Finished Revising The Vase

I know. For the umpteenth time. The writing is as polished as can be. I originally wrote this story more than ten years ago. It was well written then, but like anything, the more you do something the better it gets. And the better you get at doing it. So after all these years of revising, polishing and making the story catch up to the times, the manuscript is ready to go. Now if only an agent would request to read it, I am confident said agent will be impressed. It's an uplifting story. It features a topical issue, and has a lot of conflict. But it has a happy ending. And when finished reading it, the reader will feel good about the world. That's what I wanted and that's what I achieved.

The Vase - a novel of suspense in Nazareth

This blog is named after my second novel. The Vase. It has nothing to do with my first novel. Killer of Killers. My third novel, Killer Eyes, is the sequel to Killer of Killers. But The Vase is the novel I expect to hit the big time. And for many reasons. Like all five of my novels, it's excellently written. Even more so since I've revised it time and again even after it's original publication. The same is true for all the five novels I've written. But The Vase has a topical premise. Which is the conflict that is happening right now in Israel. I wrote the book way before the current conflict. That doesn't matter. The conflict in Israel has been ongoing since 1948. And it seems to be a conflict that will never be resolved. I wrote the story because the premise of ancient recordings being viewed in modern times was a premise that had never been done before. Only in my book, The Vase, has this premise been explored. Still, it takes more that an original premise to make a great novel. It takes great writing, and great characters, and a great storyline. Well, forgive me for saying so, but The Vase checks all of those elements. The story is great. The characters are great. And the writing, espcecially after all the revising, is outstanding. I still believe in this book. As soon as it gets published again, it should be marketed correctly this time, because I'm shooting for mainstream publishers. And then...it will make a splash. And once it does, then back to my music. Can't wait to resume the writing of Volume 15. (Yet to be named.) I've written four songs on it so far, but right now I'm focused on republishing The Vase. Hopefully an agent will see in it what I see. We'll see.

The Vase - Revising to keep up with the times

I had originally written The Vase almost twenty years ago. I had used the electronic devices in the story that I was most familiar with at the time. Like iPods, earbuds, phonographs, and cameras that took traditional photos. But the years have passed and now I have a familiarity with the devices of today. Intead of iPods, it's all about iPhones. Instead of earbuds, it's all about AirPods. Instead of phonographs, it all about online listening platforms. (SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, etc...) Instead of traditional photos, it's all about apps on your laptop computer. So... I had a lot of revisions to do. I have to keep up with the times. But the story still holds. It's a great story.

Revising The Vase (Again)

With the horrid events of the current times, I believe The Vase is a more apt story than ever before. I seek no fortune and no fame, but it's a story that has everything to do with what is happening in Israel at the moment. For those of you who do not know, the story in The Vase, as it explains above is about the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I may not be an Israeli, and I may not be a Palestinian, but that doesn't mean I can't write. I can. And I can come up with a very interesting story, which I have. The Vase. I will finish revising it, to make it a better-written book, and maybe, just maybe, I can get another agent. Years ago, when I had an agent, she was unwilling to work with a story that involved terrorists. Hopefully that's not the mindset of all agents. Let's see.

Writing Improved

During this "hiatus" stage which three of my novels are in right now, I've been rewriting each one over and over again, improving the writing, or the prose, or whatever you want to call it. And I have succeeded beyond even what I had thought possible. At this point the writing for Second Chance, The Vase, and John Dunn are many times better than what they were for their first publications.

Not to say anyone who bought and/or read any of those three books will have enjoyed it less for having done so. But I'm a perfectionist. As all artists should be. I don't settle. Meaning I don't content myself for any job I've done on anything that might have been done better.

I had already established to myself that the more I reread and revised any of my books, the better it became. So I didn't stop. Until they were published. But then, with those three books, the publishers went out of business. So that meant, to me, anyway, I had another opportunity to make those books even better. So for the last several months, I've been doing just that. And I've rewritten all three by this point. I just finished Second Chance, and I am very proud of how that came out. Now I've returned to The Vase. For the umpteenth time. And I'm making that one better than ever.

I've taken a break from John Dunn, my longest novel. Not to worry. I've rewritten that one at least three times over since its original publication, and it too is way better than it was for its first appearance in the book world. And when I'm done with this current rewrite of The Vase, you can bet that I'll return to John Dunn and make that one better still.

