Editing, editing, editing!

Has it really been that long since I last wrote a blog post?  Good grief!  Well I do have something of an excuse - I was working flat out on the editing of Imperial Traitor for two weeks, and then went away on holiday for a week.  The editing was a task that totally consumed me.  I immersed myself in it for hour after hour until I felt I was going in circles.  I have now completed it, but I’ve yet to hear back on whether I will need to make any more adjustments.  After all the work and polish I’ve put into the final book of the trilogy, I now feel confident that the story is very strong.  Imperial Traitor is going to be a great climax to the series. 

 If I’m honest, editing is my least favourite part of the writing process, though I always appreciate the results afterwards.  In fact I would go as far as to say that I’ve learned more about writing (and in particular about my writing) through the editing of the Imperial series than I have in all the previous writing I’ve done.  This has been mainly due to the insightful comments and gently critical style of my editor, Joanna Moult.  It’s been hard not to like the majority of the comments she has made about my work.  They have almost always been spot on.  Even when I’ve felt she has missed the mark, she has always made me think and reassess what I’ve written in a way that has helped me immensely.  I owe a huge amount to her for the widely acknowledged improvements in my writing style over the last few books.

It is with sadness therefore that I have to wave goodbye to Joanna this week as she jets off to India for 2 years on a bold adventure with her husband and baby girl.  My new series is to be edited by a new editor (to me) - Heather Bateman - whom I look forward to meeting very soon.  I admit I have mixed feelings about the change.  I shall miss Jo.  I enjoyed our working relationship very much, but I also look forward to receiving fresh insights and criticism of my writing from Heather that I hope will serve to hone my skills still further. 

I’m very excited about the Dragon Orb series - the story already shows great promise for being something quite unique.  I’ve come to realise, however, that although the ideas and initial creativity are mine for the story, the book that hits the shelves is very much a team effort. 

More on the Dragon Orb progress soon, I promise.  I will say that I’m working hard to finish the first draft in very quick time now, so watch this space…