Well, now - I thought you might be interested to know that I have just this morning sent off the full version of The Faerie Path Book Five: The Enchanted Quest, to the UK editors. Phew! Of course, as those of you who message me and get messages back may know, this is not the end of my duties with this book, or with any book.
What will happen now is that the UK editors will read it and get back to me with thoughts, suggestions and comments on how to make it even better. I will then make all the smart changes they suggest. These can include explaining things more clearly. (Just because I know what’s going on, doesn’t always mean I’ve explained it clearly enough for a reader to get it.) It can include taking stuff out where I explain the same thing twice, or take too long over explaining something! (Easily done when you’re in the middle of a longish book.) It can also include the editors suggesting a different order in which to present bits of the action, so the book flows better. (Again, in a book the length of The Faerie Path, it is easy to lose sight of the “story arc” now and then. I think it’s called “not being able to see the wood for the trees…” - a fairly normal writer’s problem!!)
Anyway, once everyone in the UK is happy with the book, it will then get sent to Harper Collins in New York, and - of course - they also have editors who will want to suggest changes…although far fewer now, hopefully. So, I get the book back again to do some final tweaking and nipping and tucking before we end up with a “final” version. This whole process usually takes about three months.
Everything then goes quiet for a few months - and then I get a “copy-edited” verson of the book - which looks pretty much the way it will look when it comes out in print. I and my UK editors will go through this for any mistakes that have crept in. Then, hopefully, the book will go off to be printed. And - believe it or not - by then most of a whole year will have gone by. And this is why The Faerie Path Book Five: The Enchanted Quest is not due to be published till January 2010.
So, what goes on in the book? Well, unfortunately, I can’t tell you a whole lot about that, because Book Four: The Immortal Realm is not due out till May this year, and if I tell you what happens in book five, it’ll give away some of what goes on in book four. It’s kind of annoying, actually - because there’s lost of things I’d LIKE to tell you - but it would spoil things for you to know in advance.
And there’s one particular thing that I’d love to let you know - but that doesn’t happen till book 6, so I have to keep really quiet about that for the next eighteen months. You can try guessing, if you like - but I shall refuse to let you know if you’re warm or cold or whatever.
One thing I can tell you about Book Five…or a hint I can give you, is to go back to The Sorcerer King/The Seventh Daughter - and go to the end of the book, just before Tania enters the Mortal Realm to get her parents - and read what Queen Titania says about The Divine Harper. That will give you a big clue as to what happens in The Enchanted Quest.
Well, that’s it for now - and in case you were wondering, I’m off to start thinking about Warrior Princess Book Three now!
[cross-posted from MySpace]