Now that Destined: by Choice or Circumstance is now a reality and no longer a work in progress, and since folks have asked if there’s going to be a second book, I’m doing two things to satisfy myself and my readers.
I’m working on a second book and I’m working on creating a brand. Neither of there these things were foremost on my mind when I started this process, but now they both are taking center stage as I determine what my next course of action will be.
Stay tuned.
DESTINED: By Choice or Circumstance seems to be doing well so far since it debuted in October. Whoohoo!
It's gotten a 5-star review in Goodreads, and 5 stars on Amazon. I'm taking this as a sign that the book has been well received. I'm also using this as an opportunity to encourage you to read the book and let others (and me) know what you think.
A few people who have read Destined have asked me to write a sequel. I'm happy to say that I am writing one.
In the meantime, grab a copy of Destined and share your impressions with everyone. Stay tuned.
I finally finished my book, Destined: by Choice or Circumstance. And I can honestly say that after six months of writing, rewriting, editing, and having people read it and critique it, I’m mostly satisfied with the finished product.
Of course, I’m not completely satisfied. No writer ever is. But for a first attempt at writing a novel, I feel I’ve done a satisfactory job. Knowing how readers feel about it would be useful.
The book has only been available for a little over three weeks and has gotten one review so far. I’d say that’s a good sign that someone enjoyed reading it.
Only time will tell if others are motivated enough to leave a review. Hopefully, those who do, leave encouraging, constructive reviews.
I recently finished writing 90% of my book. Well, I thought it was closer to 95% before I asked a few trusted readers to read it and give me their feedback.
Overall, the feedback has been positive. Yay! And constructive. Most of them have been quite honest in providing insight into making changes to things like spelling, grammar, punctuation, and storyline continuity.
Where they were confused or simply lost, they let me know. With the exception of one reader, they all offered suggestions and tweaks for better clarity and consistency. Only one of my beta readers has been less than helpful. And the reason isn’t because that person’s being contrary, it’s because it’s just not their genre. They can’t “get into it” because science fiction isn’t what they like or read.
But this has taught me that since I’m writing for a specific demographic, I have to keep that in mind when choosing beta readers.
One of the toughest things I’ve found (besides taking liberties with science) working on my book is keeping everything straight.
Continuity is important to a story. Especially since I want the storyline to make sense and follow a certain path of logic. When I started this project, I had a clear vision in my mind of the type of story I wanted to tell and what I wanted my characters to experience. However, once I started telling the story, things started taking on a life of their own.
Regarding the science, I am in no way an expert in physics, biology, astronomy, or any other branch, but I do want what happens to be believable. So I’ve been doing a lot of research to determine if what I want to happen is at least theoretically feasible. This in turn has forced me to change situations and events.
Making these changes sometimes means making a major rewrite. This then may alter the action in the story. Then I have to comb through the story and catch any minuscule events that would throw the whole story out of whack.
I have written over 55,000 words and 48 chapters and I’m constantly going back to the beginning to see if what just happened makes sense. Sometimes this has resulted in major discrepancies, but it also, I think, has made my story better.
So if going back through and changing something I’ve already written and committed to is going to make all of the plot twists and turns seem straighter to my reader, then so be it.
Let the story continue to be told as it should be.
When I started writing my science fiction book, I dedicated nearly every available minute to getting my thoughts down. I envisioned an elaborately written piece of literary fiction that would be easy to write and revise. It’s been anything but.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back and revised every chapter, paragraph, and sentence. Writing a cohesive story is not as easy as it might appear—at least for me. Writing books of short stories is one thing, but writing a novel is a totally different animal.
Spending all of the time I was on developing my story, characters, and maintaining continuity took a toll. I had to step away and do other things.
So I’ve been reading books by other authors and taking days off from working on my book. It’s been a big help because I don’t feel inundated. It’s also helped me develop a more pragmatic attitude. The book will get written at its own pace, not mine.
