It was such a good book! I loved it so much! I’m asexual and usually don’t read romances, but I love the way you did it. Honestly, I’m so buying the stars we steal as an e book. I have high hopes!!!! ❤️ ❤️
@@racyrowdyrocket I did one full pass on it--but I didn't let it sit before that edit. It's why it is labeled draft 0/1--my "raw" drafts are 0s (usually without a complete ending), my first edit pass drafts are 1s (with a complete ending). I do this on all my books even now that I'm published--I just do that first pass with my editor now, also with very little "sit" time. I do advise people let their books sit before editing and then querying, but ymmv.
Your videos always make me want to just start writing right away. Not because I don't like them and I'd rather write something than watch more lmao, but because your passion is so communicative and it brings me the enthusiasm I lost about writing. So thank you very much!
This is why I love it when fanfic authors leave up their original version while rewriting their fic. It always reveals so much about how to truly get better writing.
It's an extremely enlightening video. Thank you for having a peek into the writing process. It's just a bit weird to watch it without having read the book. I've read Jane Eyre twice though. I hope that I understood what I really had to.
This is so enlightening, and honestly it's inspired me to think about going deeper with my own revisions! I've yet to finish my first draft, but I'm incredibly close. I already have thoughts on characters I'm going to cut, scenes that don't work etc, but this has made me think of how much deeper I can go with my book and how much I can improve it and I am READY. ...Once I've finished drafting.
This was SO helpful! Your videos always help me to look at my own novel in a completely new light. I am struggling with my third rewrite and, like you, I got stuck a few chapters from the end. After taking a break and letting it sit for several months, I went back and realized that one of my favorite scenes was a huge problem and only hindered the story. I ended up cutting this scene, as well as about five characters (I often struggle with character soup as well). Though I've been working on this book for about six years, there is still so much more revision to do and it often feels overwhelming. I'm a very slow writer, as well as a full time student, so this has made it quite difficult. However, your videos are so enlightening and always inspire me to keep going. Thank you so much for making them!
I read Jane Eyre and knew what the end game was but I shipped Jon and Stella so hard. This was also a brilliant video, so helpful!!! Thank you so much :D
I'm working on (dreading) editing my novel this year. I'm so glad I watched this, I got two editing ideas while watching. One about how I can tie in a plot point, and the other is a phrasing thing. Thank you for making such an in depth video about revising!
Omg, thank you so much !! I always wanted a sneak peek at your book, thank you for sharing the process with us !! Im an amateur writers with dreams n I really needed help..thank uu😘😘
I am so behind on these videos-- granted-- and I don't think I have ever ONCE been sufficiently moved to actually comment on one before... and yet, that being said, I just wanted to pop in and say how much I am enjoying your UA-cam channel, Alexa. It's a breath of fresh air and not only because it's so unique. I think what I am drawn to is your ability to be honest AND likable while talking about writing! I'm not sure how you get around my automatic "mental pitbull" that decides to attack every time I hear something about writing that has the slightest whiff of criticism to it, but the pitbull is all poodle when you're tossing some real talk its way. So, thanks for the help and I will let you know if I am able to overcome my own writing woes in order to write... well, something... someday!
Alexa, great video! I'm right in the middle of a structural re-edit of my second draft. Hearing what it took for you, and the changes you made is extremely helpful. Thanks!
You are an angel...this is PRECISELY the video I needed right now! I just started revising my first draft, and I'm making some big changes, so I'm SO HAPPY you put this video out!! Thanks Alexa
Thank you!!! It's awesome to see the diffrence between the first draft and final product. I'm still writing my first draft and expect it to be something HUGE and interesting and a lot more but your proccess made me realise that I should be trying out things and making the skeleton of my story and then changing and rewriting and so on. You are the best!
Just finished reading your book a few days ago and watching this was really cool! I loved hearing what your revision process was and what kinds of things change from conception to publication. Thanks for always giving us in-depth looks at the publishing process, your videos are so insightful and invaluable to me!
