Well, the contract is signed and the ball is rolling. Surrender the Wind is entering the production phase at last. A few of my writing friends have asked me to blog about the process. As I move through this journey, I will share the steps I must take along the way in order to bring this novel to fruition.
The first step, called 'a micro edit', will be arriving in my email box soon. My editor will send me suggested changes in characters, plots, pacing, and so forth. I was convinced she intends to lead me firmly but gently, when she told me this first phase will make my manuscript stronger, but that I might throw myself across the bed in tears. She urged me not to. So, I'm telling myself to have a thick skin and a teachable spirit. She is coming alongside me to help me polish Surrender the Wind to what she referred to as 'a high sheen'.
To visualize this more clearly in my mind, I thought about when my husband builds a guitar. The body is cut from a fine, quality piece of wood. He buffs it out over and over with an electric sander until it is as smooth as a swatch of silk. Then he applies stain, buffs it out several times and reapplies more stain. The final step is to apply several coats of high gloss finish until the body and the neck is like a mirror of color. It is not until the guitar looks and feels perfect to him before he adds the electronics and strings. When all is complete, he tests out the sound by playing it.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
No comments:
Post a Comment