Back in Buildspace
Hey! How’s your stomach feeling?
Mine’s a little upset, churning through a discouraging meal and a layer of newfound stress. All those problems always trying their best to stay at the top of my mind.
Fortunately, I received some news last week that should be the perfect medicine to settle my gut and my mood.
I was accepted into Buildspace’s fourth season!
In other words, I’m in the running for another $100k prize!
Even if I don’t make it into the final 32, it’ll be an amazing journey and I can’t wait to turn my ideas into something real.
Great Works
If I’m telling the truth, I felt demotivated after the end of last season. I wrote and published Besnowed, but the surge of interest in my writing seemingly fizzled out after just a few short weeks.
Tired and dejected, I wasn’t sure I wanted to apply again.
What dredged up slivers of motivation was Maneus. That failure of a story that set me on the path of novel writing.
I remembered the passion I put into every word and the satisfaction I felt when it all came together. Maneus was something I built by my own hand. I didn’t want to see it lost in a growing pile of forgotten dreams.
The glaring issues dared and begged for me to give up.
So of course I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
I picked up the tattered rags and saw it as my next book. A better writer now, I could add the perfect polish to the shortcomings and long shots.
However, once I started reading over my long lost draft, I found myself more and more disappointed in my own writing.
And thus began the realization of how great a work lay in the editing. I have been shredding Maneus to bits. Rewriting nearly every word and rephrasing nearly every sentence.
Yet even in my disgust for myself, I can see what was always there. Beyond the mistakes and poorly written sections there is a captivating arc.
A story worth writing.
Six Weeks
The clock and calendar are already counting down. I have a month and a half to organize my thoughts and turn them into a presentable book.
Thankfully, my experience with Besnowed will make the process much smoother this time around. I have a better understanding of how to go from scribbles on a notepad to a physical book in the real world.
I’m familiar with the bigger hurdles and can point out the trickiest potholes as I drive down the messy round to publishing. At the very least, I will be putting in some safety measures to avoid first prints with fonts ten sizes too small.
The order of events looks something like this:
Finish edits and rewrites
Pass on the manuscript for proofreading
Submit everything to Amazon
Make sure the pages are printed correctly
Release Maneus to the world!
The plan is to have a copy in my hands before demo day!
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Journey Ahead
Like last time, I’m sure the first few weeks will be eaten up by editing. I expect to need a good week or two just to work through the text.
Once I’m done, I’ll have some help with proofreading from Molly and my dad. Between their two sets of eyes, I hope no typos and no errors slip through this time!
Molly has also helped out with the art and illustrations again. I’m not ready to share everything, but here’s a nice mix of the images found in Maneus.
I’m really looking forward to the journey ahead even if the butterflies in my stomach never truly settle.
My schedule will be busy but the effort is worth the outcome.
Until next time.
Cheers,
John