Musings on a Rainy Arizona Friday Morning, a post from R. Clint Peters

I am looking out the window as the garden that was planted yesterday (two pepper plants, two tomato plants, and a couple hundred Walla Walla onion shoots) is drenched by rain.  Like most Arizonans, I own an umbrella, but I have no idea where it is presently located, and I don’t have any tasks on my to-do list for today that require a walk in the rain.

As dreary as the outside is, the mood inside my computer enclosure is warm and cheery.  I am working on the edit process of Pegasus Rising.  (I am on page 130 of 217).  The novel has been edited by my publisher, and I am going through the approval process.

However, this time it is different than what was done for The Alberta Connection.  For Pegasus Rising, my editor took on more of the role of a developmental editor.  To quote:  I felt that the author deserved it. He has plot down as well as the voice of his characters, so I wanted to offer my help in other areas he could strengthen. 

As I read the edited draft of Pegasus Rising, I was constantly amazed with how I looked at the comments the editor made.  First, I actually understood the comments.  Second, I actually understood why the comments were made.  And third, I actually became involved in looking at ways I could improve not only the areas that were commented on, but also other areas I saw that might benefit from small changes.  OK, I will admit that some times there were some really big changes.  I must also admit that the page count has gone from 208 pages to 217.

There has been another big change in my writing.  The rights to the very first book I wrote, The Pendergast Prerogatives, have been returned to me.  Yes, I was required to pay for the return, but I hope to recover those costs when the novel is published.

As a novel, The Pendergast Prerogatives is in worse shape than The Alberta Connection even before I finished the novel.  However, I know the mistakes I made in The Pendergast Prerogatives can be corrected.  Infact, many of the reasons I made those mistakes were corrected in The Alberta Connection.  For that, I must thank Joan Adamak, a member of The Book Reviewers Club.

With Joan’s help, I was able to transition from a really bad writer to a mediocre writer.  And now, I have the possibility to become a moderately good writer.  Perhaps after re-writing the four volumes of the Pendergast series now in print, and completing the four sequels to The Alberta Connection that I have in process, I might actually consider myself to be a very good writer.  If not, I will at least have eight or nine almost good novels in print.

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