It only took a year...

About a year ago, I received my manuscript, "The Legend of the Gangster's Gold" back from my agent. Yes, one year ago! I dutifully went over all the notes her assistant had included and carefully made those changes. Then,  I reread the manuscript numerous times looking for typos, missing words, etc. However, my biggest stumbling block was having to delete my beloved prologue. I knew I had to do it, I just wasn't sure how.

Then, came the bad news. We were leaving Alaska, our home of 6 years, and returning to the urban blight that is Dallas, TX. I was not a happy camper. I knew I had to work on my book, but I just couldn't concentrate on it. All I could think of was the heat, the traffic, the crowds, and how much I dislike Texas. The only bright side was having lived in Dallas twice before (so I knew perfectly well what I was getting into), was two of my children, a sister, a couple of cousins as well as numerous friends were here. They made it bearable.

Anyway, I knew I had to get back to my manuscript. Then, my agent sent out a message to all her clients about more things she wanted people to look at before they returned their manuscripts. So began another round of rereading and editing. Then she suggested everyone try and join a critique group. Sooo...I did that. I had them help me with my prologue dilemma (they assured me that losing it wouldn't ruin the story!) as well as lots of other little issues. I had one person read the entire manuscript, made those changes then had a second read it over and made those changes. Then, I decided that was it it. Enough was enough. I could nitpick that thing forever. Besides, it had reached the point where the story was barely making sense to anymore!

So, on March 16, I put together my synopsis, my character summary and my manuscript, zippped them all together and sent them off. I know it will be awhile before my agent gets to it but that's okay. Just as long as the ball is out of my court for a little while!

Now, I can go back and work on my other Works in Progress!