We're in the Endgame Now
A Writing Update and a Peek Into What's Next
“Randi,” you might be asking, “did you just quote a Marvel movie?”
Definitely.
When I have the ability—the content, if you will—I love using this space as a way to provide updates on my progress. Really, the only other update I’ve been able to provide is when I hit the halfway point in my story because I’m still in the early stages of this process.
But never fear friends, as the title suggests, I have a momentous update to grace your inboxes with today.
As of last week—last Wednesday, but who’s counting—I have reached Act 3 in my manuscript.
“Randi,” you might be asking again, “what does this mean?”
Oh, don’t worry. I’ll tell you.
I write using story beats, as I’ve mentioned before and plan on one day dedicating an entire newsletter to. Part of the fun of story beats is that they use a three-act structure to pace novels. It gives stories a nice (and clear) beginning, middle, and end.
With less than 15,000 words left to go, I’ve officially hit Act 3.
This is more than just the endgame, this is turning the corner in a marathon and hitting the final stretch, actually seeing the finish line in front of you, just a few yards ahead. It’s more than just exciting—it’s inspiring!
And it’s quite momentous for me, personally. I’ve only ever completed one full-length writing project before, and that was a novel I self-published in high school. If I remember correctly, it was under or just about 40,000 words, which is about half of my word count for my current manuscript.
So, five years later, after countless projects started that never even reached 10,000 words, I’m finally completing my second manuscript, and it’s definitely going to hit 70,000 words.
It’s insane! It’s life changing. I’ve never been more proud of myself or sure of my abilities. I mean, if I really wanted, I could absolutely 100% finish this novel by the end of the month. I’m definitely not going to do that because I like having a social life, but the possibility (and the temptation) is very real.
Instead, I’ve decided to shoot for finishing sometime in October. Then, I want to read through everything I’ve written to make it as cohesive and polished as possible. Will it be perfect? Heck no. That’s what an editor is for. Even though I’m a trained (and practicing, but that’s a newsletter for another day) editor, I know the benefits of having another eye look over my work. No amount of passes can change that.
So, by mid-November at the latest, I’ll have a full, cohesive story put together that’s not only written but lightly touched on for consistency of voice, sentence variation, and, you know, making sure if someone says they’re meeting on a Wednesday that I don’t start that scene describing a Friday afternoon.
I won’t be washing my hands of this story by any means, but the hardest part for me will certainly be over before the holidays. I’m looking forward to a stress-free Thanksgiving with my family where I can update them and celebrate my progress.
And now it’s time to address the age-old question.
What happens next?
The life cycle of a book looks different for every author, even sometimes every book, but the overall checklist is the same: authors get their books to literary agents, who pitch it to editors, who get the book to audiences. While it’s tempting to think that these steps are completely independent of each other, they’re actually extremely interconnected and collaborative.
Let’s just say, the author’s job doesn’t end once the book is done (something I’m excited for, even if I’m a little nervous about experiencing something entirely new).
Even though I will look through my manuscript for possible edits, books have multiple eyes on them throughout the publishing process. Literary agents often suggest edits before/while pitching to editors, particularly if they think their suggestions would give authors a better chance at snagging an editor’s attention. And, of course, it’s pretty self-explanatory that editors will also provide feedback.
Edits are, at the end of the day, strongly-encouraged suggestions for authors to consider. That means at every step of the way, I will have a hand in what my manuscript ultimately becomes.
Is editing super scary? Yeah. My writing is very personal to me, and even when I expect edits, it doesn’t make receiving them very easy.
But, despite my nerves, this is still something I find a lot of joy and excitement in considering. The next phase of my journey is just around the corner, and I can’t wait to get one step closer to sharing my story with you.
. . . I should probably get back to writing, shouldn’t I?