Daynote - Thu 28 Aug
And the next book's edits are DONE.
It's a funny thing, 'finishing' a novel. Because you actually finish it multiple times. You finish the first draft, then you finish the structural edits, then the line edits, then the copyedit, then the proofs. And by that point you are very, very over it. But I 'finished' another step on that road yesterday.
ON DECK: I was feeling quite antsy last night, being so close to the end of the current edit draft, so I sat down and finished it off after work. It went really well and I ticked off the last items on my edit list, then wrote a long email to my editor and agent and packed off the files. No idea what the final word count (added or removed) was, but it's done for this stage, a few days ahead of deadline.
This morning I did a tiny bit of pitch writing, coming up with a new book idea at a very high level. Only 191 words (plus a lot of gazing out of the window turning the idea over in my head) but I suspect I'll finish that pitch tomorrow.
TOOLS AND PROCESS: It's fun to be back to writing pitches. I've slowly developed my own format for these that I now use a lot, because it gives me a consistent structure to follow. My pitches have a cover page with a brief overview of the concept (not the pitch itself), then a page-long pitch on the next page which is more like what you'd read in a query, then a metadata page that includes things like where it fits in an ongoing series or if it could kick one off, alternate titles and a bunch of keywords for brainstorming titles/themes etc.
These pitch documents are quite barebones, deliberately. I don't write a full synopsis and I don't write sample pages. And I also don't do any vibes-based stuff like moodboards or character images. These documents are usually intended for my agent or editor and I'll write three or four at a time. The more detailed synopsis or sample pages will then come out of the discussions I'll have with them, or I might jump straight into writing a draft if an idea is grabbing them particularly hard. But I've started to find this part of things a lot of fun, just kicking around potential novel ideas. I've got two done, a third in progress and I'm going to do one more, I think, for this round.
LISTENING: I really enjoyed this interview with writer/director Chris Columbus on the The Rest Is Entertainment. What an amazing career he's had.
WATCHING: We watched another couple of episodes of HOSTAGE last night and it picked up the pace and tension very effectively. I love a good stirring monologue and Suranne Jones delivered a cracker.
READING: I started on a blurb read for fellow DHH client Adam Simcox yesterday, reading his new novel TIME WARPED. It's fantastic - a really twisty speculative thriller set in a world where time travel exists, but is only available to the rich (unless you win a yearly lottery). Quite the hook.
LINK: A reminder that there's still a few tickets available for my spy panel at Bloody Scotland, with Michael Idov and DB John, chaired by Kim Sherwood. Grab a ticket and I'll see you in Stirling!
UP NEXT: I'd intended to be working on SOLITARY AGENTS, but my sudden burst of energy last night means that's done. So more pitch writing tomorrow, then August's newsletter, then next week I will likely return to PROJECT DRIFT. Although I've also got podcast recordings and a game night with friends coming up, so it's going to be a fun weekend.
Onward!