Novel progress – new title & book cover art

I haven’t mentioned my novel much here on WP (as in actual specifics), so I thought it was about time.

On the WIP

My WIP is potentially either a sweet paranormal romance or a young adult fantasy novel. I’m hoping my beta reader can help me figure this out. My WIP is currently at 65k words, I was hoping for 70k, but I think it’s about done.

On editing

I still can’t believe I’ve finally finished editing (mostly)! I left it for a month after finishing the first draft, and finally made myself sit down and have a good edit. It’s been a hectic few weeks, which most of you would understand. As I’m a mad pantser, my novel was full of plot holes, weird deviations, messy grammar and obvious spelling mistakes. Patching up my plot holes was only a half-successful exercise, so I’m about to send my second draft off to my aunt/editor!!

Thank god it won’t be me.

On the title

The current title of my novel is “Under a Different Sky”. It could change, but I’ve already had a few titles and this one was voted best for luring in unsuspecting non-fantasy readers (apparently). I had originally titled my novel ‘The Changeling’, but decided against it when a few friends told me it was “too sci-fi”.

On cover art

I’ve gone through about 3-4 different covers, and this one was voted best. There won’t be any lines in the final copy, but they’re there as I haven’t bought the images yet.

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On my beta reader

I FINALLY have a beta reader lined up. It’s actually one of my old college friends who does a ton of reading despite being an opera singer and a lawyer, so I’m pretty stoked to find such an accomplished guy who’s willing to read and critique (kindly) my novel!

On self-publishing

I decided long ago that I wasn’t going to send my manuscript off to any publishers. It was actually this decision that spurred me on to finish this novel in the first place. Knowing I could self-publish when I was ready has been the greatest motivator of all time (for me). I’ve never worked harder, or completed more words a day, then when I realised I could self-publish.

Putting all that aside, there’s a particular publisher that I’ve been keeping my eye on, and I’ve decided to submit my manuscript to them to see what they think. I don’t think my first one is quite up to scratch, but I have to try anyway. When/if it’s rejected I’ll begin the self-publishing process.

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Source: photo by me from arakoon, south west rocks (best place on earth)

So that’s my progress so far! I’ll let you know what my editor thinks. She’ll probably take a chainsaw to it, but hopefully she thinks it’s OK enough to stand on its own two legs without too many revisions. If she thinks too much needs to be changed (a.k.a it’s crap) I’ll self-publish it anyway.

Happy writing 🙂

Milly Out

38 thoughts

  1. I commend you for taking the path of self-publication. It not an easy road, definitely not one for the faint of heart. I just have a quick question: How do you find beta readers? And do you send them the finished manuscript or give them chapters at a time? (That was two questions, whoops 😊). Keep reading and writing; hone your craft!

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  2. Stay on your quest to self-publish. Once you get there you will find out that all those things you worried about really weren’t as earth-shattering as you thought. You will never regret the extra care you took to get all the mistakes out, but somewhere, sometime, one or two will be found anyway. Good news! With self-publishing, you just fix the problem in your manuscript, upload it again and it’s corrected going forward. Probably nobody cares, but it will make you feel better.

    The hard part is all the marketing stuff that goes on after publishing. Persevere, it’s all fun, in an agonizing kind of way.

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  3. Pingback: Novel Progress and NaNoWriMo – millie schmidt writer

  5. I love the cover. I am fascinated by how perfectly her eyebrow is arched. But back to the point at had, how exciting that you have come so far with your WIP. My fingers are crossed for you!!!!!

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    1. Thank you!! I love getting feedback, thanks for sharing. I’ve been looking at your covers on your website too and think they are very well made, and I love how you use faces too. Do you do all your cover art?

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      1. The covers for the Behind Glass series were designed using 99designs which offers many different options and you choose the designer you wish to work with based on the design they put forward. It was a good process and it was great having someone who could bring to life my ideas, but I wanted to do the next cover myself.

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  9. Editors can be brutal, but they have your best interest in mind. I have no doubt my novels are far better for the honest and professional feedback that I received. Building a relationship with an editor takes time but is so worth it. I have worked with mine now for six books.

    Good luck,
    Alon

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  12. That’s great!! I agree about the title change and I adore your cover (although I’m weird and like the lines). I can’t wait for you to receive feedback and am amazed you have the skill/ability/patience to write and edit and all those things that come with writing a book. Just know, you’re awesome. 🙂

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    1. That’s such a lovely thing to say!! You’re comment made my day 🙂 have you ever written a novel or started one? I know that you read tons and do lots of reviews 🙂 I think I will be so nervous to receive feedback but can’t wait either. Even if it’s negative feedback, it will be really interesting to see what others have to say! Book cover wise I actually don’t mind the lines either!!

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  14. Sounds as though you’re well under way to being published. I happy to like the comfort level that self-publishing provides, especially since I don’t have to write for my living–only my hobby! Good luck. 🙂

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  15. I am happy for you on all the progress that you have made. I also really like the cover and the title that you have now. Your resolve to self-publish is really awesome too. I like your drive. I wish you all the best, my all your hopes and dreams for this novel come true.

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  16. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I recently started a blog to help out others like myself in the self-publishing world. I’ve learned so much and faltered so much. Thought I could help others out – cheaply. Just thought I would put that out there in case you need an ear to lean on. Good luck with your book. I can send over the link if you don’t mind me putting it on your blog.

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