Sent Manuscript Off!

Great Sky Woman went out via e-mail to Betsy Mitchell last night. Yes, there is additional work to be done (when I see the copyedited manuscript), and then again in galleys. And the maps willhave to be re-drawn due to circumstances beyond control of my artist.  But Everything now is tweaking, even if it's serious tweaking.

Man oh man, did I make some serious mistakes with this one...can only pray that I was able to correct or undo the damage.  Here's a brief list of the errors and special stresses during this book:

1) Started writing it with contemporary "bookends" to fix it in space and time.

2) Orginally conceived it as a mystery

3) Changed tenses based on point of view

4) Originally believe there were more varieties of exotic megafauna 30,000 years ago in East Africa.

5) Adopted my son during the writing process

6) Moved from Washington to California during the writing process

7) Had my entire plan for supporting my family self-destruct during the writing process...

8) Didn't follow my past pattern (the last six books) of writing it as a script , polishing the script, and then writing the novel based on that "outline"

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Arrrrrgh.  All in all, I'd say is that I cost myself about a year, one way or 'tother.  Ah well, we learn as we go.  I think it's going to be fantastic when everything's together, though!  Now I'm going to take a couple of days off, and then jump into the next DREAM PARK book with Larry Niven, and start re-writing the BLOOD BROTHERS script, and, oh yes, start working on my next article for my internet business...

 

No rest for the wicked.

Steve