Off for a line edit

My marketing assistant, exhausted from his efforts.

We wrapped up our final pass on Things They Buried this weekend and sent it off to our editor for a final read-through and line edit. It feels like the end is finally in sight.

Even back in the days when I was a project manager, I found this part of any project the most difficult to endure. At the beginning, there’s all the excitement about what the project’s going to be like in the end, how creative and fun the work will seem, and how awesome the end product will be. In the middle, it’s just work with sporadic bouts of the same kind of excitement. The end, though? By this point, I always feel like Sisyphus; the project’s never going to be over. I’m going to be writing and re-writing this novel forever.

I’ve completed enough projects, both personal and professional, to know that’s not true. It will end. Michael and I will publish a book. We will hold our words in our hands and giggle like schoolchildren who’ve gotten away with something naughty.

Between now and then, though, is another herculean push: flowing and formatting the copy for both hard copy and e-pub, laying out the cover, deciphering the intricacies of selling on Amazon, putting the marketing plan into action, planning the launch party, and of course, finishing all the other series books we’re writing concurrently as we publish this one. When “they” say that writing the book is only half the effort, they’re being generous.

Here’s the thing, though—as terrifying and overwhelming as this all is, it’s the first time in my life I’ve done something I actually love. It’s the first time “career” hasn’t been a dirty word. I love waking up each morning and deciding what outlines/drafts/edits to tackle. (I don’t love the marketing, but we’ll keep that a secret.) I love escaping to Ismae, our little science fantasy action adventure world. I love Aliara and Sylandair and Schmalch and all the characters. I can hardly wait for everyone to meet them.