Ah Hell, that is a lot of Yellow! That was my first thought I had when I opened up Google docs to start on the first round of edits that Scarlett sent me. I breathed in deeply, let out a heavy sigh, and then repeat. It took a moment for me to get myself unstuck from the ceiling, but once I had, I quickly realized the editing really was not as bad as what I anticipated. Scarlett put my mind at ease once we discussed why there was so much yellow in my manuscript; I kept switching back and forth between past and present tense, sometimes in the same sentence even. This is not something I had noticed, nor do I think I would have if she hadn’t pointed it out to me. But….this is what editors do and I’m telling you right now, never ask me to be one for you because editing is not my cup of tea.

Scarlett and I seem to have a pretty good system going. I shared my manuscript with her, chapter by chapter in Google docs. She goes in, edits a chapter and then renames it when she has done her part; then I know it’s ready for me. I read her suggestions; I make the necessary changes, and rename it to let her know I’m done. Scarlett goes back in to check it over once more and then we agree that it is time to let the proofer do his part. Josh does the same thing; he proofs it, shares it with me, and Scarlett and I look it over and discuss. We are doing this one chapter at a time until we have reached the end. When it’s all done, we will start from the beginning and read through it all again to make sure that we are satisfied with the finished product.

I have a graphic designer who is currently working on my cover. Thank You so much AJ Linn, author of The Gentleman’s Series, for connecting me with Jameson. Jameson is very talented and has presented me with a couple of cover ideas, and working on a couple more.

After the edits began I wrote my epilogue, synopsis, dedication, acknowledgements, note from the author, and table of contents pages. The synopsis was challenging. How do I take 63,000 thousand words and turn them into a couple hundred? Well, I did it. And I’m working on perfecting it, so more to come on that.

I was worried about the epilogue because I have not started writing the second book, so I had no idea what I was going to say. Friday morning though, it hit me, like a brick to the head. I sat down and hammered out an epilogue that I’m pretty excited about. And what I like most about it is that I can branch off of it in a couple of different directions when I start writing Raven’s Undoing.

Scarlett and I talk almost every day discussing the editing of my book. She has had to remind me a few times that, “I am the author, and this is my story. I can tell it how I want to.” Also, that “I do not suck.” (I worried that I sucked when I first saw all the yellow…lol…). And she has also told me numerous times that what I’m going through is a very normal process and all authors have to be edited. That’s what the editors are there for. She is so supportive and encouraging. The more I work with her, my confidence as a writer increases. The editing process really isn’t that bad and I’ve learned some valuable writing tips and so much more….. Especially just how much I hate the color Yellow.

And so it begins the grueling and tedious process of editing. Okay, so maybe I’m over exaggerating with that statement because so far, it’s really has not been that bad. I officially started this process yesterday, April 5th, and just finished the edits on the 3rd chapter today. Oh, and while I’m talking about editing, I need to take the time to mention to you all just how much I LOVE my editor, Scarlett! This woman is Amazing. Not only is she good at what she does, but she is also very warm and caring and so easy to work with. I can honestly say now that she has become my friend and I’m looking forward to this journey with her.

So backing up again to this whole editing process and how it’s happening. Okay, even before that, I wanted to mention that I officially sat down and started writing this book September 28th 2013. I wrote my very last sentence on March 26th. Six months and almost 63,000 thousand words later, Raven’s Innocence was born.

After I finished the last sentence of my book, I felt completely elated! In fact, I jumped up from the computer and did a happy dance. I wanted to run outside and shout to the world, I DID IT! IT’S DONE! Instead though, I stayed inside and chanted that over and over again throughout the house and then let my friends and family know I completed the book. Yaye for me! Pat myself on the back! Woot Woot!!!!

And then reality smacked me in the face, this is only the beginning. My book is far from done. Sitting down and writing the story, that was the easy part. That was the fun part. Developing the characters, especially Raven and Grant, and giving them life and meaning. Watching the story unfold in my head and come alive on paper. I loved every minute of that. And each night I sat down to write a little more, I thought I knew what I wanted to say, but most of the time, once my fingers started dancing across the keyboard, my story would always take off in another direction. I never once made an outline and tried to follow. I sat down and started to write and I let the characters and their lives evolve in my head and blossom a little more each night.

Now comes the hard part of it: Editing, formatting, marketing, publishing, launching, and more marketing. The first three chapters of editing have been smoother than what I expected, but I must give credit to Scarlett for that. She introduced me to Google Docs and I LOVE IT! So easy! I have been uploading my book chapter by chapter then sharing them with her. She goes in, tells me everything I did wrong, and then I go back in and make the corrections. After my part is done, she goes through them again. I also love how we can be looking at them at the same time and use the chat feature to discuss. For anyone who has not ever used Google Docs, please try it. Seriously, it’s totally worth it!

Since I have finished writing the first book, I am missing the writing process. I already have the second part of this series written in my head, and even an idea for the third book. I want to get back to writing, STAT! But that will come in due time. Right now I need to focus on getting this first book ready to publish.

One suggestion Scarlett made to me was to keep a diary and blog about my experience through this publishing process. So here I am, and it keeps me writing something. I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated through this. I just might post a few more unedited excerpts as well. I also have a couple of more ideas to blog about, but I’ll keep those to myself until I’m sure about them. I don’t have an exact date I am aiming for to launch Raven’s Innocence, I have an idea of when I want to, but wanting and it happening are two different things, so mum’s the word until I get closer to that. It will be very soon though!