I'm SO glad you made those changes to the third act of the book! The stakes really got me invested. Also, this helps give me hope for my own revisions because right now I'm working on my first draft and I keep coming up with ideas for revision to the stuff I've already written and just seeing an example of HOW you went about revising and how you got it done makes it feel more doable for me!
This is such a great video! I'm a pantser, too, and even though I write children's adventure stories, I saw many similarities with the revisions. It would be interesting to know if plotters also change a lot during revisions, or if these kind of changes happen during their outlining phase.
First off, this video was awesome. It took me a while to get to it, but I’m glad I did. I’m going through my “draft zero” and got stuck at the last 2 chapters as well before going back to the start to edit and insert the missing pieces that needed to be threaded through. It was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders when you said that. Thank you. I’m not querying my book but I am putting it up for Wattpad’s Wattys 2020 competition, and when you said you queried early in you editing process, that gave me a boost of confidence in uploading the earlier edits of my book in September. Basically, this video is just awesome all around. Once again, thank you 😊
I've been binge-watching your videos since I discovered your channel a few days ago. I don't even write fiction, but I sure read a ton of it (and write ABOUT it, too), and I am loving this behind-the-scenes look at writing and publication. I also enjoy trying to read all the book and movie titles on the shelves behind you! lol
Can you do the same for The Stars We Steal? I know you've mentioned some major changes to the plot in your vlogs but I'd love a more detailed video on how it evolved!
Honestly, I wasn't planning to read this but NOW I am all for Brightly Burning LOL. This was so helpful too!!! I even took notes because I'm about to revise my first draft.
This is so helpful and encouraging. Thank you! I've always felt like I have my best ideas after a few revisions and it's great to know there's room for making changes in the publishing process :-)
Thank you for this! I just finished writing the first draft of my first book and was torn about how to jump into revising it. This really helps, I actually was reminded of certain parts of my book while I was listening to you. You're incredible!
Thank you so much for sharing this process! I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous about getting to the point where an editor wants me to change things about my book 🙈 but it’s so good to hear how much more you loved it after all the edits ♥️
I've found my experiences with my editors very pleasant! I also generally enjoy collaborative storytelling--I like working with critique partners, and my agent in order to reach the best story outcome. So my editorial processes have gone pretty smoothly. Also, per here, my editor didn't really make me change much at all about BB. Her edits were mild. There was far more work I had to do on my 2nd book (b/c I turned in a draft zero to them), and thus more notes to address. I enjoyed all the problem solving work. Ultimately, the decisions to edit/change things are always mine, so I can reassure you that no one can really make you do anything you don't want to. You have to strike a balance between confidence and control and knowing when to bend--editors neither want to work with pushovers (doing literally EVERYTHING someone else says can destroy a book) nor with brick walls who refuse to do any editorial work (that's a one way ticket to never getting another book contract).
@@AlexaDonne That really reminds me of my CP. I have such an INCREDIBLE CP. She has challenged my current draft and really forced me to question so much of the motives and arcs. I guess, in a sense, she has prepped me for editorial critiques! But reassuring to know I have the final say on everything.
I know you said that there were spoilers, and usually I don't like spoilers but it just made me really want to read the book. Gotta add it to my reading list.
Thanks! I love your attitude. I've self-published my novels. They are just starting to get beyond 1 and 2 stars. I'm about a 4 star now, but I'm not good enough to sell it. My first books was TERRIBLE. Oddly enough, it was popular in AU. Italy gave me the worst score.
Watching this in 2021, words like 'vaccine', 'quarantine' and 'virus' have a whole new meaning...I know I'm a bit late to this one but thanks for the great content Alexa!
This was very inspirational! Gave me some ideas for my own edits! Great video Alexa! I know I don't like killing people in fiction but it sometimes need to be done!