I'm doing the same thing with my music. I had written over a hundred songs during my musical creativity years, which was about twenty years ago. It lasted until about fifteen years ago. Which means for about five years of my life I dedicated my creative self to creating music. Before that I was more into creating art, as in drawings, paintings, and sculptures. But I switched to music for those years, because I had a musical background, having played the piano and keyboards for a rock band in the early days of my life. I didn't get too far into composing music at that point, however, so when I dedicated myself to writing music, the creativity flowed.

Now, these years later, I'm doing the same thing with my songs that I'm doing with my books. I'm making them better. I guess the proper term is rearranging them. As the songs remain basically the same, but with some "editing" so to speak, which is making them way better.

It's an interesting point in my life. My older son is grown, my younger son is a teenager, and I have more time to work on my personal goals. One of which is to put all my songs into the "albums" that I had originally envisioned them to be. I have only one on SoundCloud right now. Click on the Rockin the Cosmos icon in the right margin of this blog and you can hear it. It's Volume 12 of my collection of songs. I have another one ready, the Rockin the Afterlife album, which is Volume 13.

What I consider to be "ready" is when I have all the elements finished, which includes the vocals. And I've only put vocals on three of my "albums" so far. Volume 2, Volume 12, and Volume 13. That means Volume 1 and Volumes 4 through 11 are still in need of having the vocals included before I can call them ready. Volume 12 is "ready" and that's why it's over there for anyone to hear. Again, my singing sucks, but if you can get past that, I think the musical compositions are very well arranged with catchy tunes, and an intriguing "concept album" format.

And all the while, I'll keep making by books better. Who knows. They may get published again, and if they do, they'll be better than ever.

Another Year Almost Up

Wow, it's December again. My birthday is near, and of course the Christmas holidays are coming up. It's time for family and good tidings, and hopefully that means good tidings in the publishing world when it comes to my three available novels. They are The Vase, which is one of the books that had been popular with publishers. John Dunn; Heart of a Zulu, which I would think would be popular with UK publishers, since it directly involves UK history. And Second Chance; a Football Story, which could be a book for Young Adult audiences, or anyone who love a good football story.

In any case, I'll keep submitting as much as I can. I submitted The Vase and John Dunn to a UK publisher just today. So that means another three month wait or thereabouts. Time is up for the other publishers I had submitted to. And of course there is that publisher that contacted me. They are called JustFictionEdition Publishers. They are a European publisher. I can't think of any good reason why I shouldn't go ahead and publish with them. So I'll make a list as follows:

Reasons for going with JustFictionEdition:
1- As I mentioned. they are a European publisher. And The Vase and John Dunn might be more appealing to European audiences. Especially John Dunn for UK audiences.

2-They make their books available on the international market. And The Vase and John Dunn might be more appealing to international audiences because The Vase takes place in Israel, and John Dunn takes place in South Africa.

3-I have an offer on the table. Well, no contract as of yet has been offered, because I haven't yet submitted to them, but the outlook is good.

4-The royalties are a little higher.

Reasons for not going with JustFictionEdition:
1-American bloggers on publishing seem to frown upon them. Why? I don't know really. I've researched them, and no one seems to have a real reason. The foremost reason is that they are not one of the Big Five publishers. But a lot of publishers aren't Big Five publishers, but they're still good publishers. So what the heck...

2-There is a misperception that they are a Vanity Press. But they are really NOT a Vanity Press. Because a Vanity Press or Vanity publishers make YOU, the author, pay THEM to publish your book. JustFictionEdition does NOT make the author pay them to publish their books. They cover all costs, just like any real publisher. So therefore, they ARE a real publisher if that is the criteria. So it's a misperception only, and not a real reason to not go with them. So, what the heck...

3-The bloggers almost unanimously agree that an author should never go with a publisher who solicits THEM to publish their book. But again, they don't provide a reason why. Again, they suggest that all publishers who solicit authors are Vanity Presses. And it IS mostly true. Vanity Presses DO solicit authors to publish their books, because that's how Vanity Presses make their money. Not by selling books, but by getting authors to pay them to publish their books. But I've already covered the fact that JustFictionEdition is NOT a Vanity Press. So again, what the heck...

4-The royalties are a little higher. But that would be a reason to go with them, so what the heck.

According to my lists, then, maybe I should go with JustFictionEdition. I think I'll email them and ask a couple more questions. Maybe they are the real deal. I mean who said they aren't? A bunch of snobs who've been lucky enough to find Big Five publishers? Or have they? Maybe I don't need to listen to them. Hhhmmnnn....

