Back at it

So, how does someone start a blog back up after not writing for a year?

Like this, I suppose.

Yes, I am writing here again. No, I am not dead. Honestly, it’s just because I’m just not a very blog-y kind of person. Still, if you want to be an author, you need to have a platform and like any metaphorical or physical platform, they are always more stable when you have a foundation. So even if there aren’t many people reading this right now, I want to put this site out there and give people some content if and when I start gaining some attention.

So what inspired me to start blogging again? Well, that brings me to my next topic: what I’ve been up to. When last we met, I had just finished my manuscript for “Northbridge.” I have since changed the name to “A Matter of Discretion” and hope to turn the exploits of the Giles Northbridge character into a series. Since finishing the manuscript I have gone through the slow and painful enjoyable and fulfilling editing process.

I went through two rounds of beta readers, who give me input to see what people who aren’t me think of the story. As part of this, I also hired a sensitivity reader to ensure I am being respectful and accurate in terms of minority representation in the story. In many ways, it’s like a different kind of beta reader, except that they are looking at a specific aspect of the story (and let’s be honest, we all have a few blind spots when it comes to how people might interpret our work).

Then I hired an editor. She was a very talented professional named Faith Black Ross. Her website can be found here. We went back and forth over the summer changing and tweaking “A Matter of Discretion.” The editing process is slow and hearing criticism for your work is never fun, but I’ve learned what I’ve always been told: it’s one of the most - if not the most - important parts of writing a novel.

Now I am looking for an agent. A literary agent is the person who represents you and your work and essentially shops it around to publishers. The good news about agents is they don’t get paid until you do, typically taking about 15% of your commission. The bad news is that you need to find an agent to represent you first (and, of course, there is no promise an agent will be able to find you a publisher, only that they will try their hardest to do so - if they’re good, of course).

Finding how to query an agent properly required a good bit of research in and of itself. Not to mention, you need to learn how to recognize the differences between a real agent and fraudulent or phony ones too. I think I will post a little more about the process in a few days. For now, I am going to sign off.

I will leave by saying that I am writing the sequels to both “Nuru” and “A Matter of Discretion” right now. More news will follow on those fronts as well.

Until then, I am glad to be back.