That was interesting... both hearing about revision and about your story. Rather than being feeling spoiled, I feel like hearing a trailer (as weird as it may sound...) I feel like buying it (Though I'm in the middle of my 20's)... But it's hell expensive to buy it where I live
Thanks for this. I'm an author as well and of all the authors I follow, I feel like you're one of only a few who actually share the nitty-gritty about what we do. FWIW, it's common to cut char, words, etc. bc the publishers' costs increase with longer books, and for the most part they can't recoup those higher costs. I'm glad you agreed with the cuts you made on this book - I don't always agree. In YA it sounds like you have quite a bit of freedom, whereas in certain adult genres there are fairly rigid rules about action/ violence/ sex every X pages and they want to see a certain structure
This is great I think you should do this with every book you right. It helps with writing. Also it’s vary interesting to hear how your process changed. I would listen to these with others of my other books if they did it. So thanks
A fascinating and useful insight into the real-world revision process. Thank you! I'm working on a book right now but I have two others 'trunked', and some of your comments about emotional conflict in your final chapter(s) immediately highlighted a problem that exists in my first book which I drafted in 2013 and never edited. It was a problem that I hadn't spotted before, and If I ever do dig it out and start revising it, I'll already have at least one important note to address. :)
GIRL! BEST BOOK PROMO VIDEO YET. I am DYING to watch this but haven't read your book yet so ordered it IMMEDIATELY so I can read it THEN come back to watch this video full of spoilers. G'DAMNIT WHY DIDN'T I BUY IT EARLIER.
I just finished your book a week ago. I was not expecting the ending to be on such a grand scale, I just expected a similar scenario to Jane Eyre: his mom is in the attic and maybe had that virus which made her crazy, and that's it. It ended up so much more interesting and exciting, and then looking back through the book I realized there were clues leading up to it, which is awesome. I thought you definitely succeeded at foreshadowing.
@@AlexaDonne Firstly, when you say against "Character Soup" what about some examples that are "Cult Followings" that have *ALLOT* of Characters like: Lord of the rings OR the T.V. series The Simpsons & to a lesser extent the chronicles of Narnia? Secondly, How do I know *IF* my introduction of a Character OR the main Character is too long? 🤔🔮✍🎭
I bought the book the other day and I stayed up until 4 am reading it so I could watch this without spoilers aaaaAAA I love it!! My fave character is Hanada, and I found myself relating to Xiao a bit, so she’s a big fave too. ❤️❤️❤️
I did make it to the end. I’ve never pantsed a novel before but I’m doing that to this one and I’m horrified but it’s fun? I saved this so I can come back to the video after finishing my first draft. Your advice might just save a chaotic book ^^
It's not uncommon nowadays when, in order to sell, authors work with their agents pre-submission to polish their books into a glossy shine. It's just so hard to even sell a book now that a lot of what goes on submission is near publication-ready quality. (not always, but I have an agent who doesn't submit sloppy work). I did a LOT more developmental editing on my 2nd book because I essentially drafted that for my editor--she was sent my draft zero and we did two major rounds of edits together.
For sake of argument, let's say that you see your final product as a 10/10. How would you rate the previous versions? Do you think there was a meteoric rise in quality, or does it feel like minor improvements amid more stylistic shifts?
I read a preview of it and I've never read Jane Eyre, but just as a book in general I found what I had read so far to be too quickly paced for me, lol.
alexa, without hesitation most of your videos (this one specifically) are absolutely spot on.. i appreciate and admire you and am grateful for your intelligent, well thought-out clips..but equally alluring is that delicious eyeliner so jauntily placed at each eye's edge.. you make it seem so easy, you she-devil! so, how about a tutorial of this eye look? honestly, we would still respect you next morning,..
Oof so many rewrites, sounds difficult, ive never ely tried rewriting one of my books yet hehe, not looking forward to it, its gonna be a lot! :( Really interesting to hear this tho!
Ms. Donne, I love your explanation of you book process.. Im curious if when you make these edits you save the original...? I know I watched Dan Brown on Master class, and he mentioned that some of what he wrote/writes is just garbage. I was just wondering if you save any writing for yourself, maybe ponder about what it could be?
How in the world did you come up with your style of story? What influenced your story and or writing if I may ask? I suppose I am not very SyFi-ish person myself, but I must say, you sell it so well! I enjoy your channel so much.
