My first completed novel was The Wandering Empath. I had finished the first draft of another novel before it, but that’s not the same as completed. This book went through beta readers (wonderful and supportive family members and friends who I can’t thank enough), edits, and was actually published.
Honestly, I’m not sure I would have published it if not for a friend who went before me. I helped edit her book, drew the cover and illustrations—the whole process appealed to me. Naturally, I wanted to try it myself, did just that, and got hooked.
There were a lot of growing pains. My cover wasn’t right, marketing was completely over my head (and still kind of is…), even though I had done my best to research self-publishing before taking the plunge. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life is that you can prepare all you want, but eventually you have to take a leap and learn by doing.
It was rough.
I couldn’t figure out how to find the readers who would love The Wandering Empath, and so I did more research, which landed me in romance. There are tons of romance readers. It probably comes as no surprise that romance is the leading genre and makes the most money, then. I liked creating The Wandering Empath so much that I decided I had to make a living off writing, and it seemed romance was the best place to go, so I tried again.
With each book I’ve written, I’ve learned something new. Now, after ten years of experience, I’ve gone back to The Wandering Empath to revise it and finish the series. I wasn’t prepared for how many changes I’m making, but I’m not upset about it either. Perhaps it was a good thing I set this series aside to write romance. I’m not sure I had the skills to do it justice back then.
Having said that, nothing is perfect, but I’m feeling good. The Soul Seer Saga is getting closer and closer to the story I envisioned, and this time I’m not giving up on it. I’m going to find its readers, and I hope you’re one of them.
Just what is The Wandering Empath, you ask? I’m glad you did!
Rimn is an empath cursed with the ability to feel every emotion around her. Captured by the ruthless slaver Gris, she dreams of the Cloud—a fabled utopia in the sky where she believes she can find peace.
Enduring torment and isolation, Rimn’s hope is rekindled when Squall, a daring desert-dweller, infiltrates Gris’s fortress and offers her a chance at freedom. But escaping Gris’s clutches is only the beginning. As Rimn joins Squall’s people, she becomes entangled in their fight against Gris, facing new challenges and discovering unexpected allies.
Determined to reach the Cloud, Rimn’s journey is fraught with peril and hope as she navigates a broken world on the path toward redemption and a new beginning.
What do you think? Sound like your kind of story? It’s definitely my kind of story!
Now let’s look at a little comparison, shall we? Old vs new.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED
Soft green leaves of thick bushes caressed my face as I sat perfectly still, waiting for my prey. I observed my warm breath drift in a wispy, ghost-like form up to the frosted leaves; my breath melted thin ice crystals and transformed them into something resembling dewdrops that glistened in the filtered morning sun. I wanted to continue observing the beauty of the forest on this chilly morning, but I had to remind myself what I was doing out here in the first place.
Today would be the day I proved to everyone that I could overcome my squeamish tendencies toward blood—therefore hunting—and provide food when needed. It was simple and something everyone needed to be able to do. But I had never been successful, even though today was my eighteenth birthday.
I could sense Carsey perched in one of the coniferous trees above me, his emotions flat as he acted as my second pair of eyes.
A lump seemed to form in my throat as anxiety clawed upward from the base of my stomach. Before I could indulge these feelings and make them grow, I was distracted by a sudden leap in Carsey’s emotional state: excitement, anticipation, and relief. I used his feelings to negate my own and refocused my mind. Then I searched the frosted forest foliage to see an elk emerge from the brush a few meters away from me.
Taking a deep breath, I backed out of the bushes and readied my bow, careful to stay as quiet as possible. I searched inside my quiver and wrapped my fingers around one of the arrows inside. Its arrowhead was a new prototype Eula came up with. It was intended to guarantee a kill every time and in relative silence. I kept these facts in mind as I took my aim and pulled my bowstring taut.
I was about to let my arrow fly but familiar anxiety once again engulfed me when I saw how beautiful and peaceful the elk was. It didn’t see me, but its brown eyes seemed to speak to me anyway, begging me not to end its life. I couldn’t feel its emotions because it wasn’t human, but that didn’t change the fact I hated killing. Carsey’s own doubts started flooding inside of me when he inevitably saw my hesitation.
CURRENT REVISION
Thick bushes caressed my face as I sat perfectly still, waiting for my prey. I observed my warm breath drift in a wispy, cloud-like form up to frosted leaves; it melted thin ice crystals and transformed them into something resembling dewdrops that glistened in the filtered morning sunlight. Summers were short. The first snow and therefore another harsh winter was on its way, but all of the forest’s resilient vegetation remained green for now, and this area hadn’t been picked over yet.
My prey would come.
Today I needed to prove that I could provide food for my village. It was an old tradition and not something I, daughter of an engineer and apothecary, necessarily needed to learn, but here I was still trying to pass the test at eighteen because the chief upheld tradition.
I sensed Carsey perched in one of the conifers above me. His emotions were steady, meaning he hadn’t detected anything. He would tell me when he did, of course, but I’d sense the change in his emotions first.
If my feelings didn’t consume me.
A lump formed in my throat as anxiety clawed upward from the base of my stomach. I was so often caught in the storm of other people’s emotions that I wasn’t prepared for this. It was a crippling sensation that had me curling in on myself—until Carsey’s excitement zapped me. Excitement was followed by relief, and I used that to cancel my anxiety, to refocus, as an elk with impressive antlers emerged from the brush a few feet away.
Taking a deep breath, I readied my bow while staying as quiet as possible. I searched inside my quiver and wrapped my fingers around the shaft of one of the arrows inside. Disregarding the rubber, it felt normal—even the weight. It was a prototype, a new kind of arrow invented by Eula, intended to guarantee a kill so long as the arrowhead was embedded into the target. A significant impact was required to activate it, but I handled the tech carefully as I nocked the arrow and took aim; one could never be too careful with Eula’s prototypes.
I pulled the bowstring taut and was about to let my arrow fly, but anxiety once again engulfed me as the elk just stood there, beautiful and serene. He didn’t see me, but his warm eyes seemed to speak to me anyway, begging me not to end his life. I couldn’t feel his emotions because he wasn’t human, but that didn’t change the fact I hated killing; my hands shook. They shook worse when Carsey saw my hesitation and his own doubts flooded me.
…
So, is this an improvement, or am I crazy? Line edits are fiddly, but I’m not just editing sentences. There are world details that need refining, too. Regardless, this isn’t the final version yet, but it’s getting there!
If you want to read the originally published version, just sign up for my newsletter. I’ll give it to you for free. Thanks for reading!
