Write Errthang!

Hi everyone,

Just when I thought I would choke if I had to write, I wanted to write some more. This week has been interesting: I got writing assignments coming from all directions – my job, my freelance job, my blog, my other blog. And to add to the insult, I found myself digging out the first novel so I could edit it.

The first novel has been the pain in my back: while it is probably one of the things that defined me as a writer, it has been so damn hard for me to edit it. I have been editing it on and off for the last year and a half. It is a good story, and I am telling you this not because I wrote it. I have been reading so many books published from first-time authors and I have come to a conclusion that mine has a chance to compete once I tighten up the plot.

I like the characters in the book and they feel real to me. However, I was not convinced of how the story ended. It felt forced and disingenuous to me. For over a year, I was finding a way to make the ending feel more genuine. I was practically listening in to every single conversation just to find a clue of what would happen to the mystery clouding this house. My dad kinda gave me a resolution via one story of his childhood. It was bloody and brutal but I felt it a good fit to the story.

However, it was not the only reason I chose to pick up on editing this book again. Since I came back to Vietnam, there had been a cloud hanging over my head of how I would market this story. Back in 2010 when I wrote this book, The Big Six was the only way around. I did research on sending query letters to agents, the process of finding an agent, an editor, and a publisher and I shuddered. The cost to send my stuff to New York City just to get some rejection letters is too much. Besides, I’m not exactly Salman Rushdie and my story is not exactly Harry Potter, either.

Then came the e-book revolution. I have been watching it evolved and I realized this is the time to release my Kraken. The window of opportunity is open now. I remember very clearly how much less opportunities I missed because my makeup blog came out a year pass the market’s prime. Compared to 2010 or even 2011, the e-publishing game is pretty much figured. People are making decent livings from selling e-books and there are services to help authors (who have money to pay!) While I have to do a lot of things on my own for this book to happen, at least I can afford to spend money on cover arts. I may need to find a class and learn how to format my e-books as well as doing all the edits myself but the cover is something I can splurge on.

While I ploughed through the book today, I realized the work ahead is not as insane as I thought. I only need to rewrite 10 last chapters of my book to give it a new ending. But that’s something to worry later and a story for another day. Right now, I’m just reading and making notes.