The Vase, Second Chance, and Heart of a Zulu

Since two of my publishers have gone out of business, three of my books are out of print. The Vase, Second Chance, and Heart of a Zulu are no longer available with two exceptions. On Amazon, there are two more books left of Second Chance, and one more book of Heart of a Zulu.

Because of that, the price of Second Chance has skyrocketed. Two hundred forty-nine dollars. That hasn't happened with Heart of a Zulu yet. So if you're inclined to read a true story that takes place in South Africa during the nineteenth century, you'd better jump on that. It's still listed at 14 dollars.

As for Second Chance, well, I don't expect anyone to pay over two hundred bucks for a book. Even if there are only two copies left. I am, after all, trying to find new publishers pretty soon. Unless some collector wants to get the now rare copies of first editions. There are collectors who do that. Usually they are well-to-do people who have the money to spend on thing like that.

The first issue of Superman sold for over a million dollars. And that was a ten cent comic book. So you never know. In fifty years, or a hundred years, anything goes.

The Vase - Book revised

As the second book I had written, The Vase had already undergone several revisions. It was my first book to be revised with the lessons I learned from a real editor. Meaning not just a Beta reader. The editor was from the now defunct publisher Penumbra Publishing, and the lessons were vital to my future as a novelist. And with five novels under my belt at this point, it was indeed vital.

It's true that Melange - the publisher for my first book, Killer of Killers - advised me on much of what the Penumbra editor taught me. But it was Penumbra that really drilled the lessons home. And from that point on I became a much better novelist - an author who writes novels.

I went back and applied those lessons to Killer of Killers, of course, and Melange was gracious enough to allow me to do that. And since Penumbra folded, I have been going back over The Vase, time and again, revising and revising, improving the prose, and yes, even making better judgment calls on the original edits.

The Vase is being rewritten, not only in the application of the lessons I learned, but with the original intent on how the story unfolds. The editor had his own ideas, and applied them to a small degree to my story line. I made it back into the way I wanted it, with one exception. I had originally intended for Professor Weiss to relay his version of the climactic events in a flashback scene, as if the reader was experiencing the event "live". But the editor wanted the events "told" by the professor after Captain Mathias caught up to him and asked him what happened.

I think that was the better option. And the reason is because the events Weiss relays contain some controversial, or even questionable, occurrences, and when those controversial and/or questionable occurrences are told after the fact, then the reader can use his or her own judgment as to whether those event really happened the way the professor told them to the captain.

Otherwise, the reader will be experiencing the events as did Professor Weiss, and they would be more akin to seeing it as what really happened, and then there would be no questionable aspect involved.

So yeah, the editor did contribute much to that book, not only in teaching me all the current rules for writing a novel, but made the right call for that particular post climax scene.

And as I revise The Vase for the umpteenth time I am greatly improving the prose, making every single paragraph on every single page the best writing as humanly possible. It's truly a work of art at this point. I can't wait to resubmit to publishers when I'm finally done. Multiple publishers had accepted it for publication in its original state. Cant wait to see the results when I submit it now that it's a vastly superior book to what it was then.

John Dunn and Second Chance soon to be not available

Just to let you know, both John Dunn; Heart of a Zulu and Second Chance; a Football Story will no longer be available as soon as what's left on the the Amazon stores are sold out. I see that Heart of a Zulu is down to one on Amazon and perhaps a few more that are available through outlets that sell through Amazon, and the same is true for Second Chance. How long that will last is anyone's guess.

I know from a collector's perspective that that could be a good thing. Collectors have a penchant for collecting things that are not available anymore. And those two books, at least in their current states will no longer be available pretty darn soon. Like I've been saying, I'm trying to get them published with other publishers, but the books of Knox Robinson will soon go the way of the dinosaur, and that means those two books as well.

That's what collectors live for. Collecting rare items. And very soon, KRP books will be just that. The same is true for first editions. And those editions from KRP will soon be the only editions. So just saying. Get them now before they are no more. Because no more editions will be printed. And what's there now is all there will be.

Until further notice I mean. And when they are published again, you can bet they will be better versions. Because I'm improving everything about them at this point. That means The Vase too. Whenever The Vase is published again, it will be a superior book. The writing for all three will be superior. And for me, as an author, that is the most important thing. It's the writing that shows the author's effort. And boy have I put in the effort SINCE the original publication of all three books.

