Hey everyone,
Just wanted to let you know my participation in Alpha to Omega will be a bit sporadic over the next 3-4 weeks.
Yesterday, I received a critique and Edit01 from my publisher regarding The Kurdish Connection. The first paragraph of the critique began with: "This critique is considerably shorter than our usual because the manuscript is in unusually good shape, as you will see when you compare our Edit 01 version to your original. There are not a lot of changes. We will specifically mention only three areas, then end with some questions and specific comments."
So what were the three areas? Too many frivolous dialogue tags. They said keep it simple, using said and asked with anything else in moderation. I had too many of the 'anything else'. The second area was semi-colons. Great for non-fiction/expository work but not used much in fiction. Since I came from writing expository stuff, not a surprise they crept in. The final area was two characters (both from Canada) using 'eh'. They want me to keep this with the first character using this and change the other one.
They made most of the changes for the first two but now I'm checking for typos, misspellings, incorrect words, repetitions, grammar slips, inconsistencies in the story or formatting or any other changes that need to be made that they might have missed. Once I send this back (due by the 18th of January), an Initial Proof (in PDF) will be prepared, which will include dedication, acknowledgements, blurbs, etc. We'll go through the same process as above. If needed, an Interim Proof might be done (or several if we keep making changes). Once we agree, the Final Proof is initiated, which also involves the printer. Once everyone is onboard, we're good to go.
I was asked to provide the first chapter of my next novel, Dangerous Alliance, which will be included at the end of the book. To my surprise, the page leading to this chapter begins with:
COMING FROM MOONSHINE COVE IN 2018
THE NEXT MIDDLE EAST THRILLER FROM RANDALL KRZAK
DANGEROUS ALLIANCE
So it appears they're interested in publishing the next one. Assuming everything goes according to their plan, The Kurdish Connection will be released around February 7th. Once it's released, I'll be back full steam on reading/reviewing everyone's work in the group. Thanks for your patience.:)
Regards, Randy
