2nd draft = 1st draft - 10%

This is the rule of thumb that many writing teachers swear by and as I was chipping away at the fourth draft of Ghost Kiss last night, I realised I had not been following it. Then this morning I was revising potential markets for it and saw that Chippewa Publishing, which is where Sarah Dobbs has had a book published, accepts novels up to 90,000 words. Currently Ghost Kiss runs to just over 92,000, which is why I had dismissed Chippewa as an option.

But if I can close the discreprancy in numbers it should work in my favour – my novel will be leaner and better at 89,000 or 90,000 words, and if I can get it down to the minimum word count, I like my chances of being published at Chippewa (not least because one of their own stable sees something worthwhile in my short fiction). I have also emailed Sarah asking what to expect and if she has any inside info. Can't hurt to ask, can it?