As an independent author, I’m a member of many writers groups and forums on social media. Makes sense doesn’t it? Sharing information, tips and encouragement with one another is a fantastic way for the indie author to not feel that they’re alone, which can sometimes happen.

And for the most part, being a member of these groups is a great experience.

But every silver lining has a cloud.

There can often be a lot of negativity in these groups. Not just from writers struggling with their WIPs or character development etc etc, but more to do with putting an actual downer on the whole ethos of being a writer.

I’ll give you an example.

You log onto Facebook and there on one of the writers groups is a meme about someone having something akin to a nervous breakdown because they are at the editing stage of their book. You see it all the time.

Reams of memes!

Oh, they’re always disguised with a big dollop of tongue on cheek humour with references to copious amounts of coffee and red wine but that veil of humour is obviously transparently thin. There’s more than an element of seriousness behind these memes. They make out that the editing process is in some way similar to some kind of sadistic medieval torture that has to be endured rather than it being an enjoyable undertaking.

And I don’t know why because I bloody well love the editing process, me!

I once read somewhere (I forgot where and who the author was) that writing a novel is a lot like cooking a meal. Plotting the thing is like getting the ingredients together, writing the first draft is the actual cooking part and then the editing/proofing and all that is the washing up afterwards. And I think that is a brilliant and rather accurate analogy.

And the washing up stage is where I am at now with my current WIP and I’m having a great time with it. I think the thing I like most is the anticipation that all the hard work is done, having written well in excess of 85,000 words for this one, and now the end is tantalisingly close. Publication is on the near horizon.

There’s the relief, for one thing, when you read it back and realise that it is a coherent body of work and there are no plot holes or outrageous anomalies that require another month’s worth of rewriting. There’s the joy of discovering that giving almost a year of your life to the project has been worthwhile because you’ve produced something enjoyable and entertaining and the realisation that if you like it yourself then there’s a fair chance that others will too. And there’s the gentle frisson that you feel, similar to an expectant parent, that you’re about to birth a shiny, brand-new novel into the world.

Seriously, the editing process is great fun in my humble opinion.

So, you may ask, whereabouts are we in terms of publication?

Very close actually. The main edit where I add and subtract various bits and pieces and check that the book flows well is all done and dusted and that tomorrow I move on to spelling and grammar checking but also making sure that all of Joe’s little wordplay nuances all match up. That will probably take a full day, or maybe even longer, and then it’s the final proof read which will take a few days as I always proof read at least twice, if not three times.

Or to put it another way, I’ve nearly finished the washing up.

I’ve also begun work on the cover of the new book. The front is pretty much finished and the back is underway. Obviously can’t do the spine yet until I know the final page width of the thing but that’s a small matter that just requires a little bit of basic arithmetic to get right. I’ve learnt a heck of a lot about cover design and formatting in the last four years and six novels.

I do honestly still believe that a December publication is on the cards as I would like people to have the book in their hands for Christmas. It would make an ideal present for the reader in your life (hint hint!) or even just to perhaps give yourself a festive treat.

So yeah, exciting times here at Blessham Hall yet again. And I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you the title as a sort of pre-Christmas bonus. It’s a Joe Wilkie/Blessham novel and it goes by the title of…

Medicine Show

I won’t go into any further details just now but please be reassured that it’s an absolute corker (in many ways actually) and that Joe gets himself into all the usual scrapes and hi-jinks. I’ve read it through a couple of times myself now and it makes me laugh so I hope that’s a positive endorsement for you.

Right, enough said! Must press on. Now, where did I put my Marigolds?