Yesterday I got to do one of the best things…I sent my completed manuscript to my editor. It’s always such a good feeling. But so much leads up to it.

The idea: The moment when I say, Aha! So that’s what this book will be about, and that person will be the protagonist. (sometimes it’s just one or the other, rather than both at once. Sometimes it takes ages to realize what the book is actually about, while sometimes a theme or situation comes to mind without characters to act it out)

The research: Often books have something in them I don’t know about, so I get to go and find out the details. Whether it’s hapkido, dairy farming, computer games, police procedure, or something else entirely, this is a very fun part of a project. It provides details, anecdotes, characters, and often even the plot. Love that research.

The outline: This changes from project to project. With the Stella books, I would write out a full outline, sometimes even twenty-five pages, with each chapter figured in. Sometimes extra chapters would sneak in, or even extra characters, but the main body of the work would stay the same. With some of my newer work it’s not so planned — with Embrace the Grim Reaper, which I sent in yesterday, my proposal consisted of two paragraphs, and my outline was two pages of notes, in no particular order. Some people call it writing into the mist, which is an image I like. You write along, with only a few feet in front of you clearing as you go. The end is unknown. This can provide some times of anxiety (ie., panic) but I’ve found things eventually do reveal themselves. I worked this same way with the juvenile fantasy I wrote, and it was pretty exciting at times.

The beginning: There comes the time when you finally put the first words on the page. They begin to add up, and before you know it you’re at the middle, and after a while you show up at the end. Needless to say, these different segments can take little time or lots of time, and vary with each project. But no matter what, you know each part will eventually come.

First draft: Ah, it feels so good. That first time you write the last words. Before you change them. But to say, there it is, a complete story, is wonderful. Then you get to go back through and find all the things you missed and said repeatedly. But at least you have something to change.

First readers: For me it’s my folks and whatever expert has helped me with the books. For Stella it was a mixture of dairy farmers, tattoo artists, and rock musicians. For Lost Sons it was a naval officer and a police officer. For Grim Reaper it was my friend Jenny, who is a hapkido blackbelt. It’s always good to have those extra eyes to make sure my gaffes aren’t too huge.

Next draft: The go-through to fix the typos, loose ends, and character disconnects the first readers find. Then a final read to make sure it all fits together on the page the way it does in my mind.

And finally, sending it off to my editor: which, as I said, feels mighty good.

I’m sure there will be another stage in here, which is the final draft, where I change whatever the editor notices. With any luck it won’t be major — just those typos and word changes my first readers missed. But there’s always the chance she’ll want something bigger, to do with plot or characater. I just need to be prepared for that, and then I can be pleasantly surprised if there’s not much work.

Whatever happens, today I celebrate! Play some word games, do some of the housework I’ve been neglecting, and go early Christmas shopping with my mom. Oh, and eat some chocolate. Can’t forget that.

So happy Send it to the Editor Day to all of you! If you’re a writer, I’ll be happy to celebrate that day for you, whenever it comes.

Cheers!