So, I’d completed another final draft of the Hornets’ Nest manuscript and pitched it to fifty-five agents. I knew it still needed some polishing, but I thought if I hooked one, it would save me the editing and illustration costs.
Alas, not one of the fifty-five shared my confidence in the book’s indisputable potential success. On the bright side, however, I rather liked the self-publishing route and getting my teeth into the project.
First of all, I needed to know if the story worked, so I jumped onto reedsy.com to find a development editor. Have I mentioned Reedsy before? It’s basically the Tinder of the publishing world, where instead of dates, you get connected with editors, designers, and people who know what “narrative pacing” means.
Feeling bold, I messaged the editor of The Hunger Games. Her rate? A budget-busting $6,000 (US!). The Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPED) turned up some more affordable Australian options, but in the end, I turned to Writers SA, which is where I should have turned in the first place.
They put me in touch with Jason Fischer, a South Australian author of YA speculative fiction. A month later, I received exactly what Writers SA promised: comprehensive, structural feedback on your manuscript, identifying its strengths and areas for improvement, to help you bring your work into the best shape possible, via marked-up comments on my manuscript and five pages of truth bombs.
Jason loved the first half – Anton, Spyder, Honey and Wiggy navigating the exhilarating yet chaotic early days of fame, landing their first hit record and scoring a coveted headline spot at one of the world’s biggest music festivals.
Then Wiggy is kidnapped. The ‘why’ of it all I dumped across a chapter that ruined the pacing. I also introduced readers to the world of hornets and Princess Vespa’s tragedy over a series of ‘round the campfire’ stories. Wisely, Jason suggested I sprinkle these details throughout the story so far.
He also pointed out that having the band members suddenly morph into elite ninja commandos might be a bit of a stretch. He asked, “If it were the normal world and the Beatles or the Stones were thrown into the same situation, how would they save Ringo or Keith from Gorbachev?” Of course, their method would be more Help! than Mission: Impossible.
It all made sense. I took his advice and wove in the backstories and scaled back the heroics. Now the plot flows better and feels much more believable – for a story about insects in a punk band rescuing a friend from inside a hornets’ nest.
Next up, I needed someone to fix my English. This meant finding a copy editor (to clean up grammar, style, and consistency) AND a proof reader (to catch all the tiny typos I’d missed). So, back I went to Reedsy and IPED until I remembered that one of my best friends is literally an all-singing, all-dancing editor.
I’ve known Ralph Johnstone for thirty years. Our previous brilliant, if unrealised, project ideas include the Good Pub Guide of Nairobi and Kenopoly. Cleverly understanding that the association with The Hornets’ Nest would easily make up for the mate-rate, Ralph agreed to do both copy edit and proof read.
So, while Ralph polishes my words, I’m tackling the final piece of the puzzle: the cover design. This has been a little more challenging. The illo has to communicate the joyousness of playing in a band, the challenges of friendship, and the action-adventure elements of saving somebody who has been imprisoned. Although it's low fantasy, it's also contemporary and little bit punk. All these things have to come together to scream to teenagers as well as adults: Buy this book—it’s absolutely incredible. Even if it’s not exactly what you’re looking for, you still HAVE to read it.
By the time the editing and cover design are done, I’ll have spent just under AUS $4,000, which is within budget. Would I have a better book if I’d splashed out on the expensive editors? I doubt it. It’s like my songs. Would they be any better if I wrote them on a $10,000 guitar rather than my trusty, if a little weary, $2000 Fender? No.
And if I sent them to Paul McCartney to wave his magic wand over them...? Well, I couldn’t afford him, could I!