Plan: I’m going to self-publish by October.
I’ve said, now I have to do it, right? That’s how all this works. I write it. I edit it. I find that I’m not completely satisfied with it, but I can’t sit on this book for another year. The first draft of this book was penned when I was still a teenager. I’m almost 42 now and the story has changed many, many, many times as I’ve grown and changed myself. It feels like a right of passage. I need to set the little birdie free to fly or fall. Then I can hone my process and finish writing one of these half-done projects sitting in the “unfinished” folder. Or…I can write a new one. The possibilities are endless.
If you can’t tell I’m trying for pep talk. It difficult to keep momentum during life’s trips and crashes. Does this work for you? If so, can you offer suggestions or help me hone these skills. The world is messy and I like to keep a clean house. Yes, I’ll work on my metaphors too, but first let’s discuss where I’m at in this process.
The Title
The current status of my book that is temporarily called This Haint No Party… I’m not sure the title will work. Its a play on ain’t no and haint. A haint is a ghost. This is a word we hear a lot here in Charleston. Many porches in this neck of the woods have haint blue porches. It’s supposed to ward off evil spirits according to the Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Africans who were enslaved along the lower Atlantic coast.
The tradition of painting ceilings light blue to match the sky was done by using the dye of the indigo plants from the plantations they were working on. The blue coloring would trick the haints into believing that it was the sky. Over time, more people participated in this trend and It became less known for scaring ghosts away, but more known for keeping wasps and birds away. It has been known to keep them from nesting since they too believe that the blue represents the sky.
The Editing (Revisiting)
I’ve edited the book to death in the past, but I’m taking one more pass with fresh eyes to focus on my central character’s journey. In my reading of it again, I found she wasn’t changed as greatly as I had hoped. What I mean is that she goes through soooooo much in one night and still makes it to the wedding one time. Her and all of her friends are faced with a night of secrets being revealed and they’re dealing with a malevolent ghost. Surely everyone needs to feel the impact. So that’s one of my challenges in the revisit.
The other comes as a surprise to me. I’ve got a great deal of dialogue. Who knows why I was focused so heavily on that a few years ago, but I am tampering some of it down with some action and description to keep the scene alive. I don’t want the dialogue to be the only thing driving the forward.
So, the big picture editing is focused on:
Pacing: Trim early banter, keep late game tension sharp.
Arcs: Dani must choose at key turning points; group fractures must feel inevitable.
Supernatural: Add clarity at the climax – mysterious, but not confusing.
I’ve gone into the story in chunks trying to find where I can make all this happen. I’m not sure if it’ll make sense to everyone, but here are my notes from my latest read and discussion with my wife. She truly is my shining star and has been dedicated to helping me finish this. I thank her every day.
Thank you, my Amy
My Editing Checklist
Opening (Prologue → Ch. 3)
Hook early – strengthen the eerie note in Ch. 1 so readers sense danger quickly.
Trim banter in Ch. 2 so tension doesn’t get lost.
In Ch. 3, let the uncanny moments linger longer before normalcy returns.
Early Rising Action (Ch. 4–6)
End Ch. 4 & 6 with stronger cliffhangers – readers should feel “something’s coming.”
Show Dani’s inner unease more clearly as she starts noticing patterns.
Balance slice-of-life with tension – keep suspense humming beneath the chatter.
Mid Rising Action (Ch. 7–9)
Sharpen skeptic vs. believer conflict in the group (Ch. 7).
Hold supernatural beats longer before banter resumes (Ch. 8).
Make Dani’s turning point clear in Ch. 9 – she chooses to pay attention, no more sideline role.
Middle Escalation (Ch. 10–12)
Streamline subplots in Ch. 10 – too many threads could confuse.
In Ch. 11, show Dani’s emotional pivot (fear – resolve).
Keep dread alive in Ch. 12 (aftermath shouldn’t feel “safe”).
Late Rising Action (Ch. 13–15)
Focus each chapter on one conflict type (external vs. internal) to avoid overload.
In Ch. 14, anchor Dani with a decisive action or choice.
End Ch. 15 on ominous foreshadowing – “the storm is here.”
Climax Runway (Ch. 16–18)
Make Dani’s big decision explicit in Ch. 16 – her true point of no return.
Anchor Ch. 17 conflict in Dani’s arc (not just chaos).
Clarify supernatural “rules” in Ch. 18 so payoff feels earned.
Resolution (Ch. 19–20 + Epilogue)
Ensure Dani’s final act is her choice (agency at climax).
Use Ch. 20 to slow down – let grief, scars, or aftermath breathe.
Echo Prologue themes in Epilogue – show the world changed, Dani transformed.
**Please Note: This list was compiled neatly into this post, but is in no way clean or pretty in my notebook. I made it look pretty to share because I was embarrassed about the amount of feelings that I also scribbles, struck, and doodled across the page.**
Publishing
The date is set and I’m not going to be mean to myself if I have to extend it. I am trying to tell myself that I can get it done by the weekend of October 3rd, but I have another date just in case that doesn’t work out. I’d like to have my ghost story out before Halloween. I think that makes sense. Don’t you?
The ultimate plan is to do a DIY Self Publishing route that was cooked up after years of trying to sort myself out. I will be publishing a paperback through one place and an eBook through another place. That’s still loose I realize, but I am trying to do this without spending money on anything besides notebooks and pens.
I’ve still got to cook up a book cover. This is something that I am considering paying money for since it will be the visual representation of my work and I want it to catch your interest. I will spend time researching Fiverr and other places for their services. When it comes down to spending money, I’m not yet comfortable nor do I believe in myself enough to spend too much here or on any part of this process. I am lacking in writerly confidence and if I’m honest, confidence in general has eluded me as of late.
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