Summer WIP: Preparing my Baby for School
Off to school!
Families throughout the country are preparing for back to school. Continuing with my birthing a book and raising it to adulthood theme, I’m now preparing my book for school.
One of the first things you do when you have a baby is name it. I had a working title, My Father’s Desk, but I wasn’t happy with it. I brainstormed and came up with over twenty-five possible titles then sent out a plea for suggestions in my newsletter. I received some good suggestions but the one that I found most intriguing was Pigeonholed. I’m now trying out this title to see if it works. I needed to make some adjustments in my manuscript for this, but it appears to be working.
Last week I took the manuscript to a “play group” – my writer’s group, where my book met other books and received helpful feedback. From this I was able to make some structural changes that helped the flow of my book. I also sent my book to one member to begin the beta reader process. Just as you don’t trust your baby to just any babysitter, you don’t trust your baby manuscript to just any beta reader at this early stage. You need someone you can trust. This was a person I knew from the group whom had suggested my title. Who better to help in this initial stage?
I’ve been continuing to re-read and edit the book in preparation for school, where I send it out to other beta readers and editors. Stay tuned for more progress reports as my Summer WIP goes through the editing process that will result in a finished book.
What about your process? Is it similar or different from mine?
Leave a Reply