Rough Draft Complete!!!

Yay! This morning, I finished my rough draft for DEMONS FOREVER!!

This is an exciting step for me, because it means that I’ve worked through the issues I wanted to figure out in the story and now I am almost ready to start on my second draft. I’ve talked about my writing process before, but just as a refresher, I’ll mention my next steps:

• Rough Draft (complete!)
• Marinating time – this is where I reflect back on what I’ve written so far and fill in any gaps or figure out parts of the story that didn’t quite work. The length of time I need to let a story ‘marinate’ varies widely, but I feel really good about this since it’s the final book.
• Second Draft – For me, this is almost a complete rewrite. Now that I can see the story clearly in my head, most of what I write in this second draft is exactly what ends up in the final version of the book.
• Critique Group – When the second draft is finished, my husband reads it first, then I pass it along to my amazing critique group. They usually have a week or two to read and make notes before we meet and discuss the book from front to back.
• Final Revisions – I take what my group had to say and make any needed changes and final edits. I also read through the entire book at least one or two more times and make edits along the way.
• Formatting, Beta Reads – My husband formats the final version for the various ereaders and I pass the book along to any beta readers to check for formatting errors and typos.
• Publish – Finally, once all of that is done, the book is ready to be uploaded and published!!

So that’s the path of my book. So far, as you can see, I’m only through that very first stage – the rough draft. But often times, the rough draft is the most difficult part, so I’m very excited to be through it so quickly. I think it helps that this is the final book, and I already had strong ideas about what was going to unfold in this final chapter of the story.

This afternoon, George and I are headed to the mountains for our last little retreat/getaway before the baby comes. I am taking all of my notes on the book and a copy of my rough draft, and I have a feeling we will spend quite a bit of time talking about the book. In so many ways, my husband is my muse :). He helps me work through the tough spots, and I’m lucky that he never gets tired of talking about my writing work. Of course, we’ll also take some time to swim and hike and enjoy the mountains. (well as much hiking as I can do at 7 months pregnant, haha)

I will be back on Monday to give you a look at the beautiful cover art for DEMONS FOREVER. I am really happy with the way the cover turned out, and I think you will be too! I will also be giving away a few ebooks that my writing friends have donated, so I hope you’ll stop by for the reveal and giveaway. Have a great weekend everyone!