Meet the Editors

When I wrote my first book, I knew that I would need to have someone go through and do some editing.  They would find mistakes that I had missed and be able to tell me where the plot or characters needed some more development.  I could have paid for editing services.  There are several with varying degrees of thoroughness.  Some read just the first chapter, or the first ten pages and others read the whole the book.  The problem was those services are expensive and I didn't have much money to invest in publishing my book.

Right before I published my first book, I went to a women's conference where there were a couple of authors speaking.  One of them talked about her publishing journey and one of the things she suggested was to surround yourself with people who would be completely honest, but in love.  I needed to be able to trust that they would tell me the truth about the book and be able to show me where things needed fixed without crushing me in the process.

I chose three women to be my editors and each of them has this quality first and foremost.  They are able to tell me the truth of what they think in a loving way.  Another reason I chose them is that all three of them are avid readers.  Not only that, but they each like to read romance novels.  I figured if they like it, then other readers would, too.  Their help was extremely valuable and I've remembered the things that they told me when they read my first book so that I wouldn't make those same mistakes in the second book.

Kim Larsen, Ashley Beaulieu and Meghan James were the women who edited my first book for me and are currently editing my second book!  Kim Larsen is my mom and the woman who has introduced me to some of my favorite books and authors.  We have similar tastes so we often pass books around.  My mom is really good at being able to be honest, but loving.  She can give me helpful critiques in a way that's understandable and done in a pleasing manner.  I know my mom also has my dad, Pete Larsen, read my first draft as well and any grammatical question she has she refers it to him.  So I get two editors for the price of one when I send it to my mom.

Ashley Beaulieu is my younger sister and again is an avid reader.  Like mom and I, she shares our tastes in books and often our books make their way between the three of us.  I would almost venture to say that Ashley is my biggest fan.  I get messages every once in awhile that say things like "Hurry up and finish your book so I can read it!"  Whenever someone gives my book a review with a negative comment, my sister is the first to my defense.  I know that she would never give me any harsh criticism because she resents it so much when others criticize me.  Yet I also know that, like most sisters, she has no problem being honest with me.

Meghan James has been one of my best friends for years.  She was my maid of honor at my wedding and she's one of those people that if you just need a shoulder to cry on she'll be there - with a pint of ice cream.  Not only is she an avid reader and honest yet loving, but she also edits the children's materials at her church.  Meghan is the one who goes through and puts in commas that I've missed or takes out extra commas, finds my spelling errors and does basic grammatical editing for me.  While I'm writing I've been known to send a note to Meghan asking her if she knows the grammar rule in a certain situation.

I love all three of these women so much and I've been so thankful for their help and support through my publishing journey.  They've each contributed so much to make my books better.  Besides that, they're my cheerleaders.  I know they want to help my books succeed which is part of why they'll be honest in their critiques.  They want it to be the best it can be.  Thank you so much, girls!  I appreciate it immensely.

Best Laid Plans by Courtney Lyman

A Progress Report

I was able to make some really great progress this week!  Unfortunately, it was because I got sick.  I didn't have a whole lot of energy to do my housework, but I could sit in my chair and type.  This allowed me to complete my first draft of the second book!  It's always a nice feeling to get to the end of the book, but it's not quite ready for publication just yet.

The next step is a read through.  I try to read the entire manuscript in a few days.  This way I can pick up inconsistencies that I didn't notice throughout the months of writing.  I usually end up changing some typos and grammatical errors as well as find sentences that need to be changed for clarity.  I'm always a little nervous when I start this step that I'll start reading and think, "This isn't written well at all!  I should just start all over."  However, it's gone very well so far, and I have more the feeling of rereading a well loved book that I have read many times before.

I'm hoping to have the read through completed within the next couple of days which will bring me to the next step.  I will send it to my three favorite editors who have all assured me that they are eager to read through it.  When they are finished and have given me their suggestions, I'll make up my final draft and get the manuscript in the proper format for publication.

It's coming together well, and I'm so excited as each step brings me a little closer to seeing book two published.  If you would like to check out the first book in the series before book two is released, you can click on the link below.

Best Laid Plans by Courtney Lyman

On a Roll - sort of

As I'm heading to the end of the book, my writing is coming easily.  I'll start to type and my fingers just fly over the keys.  The characters are getting to the place where I've been driving them for the entire book.  It gets exciting, and I find myself absolutely enthralled with the story.  Sometimes when I'm writing, I have to take a break because I have no idea what should come next, or I stare at a blank screen hoping that something will hit me.  It's not like that right now.  I know exactly where everything is going and it's so much fun to watch it unfold.

Unfortunately, I seem to only be able to snatch little bits and pieces of time to work on it lately.  My fingers will be flying on the keys and then it's time to take my kids somewhere, or put them to bed, or get dinner ready.  Lately I've been lucky to type a page or two before I'm interrupted and have to save and quit.  It so frustrating because I am anticipating the end and wanting to get there, but it's going so slowly!

I'm hoping to be able to make some time this week and get a decent amount done!  I would love to have a large block of time to just sit down and write, but I need to be patient.

Best Laid Plans by Courtney Lyman

How Long?

One of the most common criticisms my book has received in the reviews is that it's too short.  Honestly, I'm not unhappy with that criticism.  I'd much rather hear "I wish it were longer" than "It should have ended long before it did".  I've always had difficulty stretching my stories out to a decent length.  There's a part of me that just wants to hurry to where I know it's going.  It's something I'm working on.

So where am I now?  In Microsoft Word, "Best Laid Plans" was 145 pages long (including title page, table of contents, etc.) which translated to approximately 125 pages on Kindle.  In book two, I am at about 122 pages (without the extra pages at the beginning) and at chapter twenty-two.  I'm starting to wonder if I can pull it off and make book two longer than book one.  I'm hoping to reach about 150 to 160 pages in Word.  The challenge is to stretch it out without making the story weaker because of it.

I've given myself a deadline to finish writing and it's looming.  I may be sending my husband and children out for a long dinner so that I can focus on getting it done.  Then I'll send it to my team of "editors".  Hopefully, all will go smoothly and there won't be too much rewriting.  I'm getting excited about the book.  I think it's better than the first which is what I always want to accomplish.  It'll be interesting to see if I feel that way when I do the read through and if my team agrees with me.

As always, I would love to hear from you if you have any questions, comments or advice.  Book one can be found by clicking the link below.

Best Laid Plans by Courtney Lyman