No Other Feeling Compares to This

My manuscript is finished, I’ve typed The End. For the fifth and final time. This time, I mean it.

Writing and editing The Phantom Wife has taken 733 days. And, oh, what a journey! Creating a 95,000-word (392-page) paranormal romance requires rigorous work, despite holding English and writing degrees and possessing years of experience teaching both. I have a bit of advice for those pursuing a similar path. Admit you don’t know everything, yeah, it’s an impossible task for some of us. All that you’ve learned up to this point is subject to revision. Then, learn what you need to know and never be afraid to ask questions.

Two summers ago, I took Judy Blume’s master class in fiction writing. There’s a lot to be said for learning the basics, old school. This children’s/young adult author wrote her first novels by hand, on legal pads! Here was my reasoning: if Blume could capture the hearts of young people, to the point they’d never forget her books, she had a caveat of knowledge worth harvesting. Her guidance was invaluable. Then, I spent 18 months with mentors at the Write Practice, crafting the novel, while gaining feedback. I tagged on a couple of Story Grid courses created by New York editor Shawn Coyne. In fact, I’m still enrolled in SG’s Love Genre writing class, though terribly behind on finishing my modules!  Once my chapters morphed into a promising manuscript, I attended two very intense seminars focused on independent publishing.

The novel consumed one year longer than I intended, but I’ve no regrets. I’m proud that I didn’t succumb to discouragement, didn’t allow current publishing trends to sway my efforts. You know, those buggy stats that show nearly impossible success rates for new authors trying to break into women’s fiction? In a tiny niche like paranormal fiction, no less. With three voices telling the story: two in present-day and one in the 1940s.

I’m still ignoring the odds.

In the coming weeks, I’ll begin working with a professional editor based in New York. She has years of fiction editing experience at Penguin Random House. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with her, and more importantly, to learn from her. As I watch her locate plot holes that need to be filled, or cull out paragraphs that don’t progress the plot, it will be easier for me to avoid these pitfalls the next time around.

As I observe measurable shifts from traditional to independent publishing, even for authors who’ve traditionally published in the past, I believe I have unlimited options. Audio and e-book sales continue to explode while many independent bookstores stay closed. Since I’ve been encouraged to pursue traditional publishing, I will attempt to be patient through the process of querying agents and waiting for their responses. Perhaps I owe it to myself to do just that. I can always start writing the next novel as I wait. But I can’t guarantee their timetable will coincide with my expectations.

One fact remains absolutely certain. The Phantom Wife will be published. You’ll meet Suzanne Nottingham Martin, a saucy MC who relies on Tarot readings, intuition, and hoodoo spells for guidance and solutions. Until the spirit world reaches out and she’s forced to face her destiny. Will Suzanne embrace the legacy offered to each woman in her family? Or will she refuse and risk losing the only entity – human or phantom – who has ever truly loved her?

Soon, you will meet the novel’s entire cast of characters, revel in the New Orleans/Gulf Coast setting, explore relationships beyond the perimeters of rational explanation. Soon, you will read page one, of chapter one. And if I’ve done my job well, you won’t stop until you’ve read The End, too.