I went more in depth with my characters so before my first draft was finished I needed to change a lot ^^ But my characters are so sweet and well developed, I wondered. I kinda fell in love with all my characters. Do you feel the same with your characters? I really wonder about this... am I the only one feeling this? ❤️
I may have missed it, but was Burning Brightly the first manuscript youve ever wrote? Or do you have previous unpublished manuscripts? Just curious. Good vid
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so worried that I haven't worked out exactly how all my big twists are going to look like, that I don't have a robust enough 'plot twist' yet. So helpful to know this can come later on in the revision process too and you don't need to have it all figured out when you're first drafting. Also, I LOVED Brightly Burning
Three month is super impressive even if it had to get edited a lot, congratulations. What did you do for work before/during the book? Once you published the book were you able to quit the Job or has your life stayed relatively the same?
Ooh awesome! I have always wondered about this topic. Sometimes I want read my favorite books first draft, just to see the difference. But I bet the author probably would die before letting me, so, there goes that dream. But honeslty I don't blame them 🙃
7 min in and I just had to pause. One round of edits before querying? Is that ok? I'm on draft 8 and I keep saying this is the last one before querying but I'm terrified that it's not polished enough. My mind, she is blown.
Well, in fairness, in the video I say don't do what I did! I was also on my third book and had previously been agented--I'd say it was a pretty clean draft! BUT the two editorial things I mentioned that my agent had me change were also reasons other agents passed. I might have gotten more offers if I revised more. You always take a gamble! But if you've put in a lot of work, at some point you do just have to query :)
TIMESTAMPS!
01:53 Draft 0/1 revision (query draft)
07:11 Draft 2 revision (w/ agent, submission draft)
14:31 Draft 3 revision (between sub rounds)
23:50 Draft 4 (final published version)
31:42 Any regrets?
It was such a good book! I loved it so much! I’m asexual and usually don’t read romances, but I love the way you did it. Honestly, I’m so buying the stars we steal as an e book. I have high hopes!!!! ❤️ ❤️
Did you not edit it at all before submitting it to your agent?
@@racyrowdyrocket I did one full pass on it--but I didn't let it sit before that edit. It's why it is labeled draft 0/1--my "raw" drafts are 0s (usually without a complete ending), my first edit pass drafts are 1s (with a complete ending). I do this on all my books even now that I'm published--I just do that first pass with my editor now, also with very little "sit" time. I do advise people let their books sit before editing and then querying, but ymmv.
How rare do we get to hear an author go so in depth about the process. What an awesome resource you are, thank you!
Your videos always make me want to just start writing right away. Not because I don't like them and I'd rather write something than watch more lmao, but because your passion is so communicative and it brings me the enthusiasm I lost about writing. So thank you very much!
Omg, same!
The fact that she goes through EACH AND EVERY step in her writing, makes me happyy
LOL Constance wasn't...CONSTANT (omg i hate myself going back into the revising cave okay bye)
I am now dead. You killed me. :P
This is why I love it when fanfic authors leave up their original version while rewriting their fic. It always reveals so much about how to truly get better writing.
The best video you've ever made.
The passion for your work shows.
So Orion and Sebastian spin off novel when? ;D
It's an extremely enlightening video. Thank you for having a peek into the writing process. It's just a bit weird to watch it without having read the book. I've read Jane Eyre twice though. I hope that I understood what I really had to.
Oooooh!!!! This is such a GREAT topic! You're answering questions I didn't even know I had. Which is Great!
This is so enlightening, and honestly it's inspired me to think about going deeper with my own revisions! I've yet to finish my first draft, but I'm incredibly close. I already have thoughts on characters I'm going to cut, scenes that don't work etc, but this has made me think of how much deeper I can go with my book and how much I can improve it and I am READY. ...Once I've finished drafting.
