[Book 1: A focus on Characters (art by Ghostelle)]
If I were publishing book one as a standalone, it would be ready to go to the publisher, ready to be prepared to come to you. However, it's really hard to break into the chapter book and even middle-grade fiction markets since one tiny book on the shelf doesn't draw the eye nor have a big market or ready-made fans. I've taken some stabs at reaching out to publishers and agents, always ending up empty-handed. That's why I embraced the idea of a hybrid publisher. Once all ten of these first books (plus the first three of my boy's) are ready, they'll be available for you fairly quickly. The hybrid publisher only takes less than a month from acceptance of the manuscript to readiness for market.
[A focus on book 2 (art by Ghostelle)]
Moving on
But now, I have the other eight from the regular series plus the bonus books to prepare. I have the vision. I know what I need to do for each book. For one thing, I need to work on making each book's protagonist the kind of kid you or your child will enjoy following on an adventure. I need to make sure he or she is truly the hero of his or her own story. I say his or her because I have three main characters, twins Davis and Kitt and their younger cousin, Tessa. The first book is from Davis's perspective, second from Kitt's, and third from Tessa's. I need to polish each voice, so you hear their voices and hear their hearts. Davis the nerdy slacker's first book is done. I'll be moving to Kitt, the image-conscious overachiever next. After that, I'll be working on Tessa, the shy animal-loving character.
[On the road to revising the next books (art by Ghostelle).]
What Else They Need
I'll also make sure the kids' antagonists weave throughout the book, causing problems and working under the umbrella of the primary villain of the first set. I didn't understand story structure when I first drafted these books. I'll be making sure I follow the story structure (3-act, 7-act, and hero's journey's 12 points). The first book now fulfills all of this, though it took a lot longer than planned. On the bright side, I am getting time to work on writing, plus all the other books are significantly shorter than the first one.
Now, to get to serious work on book two. This will be exciting.
