in a week or two I’ll have the first round of edits back, along with the feedback of my friends. From there I’ll likely do some story touching up, maybe revamp some of the characters, tweak the plot points or something. I guess it really all depends on how the feedback comes in from my friends. When I know more, you’ll know more.
