Perhaps it’s an inevitable question. Having just completed the first stage (on-screen) of a three-cycle review and proofreading activity, the default question I always ask myself – perhaps more subconsciously than not – is do I like what I’ve written?
Reasonably short at c. 140 paperback pages and around 52k words, my next novel represents something of a stylistic departure, and so any question about ‘liking’ is made harder to answer. Perhaps it’s more about it ‘working’ than anything else i.e. does it succeed not only in terms of narrative cohesion, but in the way said structure and style support the story.
I think so – or at least I think so sufficiently to have printed the whole thing out ready for the on-page step 2 review. And it’s often step 2 which proves the most critical.
The other bell-weather is when I start to think about firming up on the title (I have a working one) and then work on the cover. It’s only when I have a draft of the cover that the book truly becomes a book…
So by early June I should know. After that? Well, it’s plain sailing, isn’t it..?!
Ian Gouge - Writer 