Hi, guys!
Today, I decided to take a day off—just to get a little break from writing my book and to "reboot" my brain. It was starting to overheat, and I could no longer make sense of what I was actually writing; the text was becoming cluttered with "junk" words that I’d eventually have to strip out anyway. I planned to recharge by watching some movies, reading a few books, and just taking it easy—but that didn’t go very well. I tried to take a nap, but I couldn’t fall asleep; my mind was racing with thoughts about editing the book and how I’d go about rewriting it. Before I knew it, I was mapping out new plot twists in my head, and I realized I had to sit down and write them down—otherwise, I’d forget exactly how I wanted to restructure everything. I ended up getting out of bed and pacing around the room. This kind of "authorial agony" always throws me off balance! So, for now, I’ll take care of a few small household chores—maybe whip up something to eat—and then get right back to work on the book. I’ve already finished half of the first volume, which is pretty good for just two weeks. Of course, I didn’t start from scratch; I pulled it together from notes and sketches I’d been gathering over the last four months. Still, getting through half a volume in two weeks is a huge achievement—even if it does mean I’ll have to go back and edit it all. My plan now is to dive into the editing process; I’m hoping to polish the first half of Volume 1 over the next month, getting it ready for the second half to be written. All in all, I’m aiming to finish the first volume by the New Year, at which point it will be ready for my beta readers to take a look and help with the editing.
I don’t yet know which of the girls might join me for this project. My previous book was quite light, but the one I’m writing now is very heavy—so I’ll need to be careful about who I ask to help me edit it. I plan to warn potential collaborators in advance that the content is psychologically intense, ensuring they truly consent to taking this on. As for the readers, I’ll include a list of trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, leaving it up to them to decide whether they want to engage with the material. With beta readers, however, it’s different; since I’m the one approaching them and inviting them to read my work, I bear a certain responsibility toward them, which makes the situation a bit more complex. With the general readership, I don’t feel that same level of responsibility—especially since it’s standard practice nowadays to include trigger warnings. There is a slight complication, though: books in my genre are often sold shrink-wrapped, so readers can’t always check the trigger warnings beforehand. Still, there’s usually a label—like "dark romance" or something similar—which helps set expectations. Plus, readers can always look up the synopsis online to get a sense of what’s inside. I hope things will go smoothly in that regard—assuming I actually finish the book! (Though I prefer to say "when" I finish, rather than "if," to keep myself focused on the fact that it’s definitely going to happen.) Editing is proving a bit difficult right now because I’ve become so close to the text that I’ve lost my fresh perspective. Ideally, I should take a few days off before returning to the edits, but I’ve grown so accustomed to working on the book every single day that it’s hard to imagine stepping away from it, even for just a few days.
But sooner or later, this will definitely need to be done—if only to take a fresh look at the book. It’s clear that, eventually, I’ll have to go through the text and edit it once more; that’s a must. But that will happen at the final stage, when I’m wrapping up the editing process—clearing out any logical errors and trimming away unnecessary words. That final round of editing will take place once I have my full team of beta readers in place. Right now, I’m working with a consultant beta reader who helps clear up medical inaccuracies in the text. It’s incredibly useful to have a consultant you can turn to and pepper with questions! She’s currently focusing on the technical aspects of the manuscript—areas where I lack professional expertise—which is genuinely a huge help. Anyway, it’s time for me to get back to work. As always, have a great day, everyone!
