When I started doodling with this post, I was going to call it, What’s the matter with me?, because this was the week I expected to announce the publication of our newest novella, One Bride for Seven Brothers: The Fifth Brother. It turns out the story isn’t quite finished and, somehow, I’m surprised.
What’s the matter with me?
It bothers me that this is an unexpected turn of events because…well, I thought I was slicker than this. I’ve been a professional writer for years. A newbie might hit a few bumps in the road but the two of us? A pro writer should be able to lock her publication dates in stone. After all, Glynn and I had discussed the story, we’d outlined it extensively, and we’d even padded our projected time of delivery to allow for the unexpected. When the unexpected did happen, we still weren’t worried.
Okay, yes, we were a tinge worried about those particular life events but not about completing the story on time. We were pros, we were prepped, Fifth Brother was gonna get out on time. This wasn’t like Sixth Brother. This time, we had it all figured out.
There was only one tiny issue that was outside of our combined experience. Fifth Brother would be the first time that we’d ever written a sequel to a sequel. But the sequel-to-sequel thing wouldn’t have bothered any of our favorite writers (most of whom have written multiple follow-ups to their novels) and, if they could do it, we could manage the job, too. Right?
So you may be wondering why Fifth is now peeking at a January launch date. It somehow keeps getting longer. That was never part of the plan; this time, we were supposed to be trimming words, not adding them. I mean, I know Sixth Brother ran long, longer than the original One Bride, and I was surprised by that, too. So why am I somehow stunned that the third in the series is the longest tale yet?
I truly am, though. *sigh*
So that’s the bad news. The good news is, both of us really like the story we’ve written. It is inches away from a completed first draft and we’ll see that before Christmas. A second and third draft will go quickly, then we’ll ship the pages off to Beta Reader #1 and Beta Reader #2. Their suggestions will lead to still another version of the story and then – we’re done.
We’ll publish the story, tell the Good and Wise People on our mailing list, celebrate and take a week off. Before that week is over, giddy with excitement, I’ll want to discuss the next novella with Glynn. After all, it will be our first ever sequel to a sequel to a sequel, and I’ll want to get going. We’ll outline the story extensively, and I’ll optimistically decide it will take three months (tops) before it’s finished.
In other words, you can expect another What’s the matter with me? post sometime in early April, where I’ll be astounded that Fourth Brother is even longer than Fifth, and isn’t yet complete. I’ll probably be shocked that it won’t be done until May, and I tell you this in all sincerity. I am, sadly, not teasing at all.
What IS the matter with me?
What’s the matter with me?
It bothers me that this is an unexpected turn of events because…well, I thought I was slicker than this. I’ve been a professional writer for years. A newbie might hit a few bumps in the road but the two of us? A pro writer should be able to lock her publication dates in stone. After all, Glynn and I had discussed the story, we’d outlined it extensively, and we’d even padded our projected time of delivery to allow for the unexpected. When the unexpected did happen, we still weren’t worried.
Okay, yes, we were a tinge worried about those particular life events but not about completing the story on time. We were pros, we were prepped, Fifth Brother was gonna get out on time. This wasn’t like Sixth Brother. This time, we had it all figured out.
There was only one tiny issue that was outside of our combined experience. Fifth Brother would be the first time that we’d ever written a sequel to a sequel. But the sequel-to-sequel thing wouldn’t have bothered any of our favorite writers (most of whom have written multiple follow-ups to their novels) and, if they could do it, we could manage the job, too. Right?
So you may be wondering why Fifth is now peeking at a January launch date. It somehow keeps getting longer. That was never part of the plan; this time, we were supposed to be trimming words, not adding them. I mean, I know Sixth Brother ran long, longer than the original One Bride, and I was surprised by that, too. So why am I somehow stunned that the third in the series is the longest tale yet?
I truly am, though. *sigh*
So that’s the bad news. The good news is, both of us really like the story we’ve written. It is inches away from a completed first draft and we’ll see that before Christmas. A second and third draft will go quickly, then we’ll ship the pages off to Beta Reader #1 and Beta Reader #2. Their suggestions will lead to still another version of the story and then – we’re done.
We’ll publish the story, tell the Good and Wise People on our mailing list, celebrate and take a week off. Before that week is over, giddy with excitement, I’ll want to discuss the next novella with Glynn. After all, it will be our first ever sequel to a sequel to a sequel, and I’ll want to get going. We’ll outline the story extensively, and I’ll optimistically decide it will take three months (tops) before it’s finished.
In other words, you can expect another What’s the matter with me? post sometime in early April, where I’ll be astounded that Fourth Brother is even longer than Fifth, and isn’t yet complete. I’ll probably be shocked that it won’t be done until May, and I tell you this in all sincerity. I am, sadly, not teasing at all.
What IS the matter with me?
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