An email arrived in my author inbox today (the first email that came from an actual person and wasn’t spam.)
Who was the email from, I hear absolutely nobody ask?
It was from my newly-assigned editor, the lovely Emma, who had already completed an initial proofread of Venom and Blaze. In my day job as a copywriter and editor, it’s usually me who completes edits and sends chunky word docs back to clients, so it feels a little unnerving to be on the receiving end of an edit.
So what happens next?
I will take a look at Emma’s edits over the weekend. As this is my debut novel, I have no clue what to do. Do I leave tracked changes on? Do I approve her changes? What happens if massive edits are required? Does she make suggestions and action them or does she make suggestions and I action them? I have no idea. And, as a chronic overthinker, I suspect I might end up being a nightmare client.
After I’ve had a look and made any more tweaks, Emma will proofread it for a second time and go through the novel with a fine tooth comb. After that, I genuinely have no idea what happens next.
How am I feeling?
Like it’s all starting to get very real. When I signed the contract to publish Venom and Blaze, the publishing date was in Summer 2024. As I signed in 2023 and I happen to be remarkably short-sighted, 2024 seemed like a very long time away. Now, an actual editor has read my book, made some changes and we’re going to work on it together. It’s all starting to feel like it’s actually happening, and, seeing as I’ve dreamed of this since I was six, that’s quite a big deal for me.
Are you interested in more updates in my What’s involved in writing a book? blog series? Let me know in the comments.
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