I just got off the phone with my Content Editor or Developmental Editor for book three. We spoke for half an hour as we reviewed the twenty pages of notes she wrote up for the book.
Yikes! I have a Lot of Work to Do!
She hit the hammer right on the nail in her commentary. There were points I feared where the story slowed down and she managed to sniff those out and offer practical suggestions on how to make those sections more interesting. I'm hoping that I can take her suggestions and rework the story to make it stronger.
There were a couple of areas that I've been told in the past were weak in my story telling and the editor found those points and offered improvements. I have a habit of having my characters thinking of questions they have at certain points of the story. I've now had four editors and writing group members tell me this detracts from the story and takes the reader out of the story.
Next steps? I'm jumping into her recommendations, chapter by chapter, and fixing those issues. I will remove some chapters, make the characters stronger, and make a more satisfying ending. I have a line edit planned for mid-October for this book. In essence only 4 weeks to resolve the weaknesses that were identified.
Wish me luck.
Photo for this blog post is by Dane Deaner on Unsplash