There have been A LOT of exciting things going on around here lately.
Did you hear? Simon & Schuster bought TWO more books from us! Yep, that means they are stuck with us for THREE novels. (We love a publisher that isn't afraid to commit...) So, in addition to Your Perfect Life, which follows two childhood best friends who switch bodies at their 20 year high school reunion (June 2014), we are currently revising Famous Last Words, about a celebrity who kills herself and the tabloid reporter who's blamed for sending her over the edge. And then we'll be digging in on book #3! (Details coming soon. In fact, if you haven't already, you should subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you're getting the latest news.)
Bottom line? We are incredibly thankful and still wondering how the hell we got here! But as excited as we are that S&S is going to publish Famous Last Words, there's one thing we that we aren't so excited about. The part of the process that strikes fear into our hearts:
Revisions.
We kind of hate on them. And each other while we work on them.
Well, hate is probably too strong of a word. Let's just say we'd rather get a full body wax or watch a Teen Mom marathon while getting said wax.
We've mentioned before that our editor and agent are uh-mazing. But with an amazing editor and agent comes incredibly thoughtful and smart notes that you NEED TO LISTEN TO because those notes will take your book to the next level. Many notes that have us thinking, duh, why didn't WE think of that or that or that? *bangs palm onto forehead*
Thankfully, after writing together for 5 years, we've finally reached the point where we no longer argue for hours over one word or whether or not a character should wear a trucker hat. So, this time around, we feel we've honed our editing skills (and attitudes!) and have been volleying the manuscript back and forth like Venus and Serena at the US Open. In fact, we *think* we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank GAWD!
And we've learned a few new things about each other, too. Yep, that's right, after over 25+ years of friendship, there are STILL things to discover! You see, Lisa can be bit OCD and Liz a bit ADD. Put those together and what do you get? A very interesting editing experience.
Oh, and before we forget, leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a copy of Anita Hughes' Lake Como!
WHAT L&L LEARNED ABOUT EACH OTHER: REVISION HELL EDITION
LIZ:
What Lisa says: Wow! Nice job on these edits! Your descriptions were awesome!
What Lisa means: I *might* have taken out a *few* things from your last edit and turned the boyfriend into a flea-market shopping hipster. Oh, and I may have said the leather couch you put in his home was "cliche."
What Lisa says: When you get into the manuscript, you'll see I have a few "questions."
What Lisa means: I am questioning EVERYTHING. No stone will go unturned!
LISA:
What Liz says: I MUST have the manuscript by Saturday morning at 6am--not a moment later! I'm going to work on it ALL day.
What Liz means: I'm going to sleep in, then post all my Hawaii pics on Facebook, play Candy Crush, try out a new recipe and then watch that new episode of Catfish before cramming ten hours of editing into two. But no worries!
What Liz says: Oh, ya, I totally read through that, it was genius!
What Liz means: I skimmed it over a thirty second period while posting pictures to Instagram. I can't remember exactly what I read, but it seemed fine! Let's move on to the next thing!
As always, thanks for taking this journey with us. We couldn't do it without your support! Leave a comment below about your own writing experience or anything that's on your mind and be entered to win a copy of Anita Hughes' Lake Como! We'll choose the winner after 8am on September 2nd.