This was SO helpful! Your videos always help me to look at my own novel in a completely new light. I am struggling with my third rewrite and, like you, I got stuck a few chapters from the end. After taking a break and letting it sit for several months, I went back and realized that one of my favorite scenes was a huge problem and only hindered the story. I ended up cutting this scene, as well as about five characters (I often struggle with character soup as well). Though I've been working on this book for about six years, there is still so much more revision to do and it often feels overwhelming. I'm a very slow writer, as well as a full time student, so this has made it quite difficult. However, your videos are so enlightening and always inspire me to keep going. Thank you so much for making them!
I read Jane Eyre and knew what the end game was but I shipped Jon and Stella so hard.
This was also a brilliant video, so helpful!!! Thank you so much :D
I'm working on (dreading) editing my novel this year. I'm so glad I watched this, I got two editing ideas while watching. One about how I can tie in a plot point, and the other is a phrasing thing. Thank you for making such an in depth video about revising!
Her passion is so cute. She's not writing highbrow literature (as far as I know), but she is all in and I love it.
Just finished the book yesterday and really enjoyed it! It's definitely in the top of Authortube books I've read so far.
You give me a lot of motivation. Your tips and experiences really help little aspiring writers like me! 😁
Omg, thank you so much !! I always wanted a sneak peek at your book, thank you for sharing the process with us !! Im an amateur writers with dreams n I really needed help..thank uu😘😘
I am so behind on these videos-- granted-- and I don't think I have ever ONCE been sufficiently moved to actually comment on one before... and yet, that being said, I just wanted to pop in and say how much I am enjoying your UA-cam channel, Alexa. It's a breath of fresh air and not only because it's so unique. I think what I am drawn to is your ability to be honest AND likable while talking about writing! I'm not sure how you get around my automatic "mental pitbull" that decides to attack every time I hear something about writing that has the slightest whiff of criticism to it, but the pitbull is all poodle when you're tossing some real talk its way. So, thanks for the help and I will let you know if I am able to overcome my own writing woes in order to write... well, something... someday!
Hello Alexa! You are awesome. You talk about things I can't talk to anyone about or if I do, they won't get or can't help. Thanks for your generosity!
Alexa, great video! I'm right in the middle of a structural re-edit of my second draft. Hearing what it took for you, and the changes you made is extremely helpful. Thanks!
You are an angel...this is PRECISELY the video I needed right now! I just started revising my first draft, and I'm making some big changes, so I'm SO HAPPY you put this video out!! Thanks Alexa
Thank you!!! It's awesome to see the diffrence between the first draft and final product. I'm still writing my first draft and expect it to be something HUGE and interesting and a lot more but your proccess made me realise that I should be trying out things and making the skeleton of my story and then changing and rewriting and so on. You are the best!
Just finished reading your book a few days ago and watching this was really cool! I loved hearing what your revision process was and what kinds of things change from conception to publication. Thanks for always giving us in-depth looks at the publishing process, your videos are so insightful and invaluable to me!
I love talking revisions and changes to a book! One of my favorite things as a writer. Can't wait for the next one!
I'm SO glad you made those changes to the third act of the book! The stakes really got me invested.
Also, this helps give me hope for my own revisions because right now I'm working on my first draft and I keep coming up with ideas for revision to the stuff I've already written and just seeing an example of HOW you went about revising and how you got it done makes it feel more doable for me!
I've been watching for a long time, but this video made me finally download the book. Very excited.
This is really interesting after reading Brightly Burning a couple of months ago, it’s definitely cool to see how the characters change!
So that’s the character you’ve been saying that someone ended up changing your mind about killing them off, I’m glad they survived in the end.
This is such a great video! I'm a pantser, too, and even though I write children's adventure stories, I saw many similarities with the revisions. It would be interesting to know if plotters also change a lot during revisions, or if these kind of changes happen during their outlining phase.
You're so passionate about your art. I wish you all the happiness in life Alexa 💙
The advice at 16:00 is golden. Thank you!
