Back to the copyedit then. Let's see how today goes.

This is excellent science fiction, well worth your time and attention.

Got to page 76 on the edits. Not bad going.

Ooh look, Cam is excellent and this looks like a blast!

Writing the Magic is out now! The sequel to our British Fantasy Award-winning books on the Uncanny, the Future and Murder. 13 essays on crafting fantasy fiction, published by Dead Ink Books: deadinkbooks.com/product/writ...

Right, queries done. Now to read. I am so excited about readers getting their hands on it. Irody and co are huge fun and Elbay is a wonderful, perverse and surprising city.

So copy edits. How's that work then? Copy edits are when someone far cleverer than the writer is given the manuscript (MSS) and checks it for grammar and consistency. You then get the MSS back to ensure it still retains the meaning you intended it to have. Checking copy edits is painstaking...

The copy edit has landed. Let the headaching commence.

Excellent book for thr budding fantasy writers among you.

Yes! Apply for this. Have a great time and meet interesting people. The only 100% sure way of not getting it is by not applying.

This sounds like it may be interesting to writer types, AND they are based in Leeds which everyone knows is the universal mark of quality.

There, done. Just over 2k words today and the final novella runs at 31500. That will grow on the first pass through and there's a sort of linking 'journal' to be added in which I have in bits so it'll be nearer maybe 35k when done. But it is done.

People are making Rapture jokes like there's no tomorrow

Right then, let's see if I can finish this book today.

"No mate, it's not an Indiana Jones film.' "WHAT?" "Honestly, it's not." "Well, I've designed it now and I'm meeting Frank down the pub in ten so it'll have to do."

'Did you hear about Ethel, Father? She took two pills for her head and she's a Rain Man now.' 'sake.

Sweeping statement but all the people I've met who believed in the rapture have been awful so quite hopeful about tomorrow tbh.

I am very tired today and yet there are many distracting things. It is a get nothing done day.

The Royal Literary Fund are offering grants to writers facing financial difficulties. If you're currently experiencing difficulties, such as an illness or unexpected bill, you might be eligible to receive support.

OR...

What movie do you consider perfect?

It's fun when you say something on a panel and your fellow writers go 'ooh, I like that'. We were discussing tropes and I said awareness of the classic story elements matters because we grow up with them so they influence us subconsciously. 'Tropes are the background radiation of our creativity.'

Great fun running the raffle at EdgeLit with @rjbarker.bsky.social which was a convivial riot. The cosy chairs were excellent.

I'm probably the last person you should ask how to write a thing. But, for whatever reason, @dancoxon.bsky.social did and you can read an excerpt here.

Opportunity here for a writer on a low income to get access to a nine week novel writing course taught by the great @silvanhistorian.bsky.social www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/break...

I'll be here tomorrow. I think there's still a few tickets left. IF YOU ARE QUICK.

1500 words today bringing the full doc to 29k. Will definitely finish it early next week.

"We need to open more data centres." -- My contribution to talk like a pirate day.

Well, suppose I better go write some stuff.

Had a great time at @deadinkbooks.bsky.social last night launching @dancoxon.bsky.social 's Writing the Magic. No voice today, despite really vile throat sweets that no one wnated to share with me.

I read this thinking he was an Onion style invention of a ridiculous British posho name but no, Philip Faircloth-Mutton is real. PHILIP FAIRCLOTH-MUTTON IS REAL. Turn the lights off, this reality's script is too awful.

I can’t agree with ozempic when we still have plenty of perfectly good tapeworm available. Respect the classics.

2k words down today. Pretty close to the endgame for this book.

Just reading about Robert Redford and I feel like I keep reading the wrong obituaries.

Going to write some stuff then later on it's a trip to Liverpool and @deadinkbooks.bsky.social to see @dancoxon.bsky.social and Alex Pheby for a sold out launch of 'Writing the Magic.'

The lovely people at Create have set up a nice and mysterious looking new landing page on RJ the website. www.rjbarker.com

Hey friends, if you're in THE NORTH (and why wouldn't you be?) then the agency who rep me, Johnson and Alcock, and @newwritingnorth.bsky.social are running a competition for emerging writers with a 2.5k prize and it opens in November. newwritingnorth.com/johnson-alco...

I'm no royalist but Charlie is going to be earning his money today. Must have the patience of a saint.

We are watching s3 & 4 of The Bear and goddamn someone slap just a tiny bit of sense into Carmy.

One of these rich dudes invested in a food company with all proceeds going to kids in need. The other started Sundance Institute, boosting the lives of countless artists. Hey modern rich dudes, don't be a typical greedy AI crypto-prick, be like these two.

Too spoilery to say. :)

Ah, well... Erm. I think the end of the Forsaken books is kind of happy, ish. Sort of. But it's not exactly a jolly journey. The Assassin Books will make you cry. Sorry.

Oh god. It took thirteen years of writing things no one wanted to read. Apart from that, pretty instant.

I think the French cover of Age of Assassins really captured something of the lonely, melancholy feel of the books.

Oh, this is really hard. I think my favourite sing is Debonair and my favourite album is Black Love. Hon. mention for Decatur St though.

This is more complex than just a number because part of it is dependant on deadlines. Generally, I am happy to send v3 to an editor. Then we will do one major pass, one minor pass and a pick up a couple of slack points one. Then a copy edit.

I shall tell Tom! This will be an entirely unsatisfying answer. I'm not actually a very visual person so I tend to glance at a map and move on as it's the text I'm interested in. I genuinely could not tell you which books I've read have maps in them or what they looked like.

Given the right equipment* I would back my cat against anyone. *a mech suit.

It has taken me ten novels to finally realise keeping notes is a really good idea. I (now) try and make a glossary on the second pass through. By novel twenty I hope to be also writing down character names.

Know where everyone is. Make a little map if you have to and move things around on it. What's going on in the mind of the people involved is more interesting than a blow-by-blow of the action. :)