Now that I've finished my second draft of Sparkle Prep, what am I doing now?
SP is currently being queried to Agents. Finding an agent can take a long time, if it happens at all. I'm very hopeful that an agent will love it and want to sign me, but I know the odds! Yet I remain patient and optimistic. :) So while I am no longer working on SP right now, I am still plotting out the rest of the books in the series. However, it doesn't make sense to start writing SP2 until I know the series will sell. That's a lot of commitment for a what-if.
To that point, I am picking up a novel I started several years ago. I actually began it BEFORE Sparkle Prep, but put it aside to rewrite With/Out, and then SP. Now I'm ready to work on it again! It's a paranormal thriller. Originally I envisioned it as an adult novel, but the more time passes, the more I realize my passion is really in Young Adult books. This creates some challenges, because now I have to convert the 30k+ words I already have written and rework it into a YA book. No simple feat!
Also, I've decided to try out a new software program to aid in the process. Currently I write my novels in Microsoft Word. Each chapter gets its own file, and then I have a master document so I can keep an eye on overall length and word count. The program I'm trying out does that for you automatically, as well as helps with outlining, keeping character and location info, and many other benefits. It's called Scrivener and LOTS of people have recommended it to me over the years. I've very curmudgeonly decided to make the transition! The novel has been imported in its current form, so now begins the editing! Wish me luck!
I'm also continuing to plot out several other books/series on top of that. I've no lack of ideas, just time. Has anyone seen the 2002 Nickelodeon movie Clockstoppers? It's about someone that invents a device that slows down time so much that it essentially stops, and several hours can go by, though it's only nanoseconds in reality. Yeah, I need one of those.
Until next...
~Kyle