I've been rereading my Killer books lately, too. I'm amazed at how well written those two books are. I wouldn't need to do too much rewriting for those. A few dialogue tags could be eliminated and perhaps a word here and there but that's about it. I'm glad for that. We'll see how things go.

Heart of a Zulu to be submitted again

I was celebrating my opportunity to submit both John Dunn; Heart of a Zulu and The Vase to Big Five publishers recently. The Vase has been submitted to Macmillan and Penguin Random House. And Heart of a Zulu is submitted to Penguin Random House as of last week. But tomorrow I will also submit it to Macmillan. That will be two of my books submitted to two of the five of the Big Five.

Yeah I know my chances are slim. But I am confident in the overall quality of both books. Meaning the writing in both is top notch and the stories are top notch. After ten years of taking novel writing seriously, my writing has evolved to the point that exceeds most novel writers out there at this time. I'm not saying I'm the best writer in the world. But I'm a lot better than many.

So that means the writing is good enough. More than good enough. As for the stories? Let's take a look. Let's start with The Vase. Here is a story with a premise that has never before been used in any kind of story anywhere. In no book, movie or TV show has the premise of a story included ancient recordings. That's because in ancient times, recording was not possible. Well, of course recording was possible in the form of ancient writings. Like the Bible, and the writings of ancient historians. We've all heard of Herodotus, Thucydides, Tacitus, and the like. They "recorded" the ancient events of their times. But they recorded those events in the only way possible back then. In writings.

But I'm talking about recordings as we know recordings today. AUDIO and VIDEO recordings! And I'll say it again. No book, movie, or TV show has featured ancient AUDIO and VIDEO recordings of ancient events ever. Because it wasn't possible to do that back then.

But wait. If the atmospheric conditions were such that electromagnetic phenomena were happening at the time, then audio-video recordings just might have been possible in the grooves of a spinning vase. And once that vase had been fired in a kiln, and became eternal bisque-ware, then those recordings could possibly survive the millennia to this day.

And that's the premise in the story of The Vase! (And it's why the book is called The Vase!) I can't fathom how any editor or publisher couldn't find that concept fascinating. It's why so many publishers offered me contracts when I first proposed the book. At least five publishers were interested in publishing that book. Unfortunately, none of the publishers were Big Five publishers, so no Big Five publisher was aware of it. Back then you needed an agent to submit to a Big Five publisher. Alas...

But I'm not a newbie to publishing anymore. I'm savvy to the ins and outs of publishing and now I have this opportunity to submit to some Big Five publishers. And it's all for the better. I mean after so many years, I've become a better writer, as I was saying. And with another chance to improve the prose that's just what I've done. And of course it makes the chances of being accepted by a Big Five publisher so much greater.

The same thing is true with John Dunn; Heart of a Zulu. Here is another fascinating story, maybe more so because the story is actually TRUE. It's based on the true story of John Dunn and features the real historic events of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. And I know a lot of people are interested in that war. Also, the genre speaks for itself. Readers love historical fiction, and even more people love historical fiction which is based on a true story. And the John Dunn story is underrepresented in books. There have been a couple, but they are out of print and the current supply of books offers next to nothing in the way of the John Dunn story. Thus, the timing of the John Dunn book is just right.

Here's hoping that Macmillan or Penguin Random House will see it that way too. I know the writing and the stories are excellent. I'm hoping the editors of Macmillan or Penguin Random House will agree and I'll have some good news in about three months. That means I should know something by this coming May. Fingers crossed.

Heart of a Zulu Submitted!

As of today, my John Dunn; Heart of a Zulu manuscript is submitted to Penguin Random House. I'll also submit it to Macmillan. Two giants in the publishing world. Members of the Big Five. I would submit to the other three publishers too if I can figure out how to do it without an agent. I'll keep trying. Like I said before, being published by the Big Five is "making it" as a writer.

That doesn't mean writers who aren't published by the Big Five aren't successful and haven't "made it." After all, the best example of that is J.K. Rowling whose Harry Potter series of books were all turned down by the Big Five publishers. She was published by an independent publisher, and look at her now. I'm sure they're kicking themselves at this point.

