Tidying up

Like the host of a party that ran a little out of control viewing the morning-after desolation through hazy vision, the independently-published author has a little tidying up to do once the hectic final stages of production end and the latest book is finally out there..


With PI Flynn 6, Dog Waltz, now published it's time to start clearing up.

I like to think that the Flynn stories are reasonably well researched in terms of places and action, and reasonably well checked in terms of plot continuity, narrative style consistency and grammar and spelling. My methodical approach to this starts with a review of each chapter in the early draft stage and a list of all further research and checks to be completed before the book is ready.

I generally succeed with this approach but there's always a final few glitches even at the proof-reading stage, entailing emergency patches and consequential re-proofing of the offending sections. And it's amazing how glaring inconsistencies can leap right out at the end, reminding the author of the thing he hopes the reader will never realise: that his story, and every small detail within it, is fiction, so that cause and effect are not seamlessly connected as in real life. A careless author can have his or her characters change height, hair colour or model of car in the turn of a page with no scientific explanation for how this could possibly have come about. In the case of the Eagle Eye receptionist cum admin and payroll executive, Lucy May, sudden changes may be expected. In most other narrative instances they are probably mistakes and need correcting no matter what the stage of proofreading or how close to publication day.

So when book production is finally complete, when the new novel is finally available to the reader, there's usually, in my case, some due diligence required in the tidying up. I need to store all late-arising notes and checks, along with the necessary recording of character detail that will carry forward to future instalments in the series. Continuity fails between books are no more desirable than those within a single story.

So that's what keeps me occupied once a book is out, along with all the non-writing-related jobs that have been pushed aside in the final busy week or so.

And only after every spilled drink has been mopped, stains wiped out, plates and glasses cleaned and cigarette butts tossed in the bin is there finally the silence and time to think of the next one.

Actually, I plan in advance as much as I can so the “next one” may be already planned and even up and running in early draft form, though there is nothing like the overlap the mainstream publisher demands of his or her authors where the writing might be two books ahead of the published titles. Independence brings a more serial approach: finish one, start the next.

But in the present case I've hit a divergence from the process. Because I've still not decided on which of three directions to go with my next outing. I still don't know whether my next novel will be Flynn No 7, a second stand-alone crime thriller or an entirely new series.

Actually, the series I mention would not be entirely new. The option I'm looking at is a prequel to PI Flynn's adventures. Flynn started life in the author's mind as a Metropolitan Police detective, with some interesting cases sketched out for his investigation. In the end, I opted for the simpler task of following his adventures post-police as a private investigator where the reduced dependency on detailed knowledge of the police organisation and procedures, and of related constraints, promised an easier ride. Retrospectively I believe this was a good decision. Still, there were some juicy investigations and even juicier political conflicts lined up for the earlier DI Flynn that would ensure he had the rough ride the reader so enjoys, and I'm still hoping that those episodes can be brought into the light.

The question is always: when is the right time? There never seems to be a right time to break off a series that readers seem happy with. But as a part-time writer I do the thing for fun, and it's no fun thinking of all the great ideas sat wasting on the shelf for want of a little risk-taking.

I'm hoping to get the next book out in Sept 2022, and if I deviate from the PI Flynn series that will be put at risk, with the distinct possibility that Chase Street wouldn't open its doors again before late 2023. The “Back sometime soon” on the agency's glass has never seemed less reliable.

So my next job is to take a hard look at the options. I've got until the end of October at the latest to make a decision and be sure that the story I've selected is viable. Probably only fellow writers with experience of working up plots from nothing will understand how tight a schedule that is. The writing itself, if I make the right decision, should be easy.

When (meaning if) I manage to lay out my plans for the next three novels I'll detail them here.

​Always subject to proofing revision.