And Done

Yep, that's it. All done. Finished. Woohoo.

In longer words, I've finished editing my first book in 'The New Age of Steam' series, 'Maiden Voyage'. Or at least I feel there is no more to be gained from editing. Is it perfect? No. Is it good? I think so. Is it readable? I don't know, you buy it and decide.

Why would I not think my own book is perfect? The answer is simple: I'm a better writer now than I was when I started. There's no two ways about it, I've just improved. The end of the novel is better than the start. All the editing I've done has been centered around bringing those opening chapters up to that same standard as the end, and for the most part they are, but there is still something about them that just isn't as good as the ones toward the end of the book.

Could I have fully brought them in-line with the rest of the book? Yes, I absolutely could have. I even started doing exactly that at one point. What I realised, though, was I would lose something integral to the book if I altered those chapters too much. I could improve the prose, but I couldn't keep everything else the way it needs to be. I opted to finish my novel with what I felt was the best story, even if it meant the prose wasn't as strong in the start.

Now, this isn't to say the prose at the beginning of the book is bad. In fact, I'd say it's actually not far off the standard of the rest of the book. Still, it's not quite as good as what you'll read across the bulk of the book. Simple as that.

For those that like numbers (yeah ok, I mean me) here's what the book finished up at:
82,360 words
375 pages
33 chapters

It's nearly 20,000 words longer than the end of the first draft. I cut out huge chunks of text, and still the thing ended up longer. How?

Well, the chunks that were cut ended up being re-written. They were always shorter in their new forms, but other things needed to be embellished, so as much as I took away I would end up adding somewhere else. There's also 3 new chapters in the 2nd act, so that was another few thousand words.

The pacing is smoother, the text is richer, and the story is better. Maiden Voyage, after two and a half years, is done.

Now to find a publisher...