Now it can begin...

The day I never thought would happen has finally arrived. I have actually typed the words ‘the end’ on the last page of my manuscript.I have never written a book before, just short stories and the odd poem; but this one idea for Nine Lives would not let me be and I just knew I had to write it down.It is nowhere near ready to publish, I know that; but I am so pleased to have arrived at this day. They say this was the easy bit, but I am not so sure about that. Some days were very hard going and I nearly quit so many times, but when you put something on your bucket list, you feel obliged to finish it if you possibly can, don’t you?So now I have to put it away for a few days before the process of proofreading and editing can begin.For the best part of a year I have tried to learn how to write a book, how to construct a style sheet and create a workable plot with likeable characters.

I did this...







I thought taking part in CampNanoWriMo this year would be a good way of knocking  Nine Lives into some sort of shape, for up until now it has consisted of a huge unruly pile of scribblings. Never thought it would be so hard, despite many people telling me it would be and I nearly gave up on several occasions, but now it is finished, I'm glad I stuck with it.  Now I have to learn how to polish and groom what I already suspect will not amount to a hill of beans.



I have been a proof reader/editor for my sister Anita’s books over the years, and consider myself to be reasonably adept, but none of this prepared me for the joy (and sometimes not) of creating my own book. It was so hard, at times quite impossible and you will never know how many times I nearly quit. How did Anita make it look so easy? 
Editing is one of the most interesting and valuable parts of writing. It gives you so many opportunities to change, remove or enhance what you have just spent months putting down on paper. Some people say that good editing can take longer than the initial writing and I can agree with that.Just when you think it will be easy, it gets more and more complicated. There are so many points to go over, far too many typo’s or missing words to find. However, you only get one shot at turning a good book into a great one and I will not be one of those writers who do not even bother with the spell check!
See you all soon,
Jaye