August 2018
Good news! I finished the second draft of Blake Jordan #5 a few minutes ago and I thought I’d take a quick break to let you know.
This was the hardest book I’ve ever written, but I’m so proud of it.
I’ve been working on the things I learned while at that writer’s workshop in New York.
The criticism I received from the pros up there was pretty direct. There were a few things I needed to work on if I wanted to become a better writer. I’ve taken all the feedback to heart. I even started the second draft over again when I got back home.
If you want to become better at anything that really matters to you, you have to be willing to listen to feedback and then be brave enough to do something about it.
That doesn’t mean you change everything about you
And it doesn’t mean you become someone you’re not.
But it does mean taking a good hard look at yourself in the mirror and admitting you’re not as good as you want to be and then doing whatever it takes to improve.
Starting from scratch was hard. I didn’t want to do it. I just wanted to get through the manuscript and call it done so I could relax for a while before starting the next project.
But I knew I was better than that. So, I said a little prayer, stepped through the fire, and came out the other side a little bit better than I was going in.
Here are the next steps:
I’ve already started line editing the novel. I’m about halfway done. I’m going to continue with that and need to have the manuscript to the editor on 9/17. I should have it back a few weeks after that. Then I hope to share my new story with you a short time later.
P.S. I’ll be sending you updates a little more frequently for the next few weeks. I’m excited to reveal the title and book cover with you as soon as they’re ready to share.