Changes

I've just spent the past several days editing the first two chapters of my book, both in the doc it's on and the sample chapters here on the website. 

I suspected for some time that they needed a little work but was unable to pinpoint exactly the areas that needed a more critical eye. That changed after talking to a few fellow writer friends of mine. 

I was able to get some feedback on the chapters and it was like a fresh perspective exploded across my field of understanding. I love things like this. 

Community and support are important things in even something so solitary as writing. I've read that somewhere before but never sought the opportunities to put it into practice. If you're one of the writers out there wondering if you truly need a community for writing, my vote wholeheartedly says yes. 

The one thing I'm happiest about is that because I've self-published I can make changes at any time without first consulting a slew of agents, editors, and production managers. When I saw how much needed to be fixed in my first two chapters I delisted my book across the web and went right to work. 

When I'm ready, I can upload the edited copy and go live within hours to a day. That's one of the affordances that self-publishing offers authors across the board and in a field like ours it's important. It equals some modicum of creative freedom in expression. 

Every author has their journey and mine has been full of lessons. I've gained some valuable knowledge through this long and arduous editing process and I'm so ready to take steps forward into the next part of my venture. 

These edits come in preparation for the release of a print-on-demand paperback edition of my book. When it's ready it will be available through Amazon. I've ordered my proof copy to do editing from and have already marked the changes necessary. 

Change is an exciting thing. Without it we wouldn't be able to evolve and grow or see the mistakes of our past. Nor could we avoid making them again. 

So don't be afraid to look at your writing, look at the choices you're making with it, and say, "This needs work." It will never be perfect but it can be the best version of what it started out as. 

Taking several days on two chapters is the best thing I could've done. 

Now on to the rest.

Grey