The re-editing of the first three books continues. I'm still putting out re-edited chapters at the rate of one a day. I'll be posting the eighth chapter of Book II today.
The uncomfortable truth is that Book I needs the most work. It was my first project as an author, and there is no getting around the fact that it has flaws. Even after the latest round of editing, I still see significant problems. I've decided to do another re-edit of the first book.
I don't know if I can fix everything about it that troubles me, but I can at least minimize the problems. Expect to see some more chapters from this book reposted. I'll let you know when I've done everything feasible without a complete re-write.
I am more sanguine about Books II and III. I don't expect to edit them again after this round. Is it too immodest to say that I'm kind of proud of how they are turning out?
I've been spending quite some time researching and plotting Book IV. I always say that until the first draft is finished, I'm not confident that a project will be successful. Still, I'm pleased with the progress, and I'm cautiously optimistic about Book IV.
I remain exceedingly grateful to readers who send me corrections. I'd like to thank madnige and usachief. There have been others who have made significant contributions, but I am mortified to say that despite thanking them individually, I've deleted their emails and forgotten their usernames, so I can't acknowledge them publicly. I'll try to make it up to you.
I noticed that I haven't updated the blog in a while. Well, maybe not for the better part of a decade.
Thanks to the pandemic, I find myself with time to revisit the Jake Fielding stories. I've spent the last month revising the first book. I've been reposting newly-edited chapters at the pace of one per day, and I'm now about 3/4 of the way through Book I.
I plan to continue at this pace until all three books have been revised. I encourage anyone who is inclined that way to re-read the first book. I think this latest pass through has made the story a better read.
I would like to thank CoullPert who jump-started my revision project by sending a bunch of corrections. I remain puzzled about how I can go through a file six to ten times and not notice the remaining errors. There is just no substitute for independent eyeballs.
As always, I welcome reader corrections. If you happen to notice any remaining detritus in the text, I hope you will dash me off an email. Just paste in the offending passage. I will be exceedingly grateful.
It's not looking like I'll return to my old job. My employer used the impetus of the lockdown to streamline how they did things. Kudos to them. Too bad for me.
That does mean that an unexpected extended block of free time has opened up for me. There may be an announcement about Book IV in the near future.
I know it has been a while since I've brought my status up to day. My apologies. My mind has been on other projects. I'm sorry to report that I haven't gotten much more done on Book IV than I had at the time of my last update.
I haven't abandoned this project. I enjoy the characters and the story, and I plan to continue it, but there is some stuff that I've got to finish before I'm free to get back to writing fiction.
I'll leave another post when I've resumed the story.