Writing Book Ten: Part Thirteen - Cover Reveal & Edits

I'm keeping a diary of the writing process of Book 10, from the first words to publication.

My publishers revealed the cover of The Accidental Life Swap last week and I was so excited to be able to share it. I'd already had a sneaky peek and couldn't wait to shout about it because it's just so gorgeous.

What do you think? Isn't she a beauty? The ebook is out in September (with the paperback following in December) but you can pre-order right now. Click here for more info.

Having a cover reveal for a book you're still working on is a bit strange, but it's really fired me up to make this the best book I can, to do justice to the amazing cover. So the edits landing in my inbox a few days later came at the right time!

Getting the first round of edits in can be a bit daunting - overwhelming at times - but I'm learning to take a few deep breaths, to not panic and know that I'll get through them one step at a time. The first thing I do when I get my editor's notes is to read through them and then step away. I let her thoughts sink in so I can process them before I make my plan of action.

I take my editor's notes and put them into more manageable bullet points, adding ideas and thoughts of my own and answering any questions that may have come up. It all looks neat to start with, but by the end, these sheets of paper will be a mess as I mark off the points as they're addressed and scrawl new notes as I go along.

With my revision notes, I'm almost ready to dive back in, but I need a couple more things to hand; cup of tea (obviously) and my Kindle containing The Emotion Thesaurus, The Rural Setting Thesaurus, and The Urban Setting Thesaurus.

I've got the main story down, but with the help of the above writing tools, I can start to add more depth and make the book shine!

GO TO PART TWELVE

Writing To Music

I don't do silence while I'm writing. It's too weird. I like background noise (as long as that background noise isn't a couple of kids arguing about who's taking up more than their fair share of the sofa. Yes, I am talking about my kids) but it can't be a TV program as I'll end up tuning in and my writing will be forgotten. So, music, for me, is the perfect solution.

I like the music to set the scene, so if I'm writing something festive, a bit of Noddy Holder shouting at the top of his lungs that it's Christmas is spot on (plus, I'll use any excuse to listen to Crimbo music). But most of my books aren't set at Christmas so I need something to suit my non-festive rom coms. I'll usually head for 80s or 90s pop compilations but I've recently set up a romantic comedy playlist of my own, made up of the playlists of some of my favourite rom com films.

So far, the playlist consists of playlists from:

 13 Going 30

You've Got Mail

Picture Perfect

Clueless

Groundhog Day

Notting Hill &

Bridget Jones' Diary

It's a work-in-progress, so I'll be adding more playlists (usually after I've watched them, because why not? Who doesn't love a good rom com?) but it's the perfect compilation to listen to while I'm writing. It's full of upbeat and quirky tunes as well as more melodic songs oozing romance and love.

You can listen to my playlist below via Spotify, or you can save it to your own account to listen to it whenever you're in a romantic comedy mood!