Let's just recap all of what's at stake here. After fall semester ended, I decided I'd spend this summer getting MIRRORPASS submission ready. I created a breakdown of all the editing tasks I had left to accomplish, and decided that August 1st would be my ultimate submission deadline.
That means in six days, there will be a handful of query letters with my name on them winging off to agents around the states.
Now, the reason things have been so quiet on the blog is because I've been working my butt off. It's gotten so bad that I'm praying for rain so I can stay home and edit, so bad that whenever my friends drag me off to have fun, I get a little miffed at them. Like for five seconds. Then I have fun and enjoy myself. And my poor Facebook page--it's been nothing but editing updates for weeks.
It occurred to me at some point that I made this grand announcement about submissions, then confessed how hard this deadline was, and never followed up to let you guys know whether I was clipping along or failing miserably. So I apologize for that. The blog has been quiet not because I don't have thoughts--(and I kind of feel like Julie from the movie Julie & Julia whenever I say this. Remember when she goes, "I could blog, I have thoughts," rather pitifully?)--but I've been so busy accomplishing things that I haven't had a chance to talk about what I'm accomplishing.
Which is a lot.
I began my 10% edit, and completed it after cutting 5,300 words. Time started running short while I was doing my problem scene edits, so I began sending the early, chapters out to betas while I edited later scenes. Those were both huge steps. But today, I completed something even bigger.
I finished my line edits.
If you remember, here's what I said about them in my pre-submission announcement post:
The last time I did a complete printed line edit, it took ages, and then I had to incorporate all the edits, which also took ages. But the good news is, once I get to this step, I'm really almost done.
Did you hear that, guys? Did you HEAR that?
I'm really almost done.
If these pre-submission edits were a mountain, those line edits were the peak of the mountain. Now it's all a downhill sprint toward the finish line that is August 1st. My final true hurdle is this very next step--incorporating line edits. It's the last really yucky thing I'll have to do, and it's the one I'm most worried about, because it's hard to predict how many days that will take me. If line edits take me ages, incorporating those line edits usually takes me longer. And I still need to finalize my agents list. And I still need to do some error-checking and polishing. And I only have five days left.
But I have been praying about these edits and this submission deadline a lot. One of the amazing things about God is that He makes the impossible possible; I couldn't tell you how I managed to do everything I've done in such a short time. A few times already I've checked my progress against my deadline and thought, there is no what I'll finish this on time. But then I just ducked my head and prayed about it and kept on working, and whenever I finished, it would be on time. So although five days is really not that much, I'm basically ducking my head and powering through.
Wish me luck.
Truly and always,
-Creative A
1 comment:
God is good all the time, dearest. Praying as you keep working! You can do it!
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