I’ve finished. Done. Completed what I set out to do. I’ve published the Diamond Peak series. I’ve got my hero and heroine to the top of the mountain, despite their and my difficulties. The four books are there now for posterity, and even though most people will have no idea of the profound nature of the story, I know what I’ve done and I know that it’s extraordinary. I’ve written a kind of Buddhist Pilgrim’s Progress and I’ve done it well. (I can say that safely, because some of the fussiest reviewers around have checked out and passed every book.)
Some of you were here at the beginning when I was looking for a publisher for Lethal Inheritance, and I say thank you to those who have shared this journey with me. You followed me through the rejection letters, the deliberations about self-publishing and the eventual parting with my agent and taking the leap to create my own publishing company. I began writing the series in 2007 and had the whole series in draft form when I got my agent and began this blog in 2010. In 2011 I published a collection of short stories, followed by You Can’t Shatter Me in 2012, and then I took the plunge with Lethal Inheritance at the end of 2012. This year I completed the series. It took me 5 years to finish this project, and I published 2 extra books while I waited for my agent to find a publisher for my baby, the Diamond Peak Series.
It’s been quite a journey. And now it’s over.
What now?
More books?
Why?
The books in the Diamond Peak Series are no ordinary novels; they’re designed to benefit their readers by fostering awareness and compassion. They’re a comprehensive analogy for the Buddhist path to enlightenment, written by someone who has studied, practiced and taught Tibetan Buddhism for fifteen years, 12 of them in home retreat. No matter what your faith, these books are special, for the wisdom at their core speaks to everyone. Within these books are the tools you need to work with your mind to find peace and clarity and to work with your heart to find love and compassion. I can’t top that.
The overriding motivation for everything I do is to help people; it always has been, from the time I began to consider what I wanted to do with my life. I chose to do that in two ways, teaching and art. I don’t find it strange, therefore, that I am now earning most of my income in this business by helping others to improve their work. It’s something I happen to do well, and its easy for me, it’s a karmic propensity. So I’ll keep doing that, but more stories?
We’ll see.
I have a novella prequel for the Diamond Peak Series that is almost finished, so I’ll probably finish that since it’s almost done. It’s a paranormal romance about how Ariel’s mother met her father. It’s not terribly profound, but it will appeal to a different audience than what I market the rest of the series to, and who knows, maybe they’ll then read the series. If my partner thinks it’s good enough, I’ll publish it, if he doesn’t, I won’t, because I’m happy with what I’ve done.
I’ll publish the paperbacks for the series so those without e-readers can read the whole series, (only Lethal Inheritance is in paperback at the moment) and I have other ideas for books, but I’m not sure they’re worth the effort. What is the point of writing just another book to join all the others clambering for an audience? I need more reason that just writing a story to inspire me to follow through with the long process to publication.
Prunella Smith is a character that lurks in my imagination. She may come up with something worth doing, or she may not. We’ll see. In the meantime, I have enough to do helping others to realise their dreams.
Do you remember the song?
I hear you, Tahlia! I’ve been in a similar frame of mind since I finished my Waterspell fantasy trilogy. That story began percolating in my subconscious when I was a teenager. After the publication of my third book of nonfiction, I took a deep breath and commenced Waterspell — not knowing whether this journalism grad and former newspaper copy-editor actually COULD write fiction. It took me 16 years of hard labor — the hardest work I have ever done — to produce the best story I’m capable of writing. Its save-the-world nuances have slipped past some readers. But to my immense satisfaction, a few reviewers have “got it.” They have seen the deeper meanings that lie beneath the adventurous action.
So now what? I’ve got another novel about half finished, but I’m not obsessed with it, not like I was obsessed with Waterspell. You ask: “What is the point of writing just another book to join all the others clamoring for an audience?” That’s what my work-in-progress would be — just another book. It’s not special to me.
Since my first newspaper job after college, I have earned most of my living as an editor. Now I’ve returned to that side of the editorial desk, and that’s probably where I will stay. It’s probably where I belong. To paraphrase another song:
What the world needs now is editing, sweet editing!
I’m with you Deborah. I actually really enjoy helping other people shine their prose. I already do manuscript appraisals and prose tuition and I think I’m a pretty good line editor, so I’ll probably start offering that as well. What kind of editing do you do?
I’ve done copy-editing and line editing, and now I’m mostly tasked with developmental editing or what some call substantive editing. I freelance for a specialty publisher whose authors are not necessarily writers. Projects may begin with little more than files and notes. Some of the rough drafts cannot properly be called manuscripts. They’re just notes. In those cases, my “editing” is more like writing/rewriting. For other projects, my job is traditionally editorial: I help the writers say what they’re trying to say, only better. I edit for clarity, precision, and brevity. As you know, a good editor is something of a mind-reader, able to read between the lines and intuit what the writer is trying to say. When a writer and her editor are in sync, the collaboration can seem almost telepathic, as if the two are thinking each other’s thoughts. Highly satisfying!
Substantive editing sounds like it describes it well. You’re practically writing the book for them.
Tahlia
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