For now, I’m going to shut down my computer and give my brain a break. I’ve been editing all weekend and now this. I hope that I didn’t sound like I was just rambling on above, but if I did I apologize. I truly am mentally exhausted. Xx

~N~

We lay there in his bed, Grant on his back, me cradled in his arms on my side. I’m tracing the branches of his tattoo with my fingers, over his abs, up his chest, admiring the detail of the artwork and thinking just how breathtakingly beautiful it is, he is, all of him. He watches my fingers move across his body and I’m wondering what he is thinking right now. I feel exhilarated, yet exhausted. I think that was the best sex I have ever had in my entire life thus far. I grin while replaying it over again in my head.
“You have a beautiful smile, you know that?” Grant interrupts my thoughts. I stop tracing his tattoo with my fingers and I look up at him still smiling. He leans in and kisses me, but it’s soft and delicate, not powerful and possessing like it has been up until now. I like it.
“Thank You.” I break away and sit up, wondering what time it is. Grant watches me with his turquoise eyes while I peak around him to look at the clock by his bedside table. It’s almost 9 o’clock. Time is slipping away quickly. I wonder if Kat has text me yet to make sure I’m still okay. I wonder how her night with Ethan is going.
“Are you okay?” He asks.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I smile. “I didn’t realize it was getting so late.”
“It’s only 9 o’clock. The night is still young. We’re just getting started.” He has a sexy smirk on his face again. Just getting started? I don’t know that I can handle another round of that so soon. I let out a light-hearted giggle and slump back down into his arms. “Just getting started?” I repeat.
He laughs. “Why, was that too much for you to handle?” I can hear the smirking in his question.
“No, not at all. It was quite invigorating actually. Might have been the best sex I have ever had even.” I give him a teasingly look.
“Might have been?” His tantalizing stare is causing the blushing heat to rise in my cheeks again. “Well sweetheart, it looks like next time, I’m going to make sure that it is the best sex you’ve ever had. When I’m done with you, there will be no maybe about it.” Oh my.
“Looking forward to it.” I say teasingly.
“Are you?” He smirks but I just grin and nod my head. Grant’s face transforms from sweet to devious and I see a shift in his expression and thoughts. “Raven, be careful what you wish for.” Huh? I give him a questioning look. He takes his fingers and brushes a curl away from my face and tucks it behind my ear.
“I think I know what I want.” I’m trying to get him to explain his comment further. He lets out a heavy sigh, raises up, and peers down onto me. He cups my face in his hand and I notice his expression is hardened; it almost looks dark.
“Raven, I’m not sure that you do.”
I frown at him totally confused. “What do you mean?” I ask.
“You don’t really know me. Not like you think that you do.” Where is this coming from? “I don’t know if you really want to.” He holds my stare, waiting for me to say something but I don’t know what to say; talk about a change in mood. Jeesh.
“Why would you say that? I don’t understand.” I’m searching his hardened stare for a sign of emotion but can’t I detect what he might be thinking. “Grant, what is it? Why would I not want to know you?” I push his hand back and sit up next to him. I’m not understanding how we went from sexual bliss to dark and depressing here.
Grant doesn’t take his eyes off me, and suddenly I am aware of how naked and exposed I am and I feel very uncomfortable. I pull the comforter up and cover myself. Grant lays back, puts his hands behind his head, closes his eyes, and lets out a heavy sigh.
“I really like you Raven.”
“I really like you too. I thought we covered all that. So what is this about?” I’m feeling annoyed right now. I’m try not to let the hostility come through my voice but I’m not doing a very good job of it. He opens his eyes and tilts his head up and looks at me, but this time his expression has softened again.
“You know what, it’s nothing. Forget I said I anything.” Oh hell no. What? My eyes widen and I give him a ‘What the hell’ look. He reaches over and takes hold of hand, while still laying beside me. He knows I’m not going to just let this go that easily. “There’s a lot we don’t know about each other. There’s a lot you don’t know about me. And I think if you got to know the real me, you might run away scared.” Didn’t see that one coming.
“Run away scared? Why would think such a thing? So far, I like what I see, for the most part.”
“For the most part?” He raises an eyebrow at me.
“Well, you’ve had your moments the past couple of weeks, but that’s totally understandable, considering-“ I shut my mouth. Not going there. “Look Grant, when I first met you, I thought you were one of the kindest, most down to earth guys I have ever met. Not to mention sexy as hell.” He cracks a smile when I say that. “And I know we’ve had our challenges lately, but you’ve done nothing to make me want to run away scared. I don’t know why you think that I would, unless you turned out to be a total psycho or something; but I wish you would let me decide all that for myself.” Now I sound like I’m pouting.
Grant sits back up and wraps his strong sexy arms around me, pulling me into a warm tight hug. “Okay Raven, if you say so.”
“What do you mean?” I whisper.
“I mean, I’ll let you decide for yourself.” I feel his grip on me tighten as he hugs me harder. Then he cups the back of my head with one of his hands and in a dark whisper he says, “But you might lose your innocence in the process.”

Copyright ©2014 –ND White