Dirty Little Secrets and Revisions

Well, I just finished revisions from Diana on Secrets of Skin and Stone. My husband is almost done with his read through, so I'm waiting to send it back to Sarah until tomorrow. It's weird to be nearly finished with revisions. I changed a bit on the end of SoSaS so there is always the chance that Sarah will ask for revisions on those revisions but, even then, I'm nearly done with this manuscript before going to submissions to editors.

It's weird. This feels more final. I mean, I do revisions on all my manuscripts fairly regularly. Whenever I'd get a request from an agent or I felt the nudge of the muse, I'd tear through a manuscript again and change things. My manuscripts get revised to pieces... and then I do it again six months later.

This is... weird. I mean, it's like a final revision before like professionals stare it down.

What if they hate it?

What if they don't?

It's surreal.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the muse has not been silent. Working on a sequel to Secrets of Skin and Stone feels like a dirty little secret, though. I've mostly learned my lesson about series writing. I really like the characters in the sixth and eighth books of my Company of Him books. Unfortunately you can't just rip a character out of its book if they're wedged into the series that deeply. Similarly, as much as I like the Honor series... they don't even kiss until the second book. There has to be a second book in that series. So, Honor is a series, like it or not, too.

Course... I say that I've learned my lesson but Sentinel's Run was going to be a series from the time the first word dropped onto the screen.

Huh.

Maybe I never learn.

Still, Secrets of Skin and Stone was NOT going to be a series... unless I was asked for it to be. It was going to be a stand alone unless someone said, "This needs to be a series. Do it, Wendy! I need more. The world needs more." Even then, I'd ask, "Are you really, really sure?" Then, they'd either offer me money or a cupcake before I'd give in.

*sighs* So, why am I 13K into the second book?

I'm supposed to be working on Sentinel's Run.

I can't sleep at night because of the bits of scenes that keep getting stuck in my head.

You know what would suck? It would suck if Sarah comes back to me and says that she doesn't like my new ending to Secrets of Skin and Stone, and she wants it to be more stand-aloney. (Yes, I just made up that word. I can do that. I'm a writer.)

*massages brain*

This is why you don't start writing a second book in a series. It's too complicated... and it feels like a dirty little secret. Well, that and having Gris and Piper invade my brain for another stretch is going to make me crazy... especially since Piper's issues are similar but not always compatible with my issues. (I can't remember why I made her like even numbers instead of odd numbers, but it's soooooooooo wrong.)

Anyway, remember, we're keeping this on the low-low, everyone. As far as you know, I'm either working on revisions or contemplating Sentinel's Run. This is our little secret. *locks lips, throws away the key* It's our dirty little secret.