After releasing my last book, Access Denied - What Happened Next, back in November, I decided to take a short break from writing or anything to do with writing, bar the occasional marketing of the latest books I'd released.
I came back to a piece I'd started early last year and worked my way through it from the beginning, as I always do when returning to projects. It's a horror story and I was really surprised that on reading what I'd written previously, how often I got goosebumps at the content. Really made me wonder if it has that effect on me, and I wrote it, what the effect on someone else would be.
I now can't wait to finish it and get it in front of someone to critique and get their feelings/thoughts on it.
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Happy New Year, David E. Gates! Congratulations on releasing "Access Denied - What Happened Next"! I agree. A break/time away is good. I take breaks throughout the day, but I haven't had a real break (a day without any writing or social media) for a long time. I might take a real break one day this weekend.
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Happy New Year, David E. Gates! I love returning to projects that I had set aside. It's always interesting how clear certain things become with a bit of distance and growth.
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David E. Gates glad you're thinking about getting other eyes on it! If you plan on using beta readers after your revisions, a couple tips to consider: 1) Seek out beta readers who prefer the genre of the book, not just any ol' reader. 2) Define what kind of feedback you're looking for. Pacing? Characters? Dialogue? Grammar? A lot of authors get frustrated when all their feedback is about dumb typos and nothing about whether the reader actually enjoyed the story! 3) Filter the feedback. Just because someone gives you a note doesn't mean you have to take it. Sometimes authors try to make everyone happy and incorporate all the notes they get back, which takes the book off the rails. Take the feedback that best aligns with your vision for the book. Best of luck!!!
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Agreed - a break is healthy and usually nets great results for the project and you, as an artist. Thanks for the share, David E. Gates!
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Happy New Year to all, I'm especially happy because my most recent book, "Mafia, Money, and Mahem," which I have always thought would make a great movie, now has six 5-star ***** reviews on Amazon. I'm trying to figure out how to get a screenplay made.
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Congratulations, Lois! And good luck with the next steps to seeing it on screens.
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Dear Pamela, Thank you for your very kind words. It seems that mature women really enjoy this book and the many laughs it gives them, which is why I have such a strong feeling it would make a great movie.