Finished!

I wrote the final chapter of Unrivaled yesterday--actually, I finished it Tuesday night--but until my critique partners (Sandy James and Nan Reinhardt) have seen it, I don't consider a chapter finished. I began another read-through of the manuscript, after which I'll send it to my beta reader, Mellanie Szereto. Then I'll give it another read or two before I start formatting it for the various ebook outlets.

That's one of the nicer things about self-publishing. My books go through this same process, whether they're traditionally published or not. The difference is, when I send a manuscript off to my traditional editor, I lose control of it--and I like having control. I like knowing that if there's a mistake, I'm the one who made it, and I can fix it. Once a book goes to press, it's done. A self pub can be continually tweaked. I often wish I could go back and rewrite my early Cat Star books. If I ever get the rights back to them, I may do that, but I'm not holding my breath in the meantime.

There was some discussion among the Casablanca authors as to what the magic number of books published was that would justify quitting the day job. Mine was a night job, of course, but the same rules apply. So often you hear people say that you have to spend money to make money. Well...I gave up money in the hope of making money. Might not have been my best move, but hey, you only live once. No magic number was ever arrived at, but I've heard twenty bandied about. With the publication of Unrivaled, my total will stand at twenty-four, if you include all the short stories, novellas, and the Cat Star bundle. Rebel will make it twenty-five--and I think that sounds like a nice, magical number. Don't you?

Went out for a dinner with my hospital buddies last evening. It was wonderful to see everyone again. Not quite like spending twelve quiet hours together--restaurants are always so noisy!--but it's better than nothing! Willy came with me! Can you spot him?