In addition to a different kind of revising--mostly cutting and trying to improve the wording and sharpen the characters and setting--I'm also curious to see what beta readers saw coming and what came out of the blue so I can adjust the level of hinting. It's hard for me to figure out since I know everything and my wife read the rough draft so she's been corrupted too.

I'm still in 53 and still haven't got to the reunion.

I hope I can manage to cut a good 15k words after this revision. It feels like a construction project, I've got parts I want to add or expand, I need to remove things and probably more than I have on the chopping table already.

Some comments and my own observations made me realize one of the many fixes I need to make are to establish the relationship between two of the races better. My Faran race should be the sort of thing you scare children with while the same is pretty much true in reverse. There are some exceptions in one location in particular where there is an uneasy treaty, but in general I'm not sure the vibe is there.

So many things to work on.

Thoughts on paying for notes? I still have a little Christmas money so it wouldn't be a sacrifice as such... But that would be it so I'd hate to pay to have the guy say he hated it...people have been hating my work for free for years.

I have no idea how useful that is or not. I could look at something, but it wouldn't be quick turnaround at the moment. Not that I'm an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

It's okay...I know you're busy and this is forty pages. Just wondered if anyone here had, essentially, paid for a beta reader.

wanders in to whine

Good God, I hate writing TOCs. Really, really hate. My agent told me that I didn't have to do a full proposal for the 2nd GCS book (no sample chapter), but this TOC is going to kill me. Because I know what I want to write, but turning it into an outline? Not how my brain works.

Jilli, clearly, we need to meet up and I can be your official notetaker/outline wrangler or something. When's it due?

Plei, I'd like to send the proposal off by early next week. But! I just sent the TOC draft to the beta readers (of which you are one, ahem). But yes, having you be my official outline wrangler would be awesome.

I'm still chipping away at 53. At least the next time I work on it I'll get to the reunion which nails down another plot point on the way to the conclusion.

Unfortunately, it looks like I'll need an extra chapter. This will take me to chapter 58 being the last chapter.