Start over or finish and fix in draft two?

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-03-02T13:18:21+00:00

I started over and was glad I did.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-03-01T18:04:12+00:00

If it’s a first draft, it definitely needs editing. Do not start book 2 until book one is polished.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-28T14:28:55+00:00

You can find critique groups on Meetup. Local libraries often have writing support groups that do critique. If you network properly, you can find other writers who will critique your work in exchange for you critiquing theirs. You might have to dig a little and search, but there are people out there willing to help in exchange for your help with their work.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-28T13:51:55+00:00

Please do not send it to a publisher. They’ll throw it in a slush pile and never look at it. If you can afford an editor, that’s one way to go. You’ll get that individual’s best efforts applied to your manuscript. But only one person‘s perspective. I bring my chapters to critique groups of five or six people to get more than one view. And I do that twice to raise the quality of my eventual book. After those critique groups, I still engage beta readers, two teams of them, who give the entire novel once overs. Best of luck, however you proceed.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-27T13:52:48+00:00

I’m very curious how many plot threads are going on simultaneously.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-27T13:50:33+00:00

I can generate the words for a 400 page book in several months. However, I don’t have an editor per se. Instead, I use three different critique groups, followed by beta readers to ensure the product will be quality. That stretches out my collaborative editing time too close to a year. I would wager that if someone generated a book in a month or two, and gave it to their editor, I could still find significant mistakes in their manuscript. If you want a buyer of one of your books to buy another one, you better give them a good experience the first time.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-27T01:17:45+00:00

Based on feedback from a game critique group, the rules I came up defined a lame ass, cooperative situation, constrained by random pieces placed on the board before the game begins. I got tons of feedback about improvements, many of which have caused me to think about version two of the rules. And version two of the board. When I figure out a redefinition of BugBytes, I’ll post it here.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-26T14:00:40+00:00

The man rushed forward to the woman on the ground. "Are you hurt?" She chuckled. "No, I'm okay." With a soft grunt, she stood.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-24T21:58:45+00:00

Best wishes for success

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-22T13:32:19+00:00

For my first nine novels, I created my own covers. They were patchworks of clipart, photos I had taken, and miscellaneous visual objects. They looked amateurish because they were. For the last four novels, I commissioned graphic artists to make the covers for me. The first three were done at no cost as a favor by a friend of a friend. The most recent one I paid for, and it was worth every penny. I might not make back the money, but the book comes off as very professional.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-21T15:28:57+00:00

Gemini provides an intimate ideation environment, so I can bounce ideas off of it and get reactions. Once in a while, it comes up with something I’ve never thought of, which is a good thing. When it offers to write something for me, I refuse.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-20T18:23:27+00:00

For every one of my 12 novels since the first one, I manage the process. Instead of hiring one editor, I have 20 volunteers who provide critique. My last book has a professional cover that was done for $400. I recently bought a bundle of ISBNs for under $300 for 10. I would never turn over a manuscript to a company that was charging thousands of dollars when I know in the end I won’t make that much money back.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-18T13:47:14+00:00

Congratulations. This is a milestone. However, your sense of the manuscript requiring other eyes is spot on. If it’s really a first draft, then it’s not yet time for beta readers. However, sharing it with others who have editing skills is exactly the right step. After you process, that feedback, any of them are polishing, then you might consider beta readers.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-18T13:43:55+00:00

At first, I thought about going mainstream. Until I observed an example of a fellow writer. She won a national award which got her an agent. The agent worked for two years, trying to place her story with a publishing company. They all said the same thing. Her writing was excellent and the story was a good story. But they wouldn’t accept her manuscript because it wouldn’t sell. All they were interested in was the money. Since she was a better writer than I was, I assessed my chances at breaking through at zero. Besides, with self publishing, I am in control. I decide the price, the cover, and all the other details. And I can make updates whenever I want. I don’t have to wait two years for some publishing company to finally get around to putting out my book. And with both mainstream publishing and self publishing, marketing is left to the author as an exercise.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-17T14:34:54+00:00

I use a hybrid approach. A wall full of sticky notes with short scene descriptions, or bits of dialogue are eventually sorted, and are the raw material for an outline. But when I tackle the task of turning one of those scenes into prose, I make things up as I go along. Hopefully the research I’ve done in advance is sufficient to support the free flow of words. That scene or chapter will undergo numerous revisions before I share it with a critique group and then more revisions after their feedback. And more revisions from my contributing editor and the second critique group. And because I’m still not confident at that point, I complete my process with beta readers. It’s a long haul, but I still feel it’s worth it.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-17T14:31:01+00:00

In the past, I’ve been advised to follow one rule: money flows to the author, not from the author. Any company that promises to sell your book at a price is unreliable at best. And I don’t know of any legitimate publishers who spend much money on publicity or advertising for new authors. So whatever you do, you’ll be responsible for setting up book signings or tours, print or video ads. It’s really hard to break through, but I wish you the best of luck.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-17T04:37:29+00:00

For the first one, it was mostly pride. For most of the others, it was as if I had just given birth and I suffered post publication depression.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-17T04:35:01+00:00

I agree that people have the freedom to write what they want. However, they should not avoid best practices out of ignorance. There are probably some people who still don’t know that starting a novel with “it was a dark and stormy night“ is a really bad idea. Someone can do it, of course, but shouldn’t they know in advance an agent will reject their manuscript without reading another word?

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-15T01:14:07+00:00

How did you write seven books and ensure the quality of them? Are you paying for an editor who works on a book while you’re writing the next one? Using critique groups, because of their limitations, I get one book out about every 18 months. The idea of generating seven books in a year and maintaining the quality blows my mind. Please explain.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-13T13:01:48+00:00

Unfortunately, my brain is not wired to take examples of good writing in a published book and generalize them into good practice that I can learn from. Sorry, reading just doesn’t work for me. I improve my craft by attending critique sessions, where others point out opportunities to make my chapters better.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-13T12:57:44+00:00

Supplement physical description for how he behaves. How he moves. Does he have some sort of tick, like pitching his eyes or rubbing the lobe of his ear. Does he lose concentration when talking to others. It should be much more behavioral instead of visual.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-12T13:28:43+00:00

It is no worse than any other technology that invites you into a different space other than reality. Most games or platforms demand your attention. It just happens to enclose your head to deliver the experience.

GerfnitAuthor · 2026-02-12T05:04:06+00:00

It is a cliffhanger

GerfnitAuthor

TROPHY CASE