So I'll get Heart of a Zulu submitted to Macmillan by next Monday. Can't wait. The Vase is submitted to Macmillan and Penguin Random House at this point. I am very confident in both of those books. But still, it's an uphill battle for me. After all. I'm an unknown. With no connections. With no relatives or friends in the publishing business, and no celebrity status whatsoever. That's not a good combination when looking for success in the publishing world. Still you try. Or you quit. Take your choice.

Didn't Send John Dunn yet

I have said often not to rush your submissions. And that is why I did not send my John Dunn; Heart of a Zulu submission yet. It wasn't quite ready. I wanted to send it last Friday, but what the heck. Monday is still soon enough. Or Tuesday for that matter. Or Wednesday.

The point is make sure it's ready. Make sure it is as good as it can be. Because after you send it, that's it. And trying for a Big Five publisher like Penguin Random House is an opportunity you can't mess up. That's why I spent nearly six months improving The Vase before I sent it last week. The Vase is as good as it can be right now. I am very confident in the chances it has with PRH. Or any publisher for that matter. Fingers crossed on that. Because I'll need all the luck I can get. I am still an unknown author to them. I have no credentials as far as they are concerned. They don't know me from Adam.

And that's the problem with my efforts. I'm a nobody. And nobody's like me have next to no chance with a publisher, with an agent, or whatever. Unless you're famous for one reason or another, like a former pro athlete, a movie star, a rock star, a politician, or a relative of one of those, you have to know someone, for a publisher to take notice. You have to have connections.

So having no connections and knowing no one in the publishing world makes it a long shot for me to make it with the Big Five. But nobody's have made it before. They got lucky. I hope I will too.

Penguin Random House up next

I am now submitting The Vase and John Dunn to Penguin Random House. Never mind how I'm doing that without an agent. It's possible. I have blogged before about loopholes to reach Big Five publishers without an agent. I've tried before and will keep trying as long as it's possible.

Sure, you can't get your hopes up. Sure, the odds are still against me. But I believe in my stories. I believe in my writing. Meaning I'm not too humble to admit the writing is excellent. Especially now since I've been making the writing better and better every day. That means for The Vase and for John Dunn. And for Second Chance, too. I'll be getting to that one soon.

I've concentrated on improving the prose in The Vase over the last six months. And I've been working on improving the writing for John Dunn, too. I just submitted The Vase. So for the next three months, that one will be on hold. I'll try to submit John Dunn tomorrow.

So yeah. Losing a publisher is not a good thing in one way. But it's a good thing in another way. The good thing is that you get another chance to make your books better. And you get another chance to find an even better publisher.

That's what is happening now with The Vase, John Dunn, and Second Chance. I'll keep on working and working until it happens. That's all anyone can do. And I will.

Heart of a Zulu and Second Chance already better

Since I've been revising and/or re-editing, and/or rewriting The Vase, Heart of a Zulu, and Second Chance, they are already tons better. One of the reasons is that I redid all the things my previous editors didn't want in there. For Second Chance that includes a few scenes or a few parts of a few scenes. For John Dunn, it only includes rearranging some parts, and for Second Chance it includes returning an entire scene in the beginning.

They were still great, but in my opinion, they're better and it's because they are back to the way I wanted them to be. Of course when you go over something again after a while, you always think of new ways to make it better and that's especially true for a novel. I'm making the story and the writing a lot better for the John Dunn book because I'm thinking of new ways to make it better.

For one thing, I made a bigger deal with Dunn's acquisition of the Snider breech-loading rifle than I did at first. And I made note of another Zulu chieftain who appears in the beginning and ending. I put him in the middle too, so as not to have forgotten about him, only to see him return in the end.

In Second Chance, the initial scene that shows Tony in the alley is returned. The story ends with him in the alley, and in the way it was published the reader is surprised to find him there. But now it's back and the reader will know why he's there in the end because it's where he was at the start. At the story's conclusion we return to the scene, so to speak.

With The Vase, there were all sorts of changes that I changed back to the way I wanted them. For example, when Captain Mathias and Mary Levin fight the terrorists, I had it so that the terrorists had found Mary's gun and threw it off into the night before they engaged her in a fight. That had been deleted. But now it's back and better than ever.

So yeah. For the next few months, I will keep on making these three books better. But heck, they're already much better. Well, they'll be getting better still. All the better!

New Year - New Hope

Well the new year is here, and with it comes new hope. I have two books with a publisher who doesn't seem to have any inclination of going out of business. That would be Melange Books, the publisher of Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes. Melange has treated me well, and the books sell, seemingly well enough, albeit with inconsistency. But what do I expect? Melange is a POD publisher, and that means no bookstore placement. All sales are online, either through the Melange website or Amazon. I think there are other online sites, too. Like Smashwords, and such...

