The editor's copy

It didn't take long for the editor's copy to be emailed to me by Bookguild publishing. I had recieved a letter earlier that week from them telling me of it's near arrival, and documents on how to use the system to make or except changes as advised by the editor.

The attachment arrived with an email which stated how much the editor had enjoyed the story and hadn't needed to make many changes. I was pleased because the editor was female and this statement went to prove what I had hoped to achieve in the first place; this was to write Frenzy in such a way that it could be enjoyed by both sexes, no mater what your age or back-ground.

Frenzy by Mark King is aimed for young adults, but can also be enjoyed by adults who are young at heart, and just like to read a good adventure story every now and then. Just like George Orwell's Animal Farm, or even the Hunger Game series that were read by adults as well as youngsters.

Two weeks it took to read through the manuscript, twice, and complete the final changes before I sent it back to Bookguild for the next stage which was the proof reading, but now I had various deadlines to reach during each stage of the publishing process. At the same time their designer was working on the front cover, and had sent me some examples.

I had a clear idea in my mind how I wanted the cover to look. I didn't want it to be busy, it had to be clear and in gold. I explained my vision and it was like he could read my mind because the next cover he emailed to me was spot on. No more work required, that was it, the cover was complete.

It was at this point that it hit me how hard I have had to work, and how big the risk I had taken over the last 18 months to get to this point. It also hit me that I still had a long way to go, and there would be a lot more hard work to come.