Fretting published novelist in waiting

And stuff’s happening! I’ve an interview coming up in SFX and another to do soon for a new writing magazine. I’ve book plates to sign and return so they can be stuck on books bound for Forbidden Planet. There are reviews waiting to burst out like … I won’t say what they might burst out like.

Meanwhile, I’ve decided I should read more than about four books a year, which is all I’ve averaged for the past several years. I’m a slow reader and I reckon one book a month is plenty. Goodreads has helped me out in this respect. Finding the site was a real bonus and now I’m trying to remember all the books I’ve ever read. I’ve remembered 100 so far, but I’m sure there’s another 150 0r so.

So, what have I been fretting about? It used to be, Will I ever get a novel published? Now it’s, Will they want to publish my second novel? I’ve been fretting about this since last summer.

So, when I finished writing my second novel (Christmas 2011) I sent it to my editor knowing that they’d only want it if Half Sick of Shadows sold well … See now? Here’s my problem: I’m always thinking ahead of myself, like rushing head first towards my own death … Anyway, I’d no sooner sent off my new novel than I thought, I shouldn’t have done that; it’s not strong enough; it needs work. I apologised to my editor and asked him to brick the version of my book he had behind a wall ’cause I wanted to do more with it: tighten it, make it sharper, delete some wases and thats – that was the kind of thing that I was aiming to do that I was determined to – you know, bad sentences.

The original version of the new novel is now safely bricked behind a wall, and I’m pleased with myself for having the good sense to pull it in for revision.

Great. Lots of work on my desktop now. Lots of writing to do as Half Sick appears on the shelves. And, as they say, most writing is re-writing.