Monday, September 26, 2005

And it's off

I emailed the latest mss to my editor today. My editor had very kindly said -- no problem, take your time. But I had finished it to the point where she does need to see it. Undoubtably there will be spots where she has questions. Editors are like that. There is no mss that has been written that can't stand a little revising. My fingers are firmly crossed that she doesn't see something fundamentally wrong, a chasm.
At the moment I am totally in love with my hero and heroine. Hopefully they and their predictament will make my editor feel that way as well. I teared up at several parts, but then I always tear up.
I figure that I won't hear one way or the other until Christmas time. My editor is a busy woman. I don't have the clout of a UK Medical author who said that if she hadn't heard within three days, she was on the phone to her editor, asking. Equally, things happen. I know my editor has the mss and she'll get to it. She has many more authors than just me.
Now I have to critque one of my cp's partials. I am waiting for another's full. Also I have a mss for the NWS to do. Then I have to start my next one -- another Roman. That would make three. And I would want my editor's input on whether she wanted more Roman or maybe a Regency or two and then back to Rome if the interest is there.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmm, that 'I ask her if I haven't heard within 3 days' gobsmacked me, too. (I share her editor... and I wouldn't dare!)

Am sure your ed will give you constructive comments and the book will be a raging success. Good on you.

Have a couple of days off enjoying yourself before you get into the next one.

Anonymous said...

Good luck on the new book!

Sarah Cuthbertson said...

Hello Michelle

I was interested to hear that you have a historical romance set in Roman Britain out next year and that you're writing a second. I guess this period is long overdue for some historical romance and so I'm looking forward to reading your novels. I believe The Historical Novels Review will be regularly reviewing HMB historicals soon, thanks to (I think) Marina Oliver, who has convinced the editors of that esteemed organ that Mills & Boon historicals are a lot more historically accurate and worthwhile than everyone seemed to think. So that should be good for the genre.

I'm also green with envy that you live in God's Own County of Northumberland, with all that wonderful Roman stuff lying around everywhere (some of it still waiting to be found...)

Sarah Cuthbertson said...

PS. Oops. Ancient Rome's the setting, I see, not Roman Britain. No matter, it'll be good to read!

Michelle Styles said...

Sarah,

Yes, I'd love to see more romances set in Roman Britain as well. I know Juliet Langdon who writes for M&B has one set on Hadrian's Wall coming out sometime next year. I don't know if it is early or late period Roman occupation.

The good thing is that M&B are really open to trying new periods. They are responding to readers' requests. So fingers crossed that readers will respond to the period and it will be tremendously successful.

It is good to know that the HNS want to look at M&B. I will send off a copy of mine to be reviewed when the time comes.

Anonymous said...

re. the 3 days thing, the medicals line (in my experience) has more spaces to fill and occasionally a shortage of manuscripts, whereas other lines (but especially historicals), don't face that shortage. Still, I don't think I'd ever chase up a manuscript in just three days...