Moving forward

      Moving forward I have decided to seek traditional publication for my next book.  I realize that as an unknown and someone who has some age on them this will most likely be a difficult task to achieve.  But I think it's the right move.  I seek a larger audience and a feeling of legitimacy that I can't get with self-publishing.   
     As I go I will document my ups and downs.  I don't expect a smooth ride.  In fact there may be a lot more downs than ups.  In the end though I expect success.  Either way It is sure to be a learning experience.
      I can't rightfully call this day one because the book is not finished.  I have finished my first draft but I still have a long way to go.  I am starting again on page one.  I am looking for misspelled words and grammatical errors with the help of an app called Grammarly.  At this time I will also be seeking to improve on my characters and the plot.  The manuscript may get larger or smaller depending on what I find.  Like other authors sometimes I think I made something perfectly clear to the reader but on second look I realized that I didn't.  I hope to improve on the book quite a bit on this second draft.  A third draft will be necessary to make sure I didn't miss anything.
      Currently the manuscript is right at 70,000 words.  I see that as a reasonable length for a novel.  I've read that publishers don't generally like big manuscripts from new authors.         

      I plan to pass on what I learn to other aspiring authors.  Something that I can pass on right now is that whatever story your writing has to be great and it has to be unique.  It can't be adequate or simply good.  There is way too much competition out there.  If you're already well known then ignore what I just said.  Even if you can't write you can always hire yourself a ghost writer.  Or if you're financially well-off maybe "Ghost Rider".  Though I don't know how good of a writer he is.
       I do plan to continue marketing my books and writing others that may be self-published.  The truth is I don't know for sure what I'll be doing in the future.  It just depends on what's happening at the time.  So, I'll just see where this road takes me.

  'nuff said.