When I sat down to do the first read-through of Lord Regret’s Price, I was braced for disappointment. As long as it took me to grind through the draft, I was sure I had repetition and inconsistencies to correct. I couldn’t remember some of the plot elements I’d done in the middle, so I was afraid I’d dropped the threads entirely. I was sure I had some shaky characterizations too, along with numerous [notes] to go back and figure out.
And I did have some of all of those situations, yes.
But it wasn’t as bad as I feared.
In fact… I’ve already made the first full revision pass and corrected all the issues.
Surprised? Yeah, I was too. I’m pretty happy with it, even after all the blood, sweat, and tears it took to finish that draft. I kept everything, except for about 700 words I cut out and replaced with other stuff.
Sure I had to shore up some slips. Go back and drop some hints. Delete other hints that I’d dropped a little too heavily. But overall, it was a pretty solid draft.
WHEW!!!
So now, the call goes out for beta readers. If anyone has the time and inclination to do a beta read for me before I submit to my editor, drop me a note (joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com). I’m looking for general impressions (I was confused here, or this didn’t make sense, or wow, I really liked this and wished it been more/bigger), although if you catch me in a typo I’m grateful. I’ll include everyone’s names in the acknowledgements and provide a complete final copy assuming it’s accepted for publication.
Then it’ll be synopsis, final pass, and Sig will be off to my editor!
Meanwhile, I’m shifting gears to the other novella I’m hoping to finish by 3/15.