State of the Manuscript - 1/15/2025

Welcome to my (not-so) monthly update on the state of my manuscript for my debut novel, Magic & Murder in the Holler. I was a little overly ambitious when I said I was going to provide monthly updates, because the part of the process I'm currently in, revisions, takes more time than I first thought. There are things I can't rush, and others I definitely shouldn't.

Since I last posted an update, I hired a professional editor and started working with beta readers to get feedback on my novel. I've got replies from most of my beta readers and they gave me plenty of comments to think about. So far, the feedback as been helpful and they highlighted a good mix of what works, what doesn't and what could be better in the story.

I've started implementing some of the comments already, and have outlined my plans for fixing some of the more structural issues that were pointed out to me.

While I'm not at this stage yet, I've also begun looking at existing cover art. I'm nowhere near ready to start finding a cover artist, but I figure it's not too early to see what styles exist, and narrow down what trends or designs I like and which ones I don't.

I know this isn't a massive or surprising update, but I'm very excited for things to come.

I will see you next time!

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