Skip to main content

The Editing Process

I'm working my way through the publication process with an editor named "Gregg" from Amazon's wonderful CreateSpace self-publish assist service. The editorial staff has been extremely friendly and helpful if a little above me in terms of familiarity with all of the 'rules' of English printing. Gregg had these kind words to say in his first return letter to me:

OverviewThis is an engaging and intriguing novel. The rich detail about the school and its curriculum provides a nice sense of depth, but I am most fascinated by the moral ambiguity of the school and the headmaster. While you explicitly establish that the “Order” is not the Illuminati of popular myth, there is certainly a sinister quality to it, most clearly articulated in the last chapter. But at the same time, the headmaster himself is so thoroughly likable and fatherly that the hints of something sinister are all the more unexpected and unsettling when they begin to appear, and I find myself eager to see where this story is heading. I also like the contrast you set up between the principle of “detachment” that the school promotes and the effortless ability to connect, to produce love and harmony even within the “illusion” of existence, that Meela represents. I suspect that this represents the broad outlines, at least, of the choice Peter will ultimately have to make. I think you have definitely succeeded in making the reader want to read the next novel in the series. 

which was very encouraging and ennervating. Now the work begins as I take many of his suggestions and make the adaptations and corrections. By the time I'm finished with this process, I'm going to know my novel really well!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Architecture of the Buildings of Brig-Wallis Prep School, Part 3: Merchant House

Merchant House At the northwestern corner of the Brig-Wallis Preparatory School campus sits the wing of the Quad known as Merchant House. During the 17th and 18th Centuries, this part of the campus grounds had served a local merchant as both business site (with storefront) and family residence. According to the building's original functionality, the ground floor was used to conduct business of the day (there were, at various times, multiple retail stores on the ground floor). A spacious, high-ceilinged first floor contained the merchant family's living quarters. It included kitchens, living area, library, and master bedrooms. A second floor, beneath the rafters of the roof line, contained unheated, unplumbed, dormitory-style sleeping areas for the children and guests. Beneath the ground floor lay a fully functional basement which was used for dry storage, both personal and mercantile. The basement had below-ground road-side access near its west end. The west end is also where...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Architecture of the Buildings of Brig-Wallis Prep School, Part 4: Aubrey Hall

The Brig-Wallis Preparatory School for Boys campus's southernmost building, Aubrey Hall, was built over the site on which the pre-existing residence quarters for the Jesuit priests, their staff and animals, stood. With the purchase of the two properties on Polenstrasse late in 1806, it was quickly decided to raze these southernmost buildings and use Merchant House for the small school's initial residency. Throughout the first half of 1807, while debris and remnants were being cleared from the property, competing architectural design ideas were being commissioned. By June, a comprehensive design had been approved. The new campus would incorporate three new, inter-connected buildings  to be constructed to the south of, and connected to, both Merchant House and the Chapel. A general contractor had been hired, and various construction companies--Swiss, Italian, French, and German--had been hired to perform the task.      It should here be put forward the fact that the O...
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the author, Drew Fisher, actually believe what he's writing about?

The question has come up a few times whether or not I really believe the theories and "cause of the end of the world" scenarios that I write about in the Osiris Plan trilogy. The short answer is: Yes. The longer answer is: This story is representational of my current beliefs with regard to metaphysics, cosmology, and the meaning and significance of human life; I truly see the human condition as an adventure within a set of thespian opportunities.      What I hope to imply here is that I am still growing; I am trying the to best of my abilities to remain open to new information--to remain open and willing to continue the process of expanding my beliefs, of continuing to be discriminating yet accepting and inclusive of new ideas and experiences. My beliefs and knowledge have, I think, been evolving in a way that I'd like to think are expansive. My conscious perspective has been progressing from narrow, ego- and anthropo-centric, to broader, morespiritual-based.   ...
Post a Comment
Read more