The Manuscript has arrived!

Well, I got my second draft back from my FABULOUS editor and now it’s time to get the last “clean ups” done and write my mega convincing cover letter to the prospective agent.  I’ve got my blog up and running to start to get some publicity, and have just started a Twitter account- martyalmquist is my “handle”- easy, right?

For those of you thinking of writing a novel, or who have started one, or who have written, and re-written one, an editor is KEY. I had done six or seven updates to my original, based on comments from friends, and I literally couldn’t stand re-reading it any more. But I knew it was still dragging.  Then came the moment when a group of friends said, “If you’re serious about this novel, you need to hire an editor.” And one friend actually had someone to recommend (because that was one of the reasons I hadn’t “gotten” an editor yet). The other reason was money. I had to be sure enough of what I’d written to 1) send it off to a professional and 2) be willing to pay someone to fill it with slashes and cross-outs and corrections. I was VERY lucky because the person she suggested 1) liked what I’d done and 2) thinks like I do so her suggestions and questions make total sense to me.

I’ll be working hard all weekend and over the Thanksgiving day holiday to get the manuscript and letter into shape!