First off, this video was awesome. It took me a while to get to it, but I’m glad I did. I’m going through my “draft zero” and got stuck at the last 2 chapters as well before going back to the start to edit and insert the missing pieces that needed to be threaded through. It was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders when you said that. Thank you. I’m not querying my book but I am putting it up for Wattpad’s Wattys 2020 competition, and when you said you queried early in you editing process, that gave me a boost of confidence in uploading the earlier edits of my book in September. Basically, this video is just awesome all around. Once again, thank you 😊
BEST. VIDEO. EVER. I love seeing how a book changes after edits!
Such a fun video, Alexa! I’m fascinated by the number of characters who were cut! As soon as I saw you post this video, I knew I’d eat it up!
I loved john!!!! I didn't know it was a retelling, I might have to read Jane eyre now.
I finished reading Brightly Burning just in time for this video! Thanks, Alexa. I loved hearing the kind of revisions you went through.
I've been binge-watching your videos since I discovered your channel a few days ago. I don't even write fiction, but I sure read a ton of it (and write ABOUT it, too), and I am loving this behind-the-scenes look at writing and publication. I also enjoy trying to read all the book and movie titles on the shelves behind you! lol
This is truly helpful! I got stuck at the end too and this may just give me the kick in the butt I needed! Thank you!!!
Can you do the same for The Stars We Steal? I know you've mentioned some major changes to the plot in your vlogs but I'd love a more detailed video on how it evolved!
I found your drafting experience and process enlightening. Thanks.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who comes up with ideas as they’re writing. Love your videos, keep it up!
Honestly, I wasn't planning to read this but NOW I am all for Brightly Burning LOL. This was so helpful too!!! I even took notes because I'm about to revise my first draft.
This is so helpful and encouraging. Thank you! I've always felt like I have my best ideas after a few revisions and it's great to know there's room for making changes in the publishing process :-)
This is the kind of content I live for!!
Thank you for this! I just finished writing the first draft of my first book and was torn about how to jump into revising it. This really helps, I actually was reminded of certain parts of my book while I was listening to you. You're incredible!
Thank you so much for sharing this process! I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous about getting to the point where an editor wants me to change things about my book 🙈 but it’s so good to hear how much more you loved it after all the edits ♥️
I've found my experiences with my editors very pleasant! I also generally enjoy collaborative storytelling--I like working with critique partners, and my agent in order to reach the best story outcome. So my editorial processes have gone pretty smoothly. Also, per here, my editor didn't really make me change much at all about BB. Her edits were mild. There was far more work I had to do on my 2nd book (b/c I turned in a draft zero to them), and thus more notes to address. I enjoyed all the problem solving work. Ultimately, the decisions to edit/change things are always mine, so I can reassure you that no one can really make you do anything you don't want to. You have to strike a balance between confidence and control and knowing when to bend--editors neither want to work with pushovers (doing literally EVERYTHING someone else says can destroy a book) nor with brick walls who refuse to do any editorial work (that's a one way ticket to never getting another book contract).
@@AlexaDonne That really reminds me of my CP. I have such an INCREDIBLE CP. She has challenged my current draft and really forced me to question so much of the motives and arcs. I guess, in a sense, she has prepped me for editorial critiques! But reassuring to know I have the final say on everything.
Your videos are always helpful. Thank you!
This was a very good video and the first time you actually spoke about your book that lasted more than 10 seconds. Thanks for your input.
Super generous of you to share your experiences. Thanks!
So informative and helpful. Enjoyed hearing about your process and the role your agent had.
Fascinating! It's so great to hear about all of the changes that happened. Gives me hope for my own novel! (Cause it needs a lot of revisions... lol.)
just had a massive breakthrough on my book when I was watching this, thank you so much!!
I know you said that there were spoilers, and usually I don't like spoilers but it just made me really want to read the book. Gotta add it to my reading list.
Thanks! I love your attitude. I've self-published my novels. They are just starting to get beyond 1 and 2 stars. I'm about a 4 star now, but I'm not good enough to sell it. My first books was TERRIBLE. Oddly enough, it was popular in AU. Italy gave me the worst score.
You talk about your craft with love ! We all should !
Watching this in 2021, words like 'vaccine', 'quarantine' and 'virus' have a whole new meaning...I know I'm a bit late to this one but thanks for the great content Alexa!