But the new year brings the fact that one of my other publishers will go out of business. Knox Robinson, as I had said in an earlier post, is throwing in the towel. I had placed them as a higher ranked publisher, because I was under the impression they were not a POD publisher and would get their books into bookstores. Alas, that was not to be, because they are folding this month, and that's that. The rights to John Dunn and Second Chance will be reverted to me and with that reversion comes new hope.

And what is that new hope? Another shot at the Big Five. I think an author can truly call his career a success if he makes it to the Big Five. But that takes a connection, I suppose. You look at several of the Big Five books, and many of them suck. Worse than Disney's Star Wars, too. I mean really suck. You ask yourself how is it that the Big Five published these books, when they suck so much. It's an unanswered question.

But whatever. I have three books now that are available to be placed with a new publisher. I can go with my remaining publisher, Melange, but again, I want higher stakes with those books. Melange is good for my Killer books, since they were the first publisher to believe in me. But with The Vase, John Dunn, and Second Chance, I will shoot for the moon. Why not? They are great books, with great stories, and great writing. You never know unless you try.

So while I'm still kickin' I'll keep on trying. Never give up, never surrender. that was a line from Galaxy Quest. That was a great movie, btw. Loved it.

Good News, Bad News

Yes, there is both. Good and bad news. Let's start with the good news. It's not all that monumental, but good news is still good news. And that is The Vase is better than ever. I've always said that rewriting makes a book better. And The Vase sure is better. And that's because I've been rewriting it for the past couple of months big time.

Yes I sent the first hundred pages to Macmillan Australia. And I've even rewritten some of those pages as well. I've got a couple months under the belt now with that submission. That leaves four more months to wait as they said it takes about six months to get back to you.

So in the meantime I've just been rewriting the prose of the story. Certainly the story is the same. But with the prose so much better, that can only help my cause. Fingers crossed.

Now the bad news. And that is yet another of my publishers is going out of business. Or in their (her) words it's "closing." That would be KRP, AKA Knox Robinson Publishing. I got the word a few days ago. Yes it is sad. I thought KRP had a lot of potential, not just for my books, but for all their books. I thought they were going nowhere but up. And with two of my books on their list, Second Chance and John Dunn, I was glad for that.

But not to be. But this bad news carries with it a silver lining. And that is the same silver lining that the closing of Penumbra Publishing had. Which is now I have another chance to rewrite those two books also. And I certainly will. Not that the writing actually needs to be improved. I've already pointed out that no matter how good the writing is, it will always get better with rewrites.

I'm focused on The Vase right now. And then I'll get back to John Dunn and Second Chance. And once the rights to those two books are reverted back to me, I'll start submitting them again for publication. It's a chance to crack the Big Five again. I will take that chance and I'll make the most of it. Which is exactly why I'm considering the closing of KRP a silver lining. Like Penumbra and The Vase, the books will be a lot better, and the chance to crack the Big Five will be highly improved.

So, really, I can't wait for it all to happen. I'm so thrilled with how good the writing is in The Vase, and I'll have the same thrill for John Dunn and Second Chance. As for Macmillan Australia? Like I said. Fingers crossed. The New Year has a lot to look forward to.

The Vase is Better than Ever...

With the rewrites, my novel, The Vase is better than ever. It has vastly improved in the prose, and that was only because I was relentless in making sure the prose is as good as it can be. Sadly that includes parts that I had already submitted. I had submitted to a couple Big Fives and some agents. But Since then I have rewritten many parts. That means, once again, I should have waited before submitting.

It's the same mistake I've made often. Which is being in too much of a hurry to submit. Patience is a virtue, and that has been said often. I tried to instill that virtue, but when it comes to submitting, I guess that particular virtue escapes me. I can only hope that at the stage of writing the manuscript was in at the time I submitted, it was good enough.

My reasoning for improving even the parts that had been submitted is that if the full is requested, then when whoever reads it, they will read an even better version. So that is my hope. I have learned also that being hopeful is almost useless. you hope for this or you hope for that, and it seems that just the fact that you find yourself hoping means that it's already a lost cause.

How many times have you hoped for something that didn't come to pass? Hoping means that something is either impossible or near impossible. And then if the impossible happens, it's more like a miracle. But, yeah, I suppose miracles do happen. So, here's to hoping.

