The Next Thing

This month has felt like it has gone on forever, in a strange sort of good/bad sense. Here's the thing: the publishing industry is notoriously slooooow, and before anything significant can happen there is a whole bunch of stuff that has to go on behind the scenes. The past couple of weeks have been pretty hard for me, to be honest, as I've been floundering in a liminal phase of having found representation and awaiting the moment where the book goes out on submission to editors. I've been over and over the manuscript SO many times now, I might be taking words out only to later put them back in; tracking down rogue spelling errors and eliminating them, Murderbot-style, with ruthless efficiency; changing minor character's names just for the sake of changing them. The wait - the not-knowing when, or if the book will sell - can leave you feeling frustrated, and a little bit helpless. At the moment I don't have any proper edits to do, but when the book sells, the publisher will undoubtedly have changes they want me to make, and knowing that there will be work to do, but spending the past few months putting the current manuscript aside and working on The Next Thing instead, just feels counter-productive. But I know it's all part of the process, and I also know that i'm in a very enviable position, which I'm so, SO grateful for.

Speaking of The Next Thing...

I've been slowly chipping away at a first draft of a new book which I'm really, REALLY enjoying. So far, I've managed five chapters, and I'm totally obsessed with these characters, their voices, and this world. I'm intentionally not letting myself stress about word counts and productivity on this one in the way that I did for The Gravedigger Scribe, which feels healthier and more sustainable in the long run. I'm not sure how much I should share about it at this stage, but it's another adult fantasy which will appeal to readers of TGS and is sort of a love-letter to my home city of Edinburgh, featuring lots of iconic locations and references to the history and the grisly ghost stories the city is famous for.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes!

So hey, guess what? We're changing the title for submission. I know, I know, you've already got The Gravedigger Scribe tattooed on your bodies and now you have to undergo painful laser-removal, I'm sorry. But we're going with The Scribes now. Having discussed it with my agent, Brianne, we've come to the conclusion that although TGS was perhaps more unique, it was also a bit of a mouthful and less-easy to remember. Nearly everyone I've ever told the name of my book to has forgotten it within minutes (and exactly everyone has followed up hearing it with asking, "The Gravedigger what, sorry? Scribe?" accompanied with a puzzled look.) The Scribes also encompasses the other characters in the story, rather than exclusively focussing on the main protagonist.

That's it for this week, folks! See you again in a fortnight... maybe I'll have some news or updates for you then. Watch this space...