After a grueling first drafting, I’m pleased to report that the content revision for Desertera #2 went smoothly.
In case you weren’t around when I explained my content edit experience with The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1), here’s the skinny: Essentially, my editor combs through the manuscript looking for plot holes, dropped story lines, character development issues, etc. When she’s done, I receive a summary document with her overarching comments and a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the book. Likewise, she returns my manuscript with her suggested revisions and textual comments. Then, I go in and make revisions based on all of her feedback.
Besides the pleasure of getting my manuscript one step closer to publication, this content revision held a special reward. I could see how much I’ve improved as a writer from book one to book two. I learned from my mistakes with The Cogsmith’s Daughter, and most of the issues my editor spotted last time never arose in the sequel. While a few of them did (and of course, I had a couple new kinks to work out), this draft was much cleaner and a hell of a lot less holey than my first novel. That, in itself, is my greatest pride with book two so far.
So…what’s next?
Because I have nearly two weeks until my deadline for line editing, I’m going to take a quick second (but really third) pass through Desertera #2. Then, the novel will be off to the next round of editing. During the line editing process, a different editor will scour my manuscript for issues with sentence structure, consistency in details and voice, and larger grammar problems. To learn more about this process, you can watch this vlog.
After that? Proofreading, cover design, formatting…and publication!
If The Cogsmith’s Daughter is any indicator, the next few phases should fly by. I’m still on track for an early September release, and I cannot wait to share my second brain child with you all. Stay tuned for future updates (though my newsletter subscribers always hear big news first), and maybe even a few sneak peaks!
Kate M. Colby 
Well done on getting your manuscript to this stage!
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Thanks, Margarita!
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Yes!! These are great news!
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Thank you! 🙂 Hopefully I’ll have more updates like this soon#
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It’s true – with your first few books, you’re paying not only for editing, but for an education. I learned a ton from my editor.
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Indeed. Being able to see my improvement has been very encouraging, too. I really feel like I get my money’s worth! Lol
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Yay! Very pleased for you, and excited to read book 2 🙂 I was the same with my second book, I’d learned so much from writing the first and it was a much easier editing process, definitely.
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Thank you! How did you find writing/editing the third book? (Pst…please say it’s also a tiny bit easier!)
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Yes, the third book was a little bit easier again, and a lot less panic when I hit the ‘Publish’ button! Now I’m on book four…
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Woot! Keep up the great work. 🙂
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🙂 Will do, thanks. Think Ambeth is a place I’ll be visiting for a while…
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It is so awesome to year that you have gotten your manuscript this far. I am still climbing the Mt. Everest of publishing my first book. I didn’t even think that I might need a second editor. I have also heard a lot about keeping deadlines and working with them, does it make the process of writing a book easier? Congratulations on both your books and the education you get during book publishing journeys!
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Thank you! Personally, I find that I’m not very good at sticking to deadlines I set for myself. However, if my editor sets a deadline for me, I always meet it, as I feel accountable to her and want to maintain a strong professional relationship. The hard thing about writing and publishing is that there are several ways to do both, so the best thing you can do is just research and experiment until you find your own process. Best of luck with your first book!
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