Around the World Book in the Works...

Around the World

Travelogue by Sil Azevedo coming out soon…

Last winter I finally finished the first draft of my Travelogue “Around the World.” Since according to Papa Hemingway “all first drafts are…[not good],” there is still much work to be done. The secret of good writing is re-writing and I am busy doing that. There is a sense of accomplishment, though. The thoughts I carried for so long in my head are now on paper. Well, on pixels really, since I did not print the 350+ pages of this manuscript yet. I did format it neatly, double spaced per my editor’s request, and submitted it for her to read. The feedback meeting and official letter were encouraging. She likes the book! But the most important part is that I like it, too. I have listened to the manuscript narrated by an automated reader and was surprised by how advanced this technology is. Listening to my own writing in someone else’s voice was a surreal and rewarding experience. After two years writing, a book is like your baby, you don’t know if she is really pretty or if it’s your eyes. A certain distance can be beneficial. The cool thing about an automated reader is that it has no emotion. It reads the text as it is. If the message stands, it may be a sign you are going in the right direction. I am excited to go over the manuscript as I re-write this travelogue. Each time I revisit a scene, in a way I am revisiting the experience and living it anew from the standpoint where I am now.

I am hoping that the second draft will be ready by this summer and that publication will follow shortly. I will be excited to share this story with my friends, old and new, and through this who knows, maybe start a dialogue and enter the next phase of my life.