Jenn Kelly: Author

Changing of Titles

I know that as an author (oh, I love saying that!), I don’t get a lot of say of what goes on with my book. At least, that’s what I know. It might not be true. I’m still waiting for my contract to come in the mail, which is a tad late, but I’m not worried. I figure it’ll need a few lattes and a few hours to figure it out. Thank goodness I have smart friends who know all about stuff like that. Anyway, I have no idea what to expect.

So when my fabulous editor e-mailed me with the new title, I almost vomited. Seriously. I know I’m prone to exaggerating, but I really felt ill. They had taken my beautiful ‘Jackson and His Great-Aunt Harriett’ and changed it to something awful. And they voted on it. I begged, begged, begged my editor to fight for me. She agreed it was an awful title. So she fought for me. And now I have another new title. I don’t know if they’ll change it again, but for now: ‘Jackson Jones: The Tale of a boy, an elf and a smelly, dead fish’.  I can live with that. I’m not crazy about it, but it’ll be ok.

I was sent my edits in the mail, but I begged Kathleen to email them to me. I couldn’t wait all weekend. She told me that most edits (macro-edits I’m talking about here: where they rip up your book. Remove scenes, remove characters, or add scenes or characters) take 12 pages of writing. Mine took two! How good did that feel! She wrote the most lovely cover letter and I’m going to share part of it, because one day, you too may get a lovely letter.

“Dear Jenn,

What an  honour and a pleasure it is to work on this manuscript. Your characters are real and engaging, and you have a voice that is unique in this field. Your honesty and freshness give this book an authenticity that is all too hard to find these days, and it is a true delight to have a hand in shaping the story.

(comments about what to change)

Overall, there’s really not a great deal that needs to be changed here. I don’t want to get rid of any characters or delete any huge sections of the book. You have a great talent for voice, character, and storyline, and the Christian message is woven inextricably and beautifully throughout the book. You never resort to preaching, but encourage each reader to take part in the grand adventure of letting God tell their story…”

Ok, seriously? Who writes letters like that? I have never received such an amazing letter before. I’m thinking this girl is part Barnabas.

So I’ve finished the macro-edits and hopefully I’ll get back the micro-edits before Christmas. But you never know.

The question now is: what do I do?

Get ready for Christmas obviously…

work on second book?

paint?

bake?

hmm…