MY NEW BOOK IS ALMOST DONE

I send it off in 24 hours.

I turn in the first draft of my fourth book tomorrow. I started it in October, hand writing my experience of living in a shed with no plumbing on the side of a mountain for two months. I will turn it in July 31st.

After I hit send, my editor will do a deep reading, which takes a month or two, write his many edit suggestions, fix typos or confusing contradictions, and give me an overview document that is more or less a book report. A short essay of what he thinks this book is, could be, and should be. Sometimes the suggestions are minimal. With my first book, they were more significant. Things like ‘Your mom needs more introduction. More scenes. The emotion you want the reader to feel at the end doesn’t hit because we don’t know why you care so much.’ And ‘you blow through Panama. That section should be longer.’