My Year of Writing

Starting in Nanowrimo 2016 until June 2017, I wrote just over 243,000 words, give or take.

Nanowrimo 2017

I wanted to share with you about some of my Manuscripts that I’ve completed but haven’t done anything with them. One of them was poorly received by readers, one of them wasn’t right for any market, and the other was dead in the water when I submitted it to publishers and agents. I think it’s important to acknowledge that most writers have their “trunk” books that they write and don’t do anything with. It’s okay. Baby writers need time to experiment with their voice, make mistakes, and practice their skills. I made big mistakes with these manuscripts. I even had a beta readers tell me that she wanted to throw the book across the room if it only wasn’t on her computer because she hated it so much. It’s all part of coming to terms with the fact that not everyone will like your writing. Books are subjective and you have to have a bit of a thick skin to work in publishing.

Looking back, that beta reader’s comments make me laugh. I agree with a lot of it, disagree with some of it, and it’s a good experience to have. I’m just thankful she was honest with me so that I could make changes to the book before it went out into the world of online reviews.

The Young Adult Fantasy

Back in 2016, I really wanted to write 100,000 words. It started with Nanowrimo, and my first manuscript was some 70,000 +/-. I loved it and I honestly thought it was amazing. I commissioned a book cover for it and I made a campaign on a crowd funded writing website. I was very excited. The readers were not. I had a lot of beta readers for that book and the response was pretty negative. It’s been 4 years and I haven’t returned to that book yet. I still love the story and the idea for the story, but I acknowledge it needs a lot of work. I’d like to rewrite it and put the book cover to good use. However, it is paused indefinitely while I work on the Leslie Kim serials.

The Anti-Romance Novella

I wrote a story that focused on a character in the Leslie Kim Serials. Her name is Tai Reed and she’s madly in love with Leslie. And she’s completely oblivious to how little he cares about her. I wrote it with the format of a romance novel, but it’s a disturbing book overall. She murders people, she stalks Leslie, she even rapes someone. She’s an unreliable narrator with impeccable fashion taste. I have edited this story and it actually isn’t bad. However, my beta readers were pretty horrified. I’m not sure how I would label it. It is absolutely not a romance novel, even though it might read like one from Tai’s perspective. The plot of the story is still canon to the serials, but I have decided this book won’t see the light of day. I’m sure it would be poorly received after the beta reactions and I don’t really think there’s a big market for “The Female American Psycho.”

The Middle Grade Fantasy Trilogy

I wrote a middle grade trilogy in that year as well. I actually edited the whole series and got it to a place that I was happy with. I went on a round of submissions to agents and small publishers but I never found a place for it. After a score of rejections, I decided to sit it to the side while I worked on the Leslie Kim serials. I really love these stories but I might have to revisit them in a few years.

Is Any Manuscript Really Dead?

I like to think that, if the inspiration strikes and I feel like any of the above stories are worth working on, that I will return to them. They have been untouched for four years so they are pretty much “dead” but I might someday dissect them and make a Frankenstein story out of them.

I hope you all feel better about any dead projects you might have. Give yourself permission to walk away from the ones that don’t work. Especially if you have another book you can work on!

If you want to know more about my books that did make it to the light, check out my space fantasy, Mythical Investigations, and keep an eye out for the upcoming sequel!