Sorry I have not been writing but it has been a nutty weekend. I finished the '2nd pass for print pages'--is that what they are called? The publishing jargon can get a bit disconnected and unfamiliar when I write it down. The same thing happens if I repeat the word "fork" to many times. This was the last opportunity I will have to adjust any small words, spacing or punctuation. Stressful. Not so much with the sleeping this weekend. But 582 pages later--I am done!
There were lines I clean forgot. Those moments are so interesting as I actually do not know what the next line will be. It is like discovering fantastic old jeans in your closet. By next February, when the book comes out, I hope to forget much more and find ball gowns in my closet. Hey look, it can happen to the words "ball gown" too. Now it sounds like a frilly dress strapped to a tennis ball.
And then there were the acknowledgements. These and the dedication are simultaneously the two chunks of text that I worry over the most. I tinker and switch and cross out and rewrite and erase--tricky as I have a terrible eraser, so mostly I smear--and generally pick at it. There is a point of critical mass where you do more damage than good. I think I passed that point about six months ago.
But now it is done. Mary, at the post office, who knows me and my gigantic stack of pages bound for Avenue of the Americas in New York was patient and helpful as always. She reads bits while I write out the address. And now I am going swimming...
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Priya, I've already publicly declared my intention to be the first person in Hilton Head (or all of South Carolina) to read Exit the Actress! Hope you had a great swim; it is almost real...Congratulations!
ReplyDeletethat is so lovely! i can't tell you how happy that makes me! i love that EXIT THE ACTRESS is going out to meet wonderful people like you!
ReplyDeleteWhen your book comes to India, you can be sure I'll get it :) And probably boast to people that I know the author well online ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm probably the only person who thinks so, but I LOVE reading acknowledgements. Some authors write such lovely, funny, witty, emotional acknowledgements that tell me as much about the author as about the work that has gone into the book :)
And congrats on 150 followers! :)
ReplyDeletekals, i love reading them too--that is what makes them so much harder to write! i know-- i just realized the plum is at 150--so exciting. definitely say that you know the author and that the author is a big fan of your writing!
ReplyDeleteThat must be such a lovely feeling to know you are nearing the end of your journey and can look forward to fresh ideas and storylines for your next adventure.
ReplyDeleteYep, a hand up here - I absolutely LOVE reading acknowledgements, and I am bitterly disappointed when there aren't any. I would be exactly the same, Priya, agonising over it as much as anything else I've ever written - I think for debut authors in particular it must feel like such a big, important chance to say a big fat public THANKS to the cheer squad, without which few writers could survive. I'm sure your acknowledgements -like your many supporters, no doubt - are lovely.
ReplyDeletevivienne, it is! i am up to my ears in the next book and miss nell terribly!
ReplyDeletedoctordi, so happy you love acknowledgments! now am worried that mine are not personal enough--have been worrying that they are too personal. you are right--it is impossible without the cheer squad!