This was very inspirational! Gave me some ideas for my own edits! Great video Alexa! I know I don't like killing people in fiction but it sometimes need to be done!
That was interesting... both hearing about revision and about your story. Rather than being feeling spoiled, I feel like hearing a trailer (as weird as it may sound...) I feel like buying it (Though I'm in the middle of my 20's)... But it's hell expensive to buy it where I live
Thanks for this. I'm an author as well and of all the authors I follow, I feel like you're one of only a few who actually share the nitty-gritty about what we do. FWIW, it's common to cut char, words, etc. bc the publishers' costs increase with longer books, and for the most part they can't recoup those higher costs. I'm glad you agreed with the cuts you made on this book - I don't always agree. In YA it sounds like you have quite a bit of freedom, whereas in certain adult genres there are fairly rigid rules about action/ violence/ sex every X pages and they want to see a certain structure
This is great I think you should do this with every book you right. It helps with writing. Also it’s vary interesting to hear how your process changed. I would listen to these with others of my other books if they did it. So thanks
Thanks! That was so instructive. You put a lot of energy and work into your video. Well done!
A fascinating and useful insight into the real-world revision process. Thank you! I'm working on a book right now but I have two others 'trunked', and some of your comments about emotional conflict in your final chapter(s) immediately highlighted a problem that exists in my first book which I drafted in 2013 and never edited. It was a problem that I hadn't spotted before, and If I ever do dig it out and start revising it, I'll already have at least one important note to address. :)
I actually gasped when you said you killed George!!! I remember being so upset when I read he got shot but then he was okay 😭😭😭
Loved the video! It really helps to hear about the process I will hopefully be going through soon!
17:27 unputdownable lol i love it
GIRL! BEST BOOK PROMO VIDEO YET. I am DYING to watch this but haven't read your book yet so ordered it IMMEDIATELY so I can read it THEN come back to watch this video full of spoilers. G'DAMNIT WHY DIDN'T I BUY IT EARLIER.
If you're an ebook reader, a sale is coming next week!
@@AlexaDonne Omg I might have to get the ebook too, so I can read it faster - but I have already placed an order for the paperback - no regrets!
@@Julzperri Oooh, yes, good call. The paperback is gorgeous :D
@@AlexaDonne I adore your cover art, both for hardcover and paperback 😍
Alexa, Brightly Burning rocks. LOVE IT!
It really was “unputdownable.” I literally ignored my kids the last half of the day yesterday to burn through the last third of the book. So good.
This book was the greatest thing to end my 2019 on.
Awesome video!
I just finished your book a week ago. I was not expecting the ending to be on such a grand scale, I just expected a similar scenario to Jane Eyre: his mom is in the attic and maybe had that virus which made her crazy, and that's it. It ended up so much more interesting and exciting, and then looking back through the book I realized there were clues leading up to it, which is awesome. I thought you definitely succeeded at foreshadowing.
Thank you! I'm glad it worked for you--that is so nice to hear :)
@@AlexaDonne Firstly, when you say against "Character Soup" what about some examples that are "Cult Followings" that have *ALLOT* of Characters like: Lord of the rings OR the T.V. series The Simpsons & to a lesser extent the chronicles of Narnia? Secondly, How do I know *IF* my introduction of a Character OR the main Character is too long? 🤔🔮✍🎭
Being at about this point myself this was fun to see. Thanks!
I bought the book the other day and I stayed up until 4 am reading it so I could watch this without spoilers aaaaAAA I love it!! My fave character is Hanada, and I found myself relating to Xiao a bit, so she’s a big fave too. ❤️❤️❤️
When do I get my medal? And will it be filled with chocolate?
This was excellent!!! Love seeing your process
I did make it to the end. I’ve never pantsed a novel before but I’m doing that to this one and I’m horrified but it’s fun? I saved this so I can come back to the video after finishing my first draft. Your advice might just save a chaotic book ^^
Loved this video! Can you please do a video about making a query letter?
I'm surprised you only went through one major developmental edit with your editor. Very interesting video!
