122,939 words over eight months of writing.
I can now happily announce the the first draft of A Third Kind of Madness is finished! *throws confetti*
If you’re unfamiliar with the writing process, you may not know what this means. Next up comes revision, including several rounds of editing from me. I’ll make as many passes over the manuscript as I feel is necessary in order to make the tightest version I can craft on my own.
Somewhere in that process, I’ll get a few trusted beta readers to look it over and give me feedback. Does everything flow well? Does it make sense? Any questions or concerns about plot, characters, details? I’ve already had my #1 alpha reader reading through as I’ve written the chapters; he’s pretty good about catching egregious errors or letting me know if something got lost, but I’ll want fresher eyes for the revision process.
Once I get through that, it’ll go off to a professional editor, who will watch for spelling, syntax, and grammar issues. They’ll also keep an eye on my style and pacing. Basically, they’ll help me polish up my story so that it’s fine tuned. It’s definitely one of the most important parts of the process!
Once the editor and I have gone back and forth about changes and I’ve implemented all the ones I want to keep – which is usually most of them – then I do another pass, looking for anything I might have missed. If you’re thinking “wow, you’ve read this story a lot of times by now,” you’d be right. And I’ll read it many more times, or at least scan it, as it moves through the steps of layout and design, then when I get the proofs.
…good thing I really like the stories that I write!
A few fun stats.
You might note that the total doesn’t quite match the end word count. That’s because I had actually started writing this story in a different form a while ago, then abandoned it to work on Cast a Shadow of Doubt. I revisited what I’d written after I finished CASOD and gave it a complete overhaul, with changes to some of the concepts and characters. It’s vastly different from where it began!
I don’t write every day. That shows in my daily averages, and that’s okay. I’ve talked before about how even when I’m not physically typing in my manuscript, I’m always writing. A lot of that is mental or supportive work: thinking through scenes, doing research, even doing things like making mood boards or character sketches. I also do things like write blog posts and content for my Ko-ki supporters, and post/interact on social media. Oh, and do live readings and interviews.
Speaking of – my interview at Sue L. Bavey’s Sue’s Musings went up this week! I talk about why I decided to self publish, the genres and media that I enjoy, my advice for aspiring writers and more. You can read it here: https://suelbavey.wordpress.com/2023/07/13/indie-spotlight-christiane-knight/
On July 22nd I’ll be a guest on Melinda Kucsera‘s Fantasy, Lore, & More podcast. She’s one of the 300 authors in SPFBO and decided to take some time to interview other entrants in the contest, like me! In the meantime, you can enjoy the 24 other interviews she’s conducted so far – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrxjkyxsLI1YL8-K_qvcew7YqirEssHd- is the link! I’ll make sure to post the interview directly when it’s up, as well. I’m looking forward to this a lot!
That’s all the big news I’ve got for now. As of today I’m still a viable contestant in SPFBO, so keep your fingers crossed for me. There are SO MANY great books that In Sleep You Know is up against, which honestly is excellent…except for my TBR pile, which is growing exponentially.
What a terrible problem to have!
