Speedy update cos I feel super guilty for not posting! (More thinky posts later)

Ok, if that last post was shameful, the amount of time it’s been since I last did a blog post is even more so. I apologise, I’ve been busy!
You’re probably wondering what I’ve been doing all this time, and the answer is editing. I’ve read, reread and edited my book until it reached a standard I was happy with and until my eyes bled. At first I had some disagreements with my editor over some parts of the structure and I like to think that we’ve reached a middle ground that works for both of us.
In no way am I saying that as an author you should let someone else dictate how your work should be structured, but you do need to bear in mind that as the work’s creator you are very emotionally vested in that piece, including parts that may not be necessary. Looking back now I realize that parts of the book were indeed redundant and led away from the main focus of the story. Others, like the prologue which has not had a big following among my editor and beta readers I have refused to cut as it is imperative to my story both now and in the future. I consider it the musculoskeletal system to the story and to those that are unaware of what is to follow it might feel disjointed and mismatched with the rest of the book. I believe that in time it will become obvious why it is there and how it shapes the essence of my breed of Vampire, because yes I have created a new breed of Vampire. That’s all I can tell you at this point!
As a first time writer I have stumbled on a lot of things and experienced a lot of delays in this journey. In essence this book has taken me 2,5 years to write (around other life events) which includes a whole lot of waiting time. Waiting to hear back from my editor, waiting to hear back from beta readers (some of which I think will not be getting back to me at all), waiting to hear back from my cover design team and waiting to receive my ISBN number (my current delay), but I like to think it’s all part of the self-publishing learning curve. I fear that some more serious lessons are up ahead anyway, so patience is being braced.
On the up side of things the entire process so far has been very rewarding (emotionally at least). I have made some fantastic acquaintances from around the world some of which have become my genuine friends. I’ve also been fortunate to receive guidance and advice from people who were and in a way still are complete strangers to me, but whom I think fondly of within the online spectrum. These people, mostly Authors further along their journey than I, have been happy and willing to spur me on, offer me advice and tips about how to deal with this or that problem or even read my draft and give me feedback more so than lifelong friends have bothered to do. As cheesy and silly as this may sound there’s a lot of good people out there and for that I am grateful.
This in brief, is where I am at the moment, the tail end of the launch process and waiting to see what else will pop up next. You’ll be glad to know that the waiting time is being filled with the writing of the second book in the series which will called Bathory’s Legacy provided I don’t change my mind.
Ta Ra!

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