Yes, I have been a bit more absent these days. It has been a summer of travel to see my children and especially my beautiful granddaughter. And because we drive, rather than fly, these are long days on the road through some of the most beautiful and myth-making countryside. A return home is always jarring, settling into routine, into clothes that are tucked into a chest of drawers and not a suitcase, a bed, not camping mats on the floor, a big house, and not the dense too-close-but-in-communion-hold-up in a very small house with larger than life loved ones.
But I am transitioning home again, back at my desk now and digging into copy editing five of my previous novels as a precursor to sending them out for new e-book editions. I love it and hate it. Mostly, there is the cringe factor of re-reading novels written almost 30 years ago (where the hell did the time go??!) and while I steadfastly refuse to “rewrite” them, I am sticking to a policy of accepting them as is except for correcting typos, standardizing the spellings of made up names, and, most importantly, getting rid of the abundance of adverbs, the hallmark of any novice writer. Weird too, because really, I knew better– but something in those first passionate (and frantic because I had two small children) efforts to get the story down on the paper and off to an editor before it was too too too late — did not give me the peace of mind, and the space and time, to do that final edit.
So it is a pleasure to read slowly, carefully, and delete that which I now know is not needed. It’s satisfying — the novels will be what they will be, my writer’s voice out of the past, but at least they will be cleaner and more tightly written, and with fewer publishing errors than when they first appeared. I look to have this work done by late fall. And then all five re-done manuscripts off to the agent.
I might yet get itchy feet and bolt the routine to see my granddaughter, or a trip up to the mountains, or a long haul to the Atlantic ocean, to wet my feet. But for now, I shall be here, an ant rolling words like seeds and saving them up in the computer.
These photos were taken by me, hanging out window like a dog with a camera, barreling down I-10, the last leg of our journeying home to Tucson. We are always there just before sunset and for the three hours we drive west toward Tucson, the sky give us a a non-stop show.
have been wondering where the last 30 years went too Midori, funny how at this stage of the game a decade can fly by in the blink of an eye!
I reread Soulstring last year Midori — and enjoyed it just as much as I did all those years ago. I’m not a red pencil type so I missed typos 🙂
What is life if not to be lived? We are grateful for the moments and thoughts you share. They always enrich our own journeys. Thankful you have been experiencing joy and love. Thank you for sharing much of it.
Gorgeous photos, and oh how grand a project ahead of you now. Heroic and inevitably deeply satisfying.
Midori, how did you make that decision about the ebooks–I mean, not doing them yourself, since you have the rights and ability to do it? I am sitting on rights reversions for five books and have been asked about reprints by several publishers, but I’m thinking about doing the reprints myself. But you know a lot more about that side of thing than I do, after helping out Fireship, so I’m thinking that I need to know your thoughts!
Glad you had good travels and visits and are home again.
Thank you Michelle — though sometimes, I think I am just crazy! Still, it is grounding me in my voice, making me see more clearly its journey as I have aged. So, I keep trucking,
Hey Marly, I was intrigued when Jeff Ford brought out all of his backlist with Open Road Media — and I asked him about it. It’s pretty much what I have been looking for — a big, well organized platform that knows how to market the books online and does a pretty good job of bringing books out in a wide range of categories. No money up front — but they get their cut from the first royalty checks. You must use your agent to negotiate a deal — which means they don’t take everyone — it’s for professional authors who are established. I don’t even care if I never make a cent on these novels — I just want them out them in nice, clean new editions (ebooks preferred — though you can ask for pods as well) so when I publish new work, I have a nice looking backlist too. I also have the option of contracting the art for my own covers…which I like. Check them out and see what you think: http://www.openroadmedia.com/