It's not uncommon nowadays when, in order to sell, authors work with their agents pre-submission to polish their books into a glossy shine. It's just so hard to even sell a book now that a lot of what goes on submission is near publication-ready quality. (not always, but I have an agent who doesn't submit sloppy work). I did a LOT more developmental editing on my 2nd book because I essentially drafted that for my editor--she was sent my draft zero and we did two major rounds of edits together.
You just earned yourself a subscriber.
For sake of argument, let's say that you see your final product as a 10/10. How would you rate the previous versions? Do you think there was a meteoric rise in quality, or does it feel like minor improvements amid more stylistic shifts?
I read a preview of it and I've never read Jane Eyre, but just as a book in general I found what I had read so far to be too quickly paced for me, lol.
alexa, without hesitation most of your videos (this one specifically) are absolutely spot on.. i appreciate and admire you and am grateful for your intelligent, well thought-out clips..but equally alluring is that delicious eyeliner so jauntily placed at each eye's edge.. you make it seem so easy, you she-devil! so, how about a tutorial of this eye look? honestly, we would still respect you next morning,..
I love your videos, they are so informative and helpful. Xx
Oof so many rewrites, sounds difficult, ive never ely tried rewriting one of my books yet hehe, not looking forward to it, its gonna be a lot! :(
Really interesting to hear this tho!
Ms. Donne, I love your explanation of you book process.. Im curious if when you make these edits you save the original...? I know I watched Dan Brown on Master class, and he mentioned that some of what he wrote/writes is just garbage. I was just wondering if you save any writing for yourself, maybe ponder about what it could be?
Interesting and useful video. Thanks. And never wuss out killing off characters; it can be fun (sometimes too much).
How in the world did you come up with your style of story? What influenced your story and or writing if I may ask?
I suppose I am not very SyFi-ish person myself, but I must say, you sell it so well! I enjoy your channel so much.
Yes! Thank you for this!
I went more in depth with my characters so before my first draft was finished I needed to change a lot ^^ But my characters are so sweet and well developed, I wondered. I kinda fell in love with all my characters. Do you feel the same with your characters? I really wonder about this... am I the only one feeling this? ❤️
No. I do too ♥️😶🤓.
I may have missed it, but was Burning Brightly the first manuscript youve ever wrote? Or do you have previous unpublished manuscripts? Just curious. Good vid
BB was the third book I ever wrote!
@@AlexaDonne thanks!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so worried that I haven't worked out exactly how all my big twists are going to look like, that I don't have a robust enough 'plot twist' yet. So helpful to know this can come later on in the revision process too and you don't need to have it all figured out when you're first drafting. Also, I LOVED Brightly Burning
35:36 Alexa giving life advice
"It's Jane Eyre I did the best I could!!" 😅
This is a brilliant topic.
This video is just so important ♡
I read the book so I could watch this video without any spoilers 😂 Brightly Burning is a great book👏🏾
Well... I guess I'll come back to this video in a couple weeks...
Three month is super impressive even if it had to get edited a lot, congratulations. What did you do for work before/during the book? Once you published the book were you able to quit the Job or has your life stayed relatively the same?
Damn this virus plot hits different in 2021
YUP
Ooh awesome! I have always wondered about this topic. Sometimes I want read my favorite books first draft, just to see the difference. But I bet the author probably would die before letting me, so, there goes that dream. But honeslty I don't blame them 🙃
7 min in and I just had to pause. One round of edits before querying? Is that ok? I'm on draft 8 and I keep saying this is the last one before querying but I'm terrified that it's not polished enough. My mind, she is blown.
Well, in fairness, in the video I say don't do what I did! I was also on my third book and had previously been agented--I'd say it was a pretty clean draft! BUT the two editorial things I mentioned that my agent had me change were also reasons other agents passed. I might have gotten more offers if I revised more. You always take a gamble! But if you've put in a lot of work, at some point you do just have to query :)
@@AlexaDonne Thank you, I think I needed to hear that. At some point you do just have to take the plunge.