Be Careful with Rewrites

I had finished the rewrite of The Vase, and I have started another rewrite. But I'm catching myself being too picky. I had said before that being picky was a good thing. Being picky is what makes a perfectionist. And it's true, but there comes a point when a piece of work is finished, and going back over it again and again, LOOKING for something to rewrite might not be in its best interest.

For example, I am rewriting scenes that were good to begin with. They didn't need a rewrite. But there I go, thinking it needs a rewrite. Sometimes I spend time rewriting this or that, and then I decide that it was better before the rewrite. That's called wasting time. A writer has got to be able to determine when the writing is done. For good. And when not to rewrite.

Usually I have no problem with that. It's probably that I have these months in front of me waiting for Macmillan Australia to examine my submission which was the first 100 pages. And yes, since I submitted those pages I have indeed rewritten some of those scenes. Which may or may not be a good thing. I had always believed in making your writing better. My point is that sometimes that might not be necessary.

So the answer? Once you've reached a point that you are satisfied, get busy on another work. There is always another story to tell. And even though I had thought I didn't want to write anymore books, and I probably won't, I do have other books in the works.

And there's always my music. I have so many songs that also need to be rewritten. And re-recorded. And I've been doing that too lately. There is a satisfaction in composing your own music. Even if no one else in the world will ever hear them. Or appreciate them. Is that why musicians compose music? So other people can appreciate them? Why would a writer write a book if no one else would ever read those books? I guess a writer would stop if that were the case. And I might. As for the music? I'll at least keep up with that until the songs that need rewriting are done. Then...we'll see.

Finished The Vase Rewrite

Well, it took a little longer than I thought it would. But I just completed a first rewrite of The Vase. It's not like I actually rewrote the book. I just revised it, as in polished up the prose, and made it a better written book. That will surely go a long way for a Big Five publisher to accept it for publication. Any publisher, really, but I'm shooting for the stars this time.

Macmillan Australia is my best shot. They would be perfect, and they've had the first 100 pages now for about five weeks. But they say on their website it may take up to six months before any decision is made. Still, I'm glad I polished up the prose. I will probably go through it at least one more time. Why not? If I have five months more to wait or even three to four, I might as well maximize my chances if they do request the full. Here's to hoping.

In the meantime I might go back to Inside the Outhouse. Not sure. I kind of ran out of steam for that one. It's aimed at middle school level and being an adult, maybe I'm not so invested in it. Still it doesn't mean I will never go back to it. And then there's Book 3 in my Killer series. At one point it was titled Killer on the Payroll. Then I changed the title to Killer Not for Hire. It's kind of the opposite, but I figure it's a more accurate one. Seeing as how Trent Smith, the world's greatest martial artist, doesn't work for anyone. Ever.

So back to The Vase for more improvements, and then I'll just keep on writing, then I'll keep on composing, and I'll keep on creating art. That's what I do. 

Updates

I'm really improving the prose to The Vase big time. It was fine, but fine is not good enough. It has to be great. And that's what it is now. Everyday it's even greater. That's how great I've made it these past few months.

When it comes to all of my books, I think The Vase would have the best shot at publication with the Big Five. It's a great book as a stand alone book, but it has many possibilities to expand as a series, much like Dan Brown's DaVinci Code book did. How many sequels does that one have? I'm not sure if Mr. Brown intended for that to be a series or not, but it turned out to be, and it worked well. At least I think it worked well. The main character in The DaVinci Code is not an action hero. But he does have a recurring role in all the stories, and he remains the main character.

In The Vase there could be several characters from which a main character could be chosen. The first main character is the boy, Naji Muhabi. Then there is his father Muhsin. But their involvement really is restrained to this particular story. If there were to be sequels, I would think the other characters would be involved. Like Professor Hiram Weiss, the College Art Professor, and most certainly Captain Benny Mathias, the IDF captain, who is also an agent in the Kidon. That in itself has several angles which can be examined for future story lines.

But that doesn't mean Muhsin and Naji can't be included. They were good characters too. And the mother, Sanya. Can't forget about her. Even Mary and her role cannot be forgotten. So, yeah, if the opportunity arose, a sequel to The Vase could be written. But only if the opportunity arose. I'm still not fully invested in the third installment of the Killer series. Yes, I've started it. But that doesn't mean I'll finish it. We'll see.