Today is the last Thursday of the month, so it would ordinarily be another An Open Book episode, but nobody responded yet again. I don't have an issue telling a story on my own (duh) but this one is meant to be collaborative, so I'll extend it another week. If you want to help move that story forward, check out this link: https://www.thegardenoffire.com/post/an-open-book-part-3
I'd love to continue that story next month!
In the meanwhile, I figure I'll give another update on things about my debut novel, since we're at such a pivotal moment. It's currently being edited, and I get to watch some of those edits in real-time! I'll have to wait until the reports are done to read them, which should be another week and a half, but I get to view my editor's comments as they come in, which helps me get a good scope of what I'll have to prepare for. In some ways, it's a bit of a brutal experience, to watch someone so seasoned tear up certain ideas, but once you look past it for what it's actually trying to achieve, the process is much more manageable. I'm very critical of my own work, so it is simultaneously understandable and outrageous that someone else might have criticism of their own. I mean, I shouldn't be the only person who gets to notice the flaws, but also, damn! That's my baby!
In all seriousness, I'm so grateful that he's not pulling any punches. The strangers pulling my book off of a random shelf will certainly not. I'd rather get the critiquing in now while I can still make changes of what I overlooked than have it in ink and be torn to shreds then! To say I'm excited to get to work would be an understatement, and I'm doing all I can to get everything in order for once those reports are done. I'm reintroducing myself to characters I didn't give much love to, taking notes physically and digitally, and really just greasing up the lane to slide through when the time comes. I wish I could start going back and doing my final rewrite right now, but I'd hate to get those reports and realize something I missed and have to re-rewrite. I want to have as cohesive a story as possible, and that means going all the way through the manuscript quickly enough to have a healthy memory of everything before where I'm at while I'm writing. I'm definitely nervous, and I nearly had a panic attack sitting in my bed the other day, but I'm going to break through to the other side of this. I mean, imagine being the guy who writes a manuscript big enough to be several books, having a Discord server and a blog dedicated to your writing, and then backing out of publishing a book. Couldn't be me!
I'm much more confident in the writing I have following Act I, which means... I'm much more confident in every subsequent book than The Garden of Fire: Volume One. That's not ideal, considering the first book should be hooking people in. I mean, I've had my fair share of words for franchises that require too much time to get into. Like, a bad first season of a show makes the entire show not worth watching to me. And that's much less commitment than reading!
So I have a lot of work to do before I get this book singing, but I'm going to do my best and try to push it out into the world. If it flops, oh well, I'll be one of those franchises I loathe so much. But I'm never quitting, that's for sure. Writing is my life and the world of Ayrus is my life and I took out all of the back doors. I have no choice but to go forward, so that's exactly what I'll do.
If you want an estimate on how long it'll take to get this book published, I would say you can expect it in eight months or so. I really have no idea how long it'll take to get cover art done once I'm picked up by a publisher, or how long it'll take to do that, but I can safely say I can get my manuscript totally finalized within a couple months. I mean, I wouldn't doubt I get it done in one. I'm just on fire for it, you know? Plus I have this weird knack for writing like a beast during the month of October. Not sure why. Three years in a row though!
Here's a taste of what to expect, when the time finally comes to crack into this story:
The Garden of Fire: Volume One is the story about a young man named Westeray with a reckless knack for heroism discovering the greater perils of his homeland, Cambria. As his world grows, so too does his judgment of right and wrong, and it culminates in a maelstrom of action, revelation, and a newfound sense of purpose. The question is... Can he shake loose the ghosts that haunt him?
I'll leave it there for today. You can be sure that I'll post further updates in the future. For now, I recommend you go check out An Open Book: Part 3, and submit an entry for Part 4. It would really help me out! Before you go, leave a like and a comment, and make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss anything new! Here's my question for you today: what's your favorite book?
Let me know in the comments. I'll see you next Thursday!