The first draft of Asteroid Made of Dragons is complete.

This is minor news. We should all treat this in a low-key manner.

Okay, maybe I'm a little excited.

But - this is not my first rodeo. This is my THIRD rodeo, if rodeos were books about punching dinosaurs. Finishing the first draft is a very important step, an amazing step that feels like chocolate rockets exploding in my synapses -- BUT it's only the first step. Writing is re-writing as the old mantra goes, and the process of editing is where a draft become a book.  

So! Here's what's next: I have to get the draft ready to submit to the sharp-eyed people at Inkshares and my editor at Girl Friday Production. I want to get that done quickly - the sooner the better, but conservatively it's going to take at least 2-3 weeks. Here's my process for the First Pass Edit, for any of you other writers who wish to judge me cruelly.

1. Print out the draft! I write completely in Google Drive, and all of my re-writing and edits will be inputted there. But there's something very exciting about seeing that big stack of paper for the first time.

2. Find an Ultra Fine Sharpie in a fanciful color. But not red, red is too harsh. Something in a nice blue or green, so the edits seem like whimsical graffiti.

3. Read the draft for the first time. Just a basic read - only correcting glaring grammar goofs. This pass is for story structure, character voice,  tone - just how each scene and chapter lands. I'll make notes as I go for things to fix, add, change, etc.

4. Hate the book / love the book. Kind of a toss-up - generally an even measure of both.

5. Sit in shower and brood. 

6. Input edits from paper copy. This may mean just some minor tweaks or vast alterations. This is also when I start preparing a lot of targeted questions for my editor and beta readers -- I may find things that I HEART or ANTI-HEART, but just want to wait until I've got some other opinions and feedback on before I make the final call.

7. Record the updated draft. Nothing fancy, just me reading it as a quick and dirty MP3.

8. Listen to recording, edit as I listen. I've found this immensely helpful. Nothing makes me really hone in on bad sentence structure or places where the rhythm is off than having to listen to it. I'll also listen to the recording in the car while I'm driving - it helps me catch plot holes and things that don't make sense. Also! It will lead me to new ideas and tangents of thought, always  helpful during the revision process.

9. Repeat Step 5.

10. Submit draft to Inkshares and editor -- and my trusty beta readers. I've been some sort of filthy 'creative' most of my adult life. Writing, acting, shadow-infused Christmas albums, directing, etc. Art does not exist in a vacuum, criticism is essential to a both sharpen and influence the maker's vision. I've made major changes to other books because of beta reader feedback -- and I've also stomped my feet and refused despite all their logic and sensible advice, because I knew that what I saw, what I wrote was important to me. And I never would have known that if it wasn't challenged. Never would have explained it better if someone didn't ask. My beta readers are ice-veined heartbreakers - grammar titans -- crazed chaos-shamans - they punch me in the gut until I make the book better, and I love it. I love knowing that the book can get better and better. This is my first time with a professional editor and I am SALIVATING. 

More updates to come - hopefully more regularly now that I'm not madly trying to finish the draft all the time. I also have lots of news coming on those audiobooks  (some of?) you guys wanted and other details and wool-gathering on what AMOD is and can be and is becoming. I'll also continue to put up sweet pictures of dragons. 

Like this:

Good day thinking machines, biological or artificial!

In this update I want to talk about editing, but first; a message to fellow Nerdtacular attendees.

NERDTACULAR 

If you’re attending Nerdtacular in Utah later this week, seek me out. Come shake my hand. Be one of the first to see the first finished model of Koalemos, one of the main characters from The Life Engineered. More importantly, if you pre-ordered your copy before May 31st, drop by the TadShop to get your free, signed robot art print and bask in my awkward show of gratitude.

On Editing

I’m currently in the middle of developmental editing. This is usually the most ego-punching step in getting a book to print. It’s at this stage that I have to listen to the suggestions and directions of a seasoned professional and accept his recommendations with detached professionalism. No matter what he tells me, I have to keep in mind that we’re both working to make this into a better book.

So far, my editor, Cleete is knocking this sucker right out of the park. I agree with almost every recommendations he’s made so far and everything reads better after I’ve applied his changes. What makes this a process both difficult yet rewarding though is that I’m learning a lot that will make me a better writer for the next book.

In case you’re thinking that the edits are just a long list of ‘change this’ and ‘this isn’t right’, let me show you a sample of what the first page looked like.

As you can see, it’s not all bad. Not only do I learn what not to do but just as importantly, I’m learning what to do more of.

I already love The Life Engineered but once I’m done with this process, I think we might have an excellent book for you guys and gals to enjoy.

Thanks again for your support.

Oh… before I go; just received the first sketches for the new cover of The Life Engineered. Already it looks better than the current cover. Very exciting stuff. 

 JF 

QUICK UPDATE: Yesterday I spent most of the day at the Inkshares office signing an insane number of hardcover copies. They're all boxed up and ready to go, so we're not gonna wait -- backer copies ship out NEXT WEEK, which means you'll have your signed copy well in advance of the official July 29 publication date. w000t!

Also, I'm really thrilled that Abomination was included in influential sci-fi/fantasy site io9's list of must-read books for July! The article can be found HERE.

Finaly, a brief reminder -- if you like the book, please leave a review/rating on Goodreads as it helps immensely with building traction for the book. The Abomination page on Goodreads is HERE.

Gary