What am I publishing in 2026?
In june I will publish, Paint, passion and promises – romance in the outback.
In 2015, I spotted the above photo on Facebook. It promoted marriage equality in the lead up to the Australian plebiscite on same sex marriage. Inspired, my mind filled with story possibilities. I gave it the working title of, The Maiden Aunts. It would have lesbian, gay and straight characters. I would give each main character a voice, so the story would be told from five points of view. Settings flashed though my mind and of course I selected places I was familiar with. Rural Queensland, Sydney and surrounds, plus Paris, France were the initial choices. I am an oil painter as well as a writer, so I chose to make Australian art and artists a dominant theme running throughout the story. I considered timelines, story arcs and plot, but by this stage, my mind was frothing with too many details, a mass of confusion. I could see the story in broad brushstrokes, but I had no idea where to start.
When in doubt, go for a walk.
Walking clears my mind and allows me to think and sort ideas. The opening needed to grab the reader’s attention, introduce characters and propel the reader to continue. I returned from my walk, sat down at my computer and typed. Here’s the opening.
Chapter 1 – Joe – 2015
I find them lying on the kitchen floor, huddled together, heads touching, hand in hand, ashen faced. A shattered teacup, overturned chair and hysterically whistling kettle emphasise the urgency.
They’ve always been strong, independent and healthy, seemed immortal even. Now here they are, collapsed in a messy heap of limbs and wrinkles. One might have been expected, but not both. Anne doesn’t move, maybe won’t ever again, her rheumy eyes stare up at the ceiling. Bess, barely conscious, is whispering into Anne’s ear. Tears roll across her pale, pale cheeks and drip onto the floor.
I had a start but needed to keep going.
I set myself the task of writing the first draft over the next three months. Every morning, I woke at 4am, moved to my computer and wrote 1,000 words. I’d read the last paragraph from the day before and then start typing. It took me two to three hours a day to complete my target. Throughout the day, I’d review my work and make minor changes. I also spent time with Google, friends and family researching and deciding were the story was going next.
And then I was finished.
After 90 days, I had a 90,000 word manuscript. It was a very rough draft. Then the hard slog began. I’ve spent the last nine years editing and rewriting. First, I read my manuscript and edited it, deleting, tightening and adding scenes. Next I passed chapters to the Ubud Writers’ Group and they offered editorial suggestions. Then I had a full structural and line edit done by a friend, and this meant a heap more writing for me. Friends read the manuscript and declared it was fine, but I still wasn’t sure. I entered a couple of manuscript competitions and the judging panels offered more suggestions for improvement. More rewriting followed. Was it ready? I still wasn’t sure.
Time for a professional edit
Hawkeye Publishing offers professional editing services at very reasonable rates. For about AUD$1,500 they did an amazing structural and line edit as well as presenting me with a nine page assessment document full of suggestions for improvement as well as praise. Over six months, I reworked my manuscript taking into account some, but not all of their suggestions. They suggested rewriting the manuscript so the whole story was told from Joe’s point of view. I considered this, but I much prefer the story told from five point of view so this did not change. Editing completed, I then proofed the manuscript from beginning to end, picking up any errors.
Please note. I am not the slowest editor in the world. Over the 10 years that I wrote and edited Paint, Passion and Promises, I also wrote another two books, painted and worked for a few hours a day at our villa rental company, Private Ubud Villas.
Paint, passion and Promises is now finished but there is still more to do.
If you are interested in proof reading my manuscript, please message me and I’ll send you a pdf copy. Of course if you proof read it, I want you to look for mistakes and send these to me.
My next blog will be about the process I went through to select my title and cover.
this will not be the cover
Are you writing a book? If so, please let me know.
While you are here, click on my author website and have a look around.
Until next time, Steve Castley.