Back to Editing, Revising

With the return of the edits to The Vase, I'm right back in the thick of editing, revising, editing, revising, and all the while, what was already a darn good manuscript is getting better and better. Which is why I went back to Killer of Killers. It had a lot of prose to improve, specifically the 3rd person limited POV as I've said before. I wasn't quite finished with KOK when The Vase came back, but these past few days, I've been so focused on improving The Vase, I'm just about done with it. I think I'll be done by tomorrow, and then by the end of the week, I'll be done with Killer of Killers.

And just in time, too. School is getting ready to resume, and it's back to the grindstone. That's OK, because by then I'll be back to work on Killer Eyes. It's going to be published by Melange. It will be my third book published, and then I'll get back to work on John Dunn. Can't complain. When you have a publisher, it makes it so much more rewarding, then writing with the hopes of getting published. And I'm lucky enough to have two. But that's what you work so hard for. And that's why you have to be relentless. Otherwise, don't write. That's all.

The Vase - Edited Version is Back!

Just got the third round of edits returned to me for review. Wow, this is actually going to be the FOURTH round of edits, although, this really shouldn't be an actual editing round, rather it's a review of the final edits to make sure everything is as it should be.

Of course, if anything is still in need of correcting, then it will be corrected. But I did skim through it, and just about all my changes were incorporated, and a couple additional things brought to my attention. I need to point out that it is so necessary to have an editor. Sometimes you just seem to be blind to something, and that's the kind of thing for which an editor is needed.

Not that there were that many things, but even in this fourth round, my editor is catching things. Things that even he missed the first three times. As for me, I've read it over and over, and probably would never have caught these things. But it's clear to me, any author or writer who thinks they don't need an editor, they are truly mistaken. And the better the editor, the better the editing, that goes without saying.

And at Penumbra, I've got what could be the best in the business, which is why I'm incorporating all that I learned from him into my other book, Killer of Killers, which I'm not quite finished with yet. But I will be soon, Both of my books, will be finished very soon. Yeah, things are looking great for The Vase and Killer of Killers, and by extension, all of my future books, too.

Killer of Killers Amazon Ranking Going Up

Well, I don't know who, but I have some evidence that someone is buying Killer of Killers. That's because when it first got put on Amazon, it's ranking was something like over 2 million or something like that. I happened to check it recently and it was in the 700,000s. So something must have made it go up. Exactly how many purchases would be needed to make that kind of movement, I don't have a clue. Maybe it was just a few people bought the Amazon kindle version. Maybe just one or maybe it was 20. Maybe it was 200. I wonder if Amazon can give out those numbers to authors. I wonder if I can ask them. Hhhmm...I think I'll keep an eye on that.

Meanwhile, if you are a collector and having a first edition is important to you, better get on the ball, and get your copy of Killer of Killers by this weekend. That's because early next week, maybe as soon as Monday or Tuesday, I'll be sending in the second edition. And after that, no more first editions will be available. But if you don't care about that kind of thing, and you are waiting for the better version, then your wait is almost over. I'll keep you posted.

Two Samantha Jones

Sometimes I wish I thought of another name for my female lead in Killer of Killers, because the name Samantha Jones was already used in that romantic comedy sitcom Sex and the City. But I never watched it. And I wasn't aware that it contained a character named Samantha Jones. And she's a blond woman, too. From what I understand, she's a nutty character, played by Kim Cattrall. And she's a good actress, too. And maybe even pretty enough to be my Samantha Jones--if the movie was made 15 years ago, that is. She's way too old for the part now. And I understand that there's a spin off of Sex and the City, and they just cast the part of a younger Samantha Jones in that spin off. And that's why the name Samantha Jones was in the news yesterday.

But it's too late to change the name now. I suppose it's all right. After all, both Samantha and Jones are common names. And I wanted a common name for the female lead because the male lead had the common name of Smith. So Smith and Jones, I thought at the time I first wrote the book, was just right for them. As far as Samantha? I just pulled that out of a hat. At the time, the only Samantha in the movies or TV that I had heard of was Samantha from the show Bewitched. You know, the part played by the late Elizabeth Montgomery. And she was a blond, too. So if nothing else, the name Samantha must convey the image of a woman who is blond because of both TV show characters. And my Samantha is blond, too. So I guess that's consistent, if nothing else. Oh well.

Great to Have More Than One Book

While I'm waiting for Penumbra to publish The Vase, heck, to show me a cover, even, I've been preoccupied with my rewrite of Killer of Killers. And it's been a blast. Every time I read this book, and revise it further, I have so much fun. It's a fun book, after all. The martial arts master, Trent Smith, his mission of vengeance, the adventure he has in America, the training he had in Japan, the lovers he had in Japan and America, it's all such a great story, I never get tired of it.

And for all of the Dustin Clare fans out there, this is a role for him. I've already pointed out how Amber Heard would be great for Samantha Jones, the female lead. I can't wait to get this done. I hope to find an agent to send it to moviemakers, but I'm not sure how that works. Is it the same for movies that it is for books? I mean there must be movie agents, like there's literary agents. I suppose I'll find out. And when I do, I'll let you know. Stay tuned.

Rewrites are great, but...

...you've got to be careful. I mean anytime you rewrite something, that means you reintroduce the possibility of TYPOS. I'm so happy with my Killer of Killers rewrite for the corrected POVs and everything, but in double checking it, guess what? I'm finding some typos. Not a lot. But I've found two now. And I'm only half way through chapter four.

And with 18 total chapters, along with a prologue and epilogue, that means I may have another eight typos in there. So, okay. I'm aware of it now. And as long as you are aware of it, then you're more likely to catch it. Still, I'm excited. Can't wait to complete this and send it in to Melange. I will be tooting this horn very loudly at that point. But let's finish this final read through first. Then we'll talk, and toot some horns. A lot of horns.

Melange Agrees to Reload KOK

It's a great day. Melange will indeed reload the rewritten version of Killer of Killers, and it will be released as the second printing. Or would that be second edition? Whatever. It's going to be up to date with the modern POV fiction writing style, and I will be even more into promoting it. However, if you are a collector, and value the first printing, as collectors do, then I might suggest to get your copy right now, or within the next couple of days.

And that's because I'm going to read through KOK one more time, just to make sure I didn't miss anything, and then I will send it to Melange. One of their editors will also read through it, and then it will be re-released. And at that point, only the second printings will be available. To me, that will be the better edition, as it will have all the modern POV limited aspects included.

Either way, I hope you buy a copy. Because then my next move is to find an agent to see if he or she can find a movie director for it. It's a great story for a martial arts movie. So we'll see how that goes. Stay tuned.