(I Also Write Children's Books!)

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Round One, Complete!

Have a status report!

No sooner did I resume work on A Sidekick's Tale than the editing notes came in.  Not for At Least I Didn't Blow Up OUR Moon, no.  Editing notes for Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain.

See, the book is so successful, my publisher wants it to friggin' sparkle.  I just finished the first round (after this, it's just those points I wanted feedback from before deciding).  A reader is unlikely to notice any difference.  It's all line edits, and almost all tiny stuff like removing a dialog tag or the word 'again'.  An occasional sentence that was really awkward had to be rephrased from the beginning.  Itty bitty continuity errors like keeping names and pronouns consistent have been fixed.

There will be two significant changes, where by 'significant' I mean 'I'll probably add a couple of paragraphs'.  A lot of people don't get why Penny's mom, an incredibly intelligent woman, doesn't spot Penny.  Some details are provided in book two, but I thought I'd addressed it in book one.  I did, but it looks like two critical passages, especially the one about Claire's shapeshifting powers, need to be overt.  Most people just don't catch them, and those two points are crucial for understanding the issue.

I also want to fix Claire's hair color.  I can't believe I screwed that up.  Ah, well.  We're none of us perfect.

After this book is finished, I suspect we'll leap straight into book two's edits.

9 comments:

  1. Just a quick question, and two comments. First, Question, to those who already purchased the kindle version of the book, will there be an update or such for the new version with the small edits?

    Comments, as someone who literally found Please Don't tell... by random, and literally bought it because I was bored out of my mind and the title sounded amusing, I have to say that it is one of my personal favorite books, even though I personally have noticed a few of the errors within it. Regardless, it doesn't effect much of the flow of the story.

    And finally, I just have to say, I'm jealous of your proof readers, to be able to say they read the books before you were famous, to see an author rise before he is well known, not to mention being able to read the books while the rest of us sit and wait in anticipation, it is just something to be overly jealous for.

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    1. My *understanding* is that once the edits are submitted to Amazon, if you download the book again you'll get the new version rather than the old one. That's what happened when we re-editing Quite Contrary.

      Alas, Quite Contrary needed it. Some of my clumsier dialog tag usages there.

      I'll show my alpha readers what you said. I'm sure they'll be flattered by your envy!

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  2. Can you publish the 2 paragraphs in your blog?
    By the way love the first book and i cant wait for the next one. Do you have a date of publication for the second book yet?
    -Tempmine

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    1. 1) I'm massively forgetful, but that is the plan!

      2) No. I'm guessing my publisher is aiming for Christmas. I'll post it as soon as they tell me. I was hoping for Thanksgiving, but the editing is moving even slower on their end than mine.

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    2. Curiosity Quill's website is saying Dec 31. Am I correct in guessing that is not official?

      https://curiosityquills.com/books/please-dont-tell-parents-blew-moon/

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    3. It could be official! Just because they haven't told me doesn't mean they haven't decided. It could also easily be changed, because once the book is ready publishing is a much faster process than it used to be.

      I'm the last to know most things. It's just part of being an author. I write good books, and they sell them - and thank goodness, because I'm a terrible salesman!

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  3. I loved this book. I found it several months ago on a well placed ad on a webcomic I read (Questionable Content, if you're curious) and spent the next two days devouring it. I'd gush about it more, but honestly I have to get back to work.

    I just have one question for you, please. What do we have to do to get this made as an audiobook?? I work in a data entry-type job, and spend 8+ hours a day listening to books. I would love to add this to my library. Please make it happen!

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    1. Hey, I love gushing. Who doesn't love hearing their baby praised?

      It is an audiobook... in Hungarian. I know, what's up with that? Somebody came and made us an offer! To get one done in English, what you do is beg my publisher Curiosity Quills. The more they think there's a market, the more likely they are to go to the expense of making one. Their website is http://curiosityquills.com/ their email is info@curiosityquills.com and their Twitter is @CuriosityQuills.

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  4. Just finished reading this book and i loved it. i was wondering if there was any possibility that there will be more books in the series and when can we look forward to reading them?
    Really want to see how the series progress'; and how the characters develop.
    It's a great book that i deeply want to see turned into a series and find out more about.
    loved it and want more

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