In-Between Days
Plots, plans and copy edits
Welcome to the free newsletter of David (D. V.) Bishop, author of the Cesare Aldo historical thrillers set in Renaissance Italy. This time I’m talking about what writers do between books…
Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
But first: last event of 2024
My final in-person appearance of the year happens this Friday, November 29th. I’m part of the Waterstones Braehead late night shopping event alongside crime writing legends Denise Mina and Lin Anderson. We will be signing books from 6-8pm. Come along and claim a free bookmarks from me, more details here.
After that I am off the clock for 2024. The Cesare Aldo books get an early start to 2025 with the paperback release of A Divine Fury on January 2nd. But the prospect of a pause in traffic until then get me thinking about this week’s newsletter topic…
What do writers do between books?
I completed next year’s Cesare Aldo historical thriller Carnival of Lies at the end of June and fired it off to my agent (the wonderful Jenny Brown) and my editor at Pan Macmillan, the mighty Alex Saunders. A few weeks later I got feedback on the manuscript, and dove into what’s often called the structural edits.
Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash
Happily, the book was in very good shape when it first went to my publisher so the structural edits were relatively light. Inevitably, there are always things to improve and enhance, parts of story or characterisation that need clarifying or strengthening. But it didn’t take long to tackle those and the revised manuscript went back in August.
A month later I submitted my suggestions for the map(s) that accompany Carnival of Lies, showing where key locations occur in the narrative so readers can visually follow along with events. By then there was a cover design to consider, and a draft version of the book’s promotional text to read – all markers on the road to publication.
Last week I got my copy edits. These are an exacting, line-by-line examination of the text by a fresh pair of eyes, checking for plot logic and consistency of characterisation. It is not the job of a copy editor to fact-check, though sometimes they spot glaring errors that spare an author’s blushes (certainly been the case for me sometimes).
I’ll be honest and say I don’t enjoy copy edits. It’s a necessary process step, but doesn’t spark joy for me (some authors love it, apparently – weirdos!). Final page proofs will probably arrive early in 2025, which is the last chance to ensure I’m completely happy with the typeset text before publication. And then it goes to the printers…
By the time I check the final page proofs it could well be seven months after submitting my original manuscript. All the steps in between might occupy a few weeks in total, broken into small pieces and bursts of activity. That begs an obvious question: what do authors do when they are not writing a book?
My In-Between Days
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m usually busy with all the things I couldn’t easily do while writing. After finishing a first draft I allow my brain to cool, let the well of creativity fill up again. I’ll read a few of the many books I’ve been neglecting, watch films or catch up on TV shows, take a holiday, go to concerts, see shows or exhibitions.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
But, after a few weeks, an itch appears in my head, begging to be scratched – the itch to create, and to invent. So, I start thinking about what I want to write next. I’ll start making notes and gathering research and staring out of windows. I let myself have a first idea, and then push myself to think of the better version of that idea, that notion.
I give my subconscious permission to footle and fester, to poke and prod the idea, looking for weaknesses and strengths, opportunities and pitfalls. I’ll think about what new characters will be needed, what settings the story requires, and what is the best way of telling it. I will ponder genre, tone and what thematic argument I want to make.
I give myself six months to mull and meander around the nooks and crannies of this putative tale, to figure out if it might work. Much of what I decide in that pre-writing phase doesn’t end up in the book, but this is still part of the process. It’s part necessity and part procrastination, putting off until the last possible moment writing page one.
During those glorious months of not writing, a new idea gleams like a great cathedral in your head, all majestic lines, stunning sights and utter perfection. As soon as you start actually writing, that cathedral is revealed to be a disreputable outhouse that no reader worth the name would wish to be seen dead visiting. But it’s a necessary step.
I plan to start writing a new novel sometime during January 2025, with publication penciled in for the summer of 2026. Right now, it’s still a perfect cathedral…
Enjoy your short story?
Last week’s newsletter featured the opening of my new Contessa Coltello short story, And Then There Were Nuns. I sent the completed tale out to every subscriber as a PDF a few days later (if you didn’t get it, let me know and I can re-send). It was fun to write, and gave me a chance to see if the contessa might sustain her own spin-off.
So, what did you think of the short story? Could you imagine reading a whole novel focused on Contessa Valentine Coltello? I already have an adventure in mind for her, one that would be a little lighter in tone when compared with the blood and thunder of my Cesare Aldo tales. Let me know your thoughts via the comments below…
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