Unleash Me, Vol. 1 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) by Christina Ross Page B

a zombie, you feel what he
feels.   You go through his death,
and his eventual rebirth of sorts.   Through him, you experience what it is like to die, and what his life — if
you even want to call it that — is
like after death.   That book is
about him and his conscious experiences.   He ’ s
not some bumbling clich é that you see in movies and on television shows.   My book takes the zombie myth and
assumes that there is still a person inside, still someone who knows what he ’ s doing, even if it
repels him.   Confuses him.   Horrifies him.   I think the title fits. ”
    He held out his hands.   “ As I said, there ’ s nothing I can do. ”
    Then why are we talking about this?
    “ I
think my main concern with the book is that the arc you ’ ve given Marcus isn ’ t as full-bodied as it
could be.   The book starts off well,
but then it loses momentum by the second act, and completely falls apart by the
final act.   I ’ m suggesting a
complete rewrite of the second and third acts, with major tweaks to the first
act. ”  
    He tapped the manuscript in front of
him with his thick forefinger.   “ I ’ ve gone through the
manuscript twice and left in red ink dozens of notes in the margins for you to
consider.   I ’ ve also written a new
synopsis for the book so you can employ those edits and change the book ’ s direction before we
publish it. ”
    “ You
bought the book, and now you want to completely change it?   I don ’ t get it.   Why
buy the book if it didn ’ t
suit you? ”
    “ Because
I saw promise in it. ”
    “ I
wonder if what you really saw was its sales potential. ”
    “ That
was certainly one reason. ”
    “ I
like the direction the book takes. ”
    “ That ’ s the thing, ” he
said.   “ It ’ s no longer your
book.   Now it belongs to Wenn
Publishing and I have final approval over the final draft.   The potential problem for you is that we
have only three weeks to get this finished before it goes to our copy-editors
and proofreaders, and finally to press.   I understand that it won ’ t
be easy, but that ’ s
not my problem.   It ’ s yours.   I think that you ’ ll agree when you see
the edits, that they make for a better book. ”
    I took a breath and tried to remain
calm.   Three weeks to rewrite my
novel?   He mentioned a rewrite
yesterday, but I didn ’ t
think he was completely serious.   Apparently he was. “ That
book is over five-hundred-pages long, ” I said.   “ How am I going to do
that kind of a rewrite in such a brief period of time? ”
    He leaned back in his chair.   “ Again, not my problem.   I ’ d
suggest plenty of coffee.   You
signed the contract.   Now you need
to carry through with it. ”
    “ I
didn ’ t
sign that contract knowing that you ’ d have such sweeping changes. ”
    “ True,
but I ’ ve
done my research, Lisa.   You ’ ve put out three books
since last May.   Am I correct? ”
    “ I
have.   All bestsellers. ”
    “ And
all are about the same length, which tells me that you ’ re prolific.   Perhaps too prolific, which gets to one
of the other problems I have with your book.   Parts of it feel rushed to me — it ’ s as if you were in a
hurry to publish it, likely trying to keep the money coming in.   There also are continuity errors.   You ’ ll see where I ’ ve marked those sections in red.   Do I like your book?   Yes, but with major reservations.   It ’ s a mess.   Until
now, it ’ s
had no editing.   Do I think, with
the proper guidance, that it could be a bestseller that raises the bar for
apocalyptic fiction?   Maybe.   We ’ re at least going to try for that, though I ’ m not entirely
convinced that you have the skills to pull that off because you ’ re still a young
writer.   I have to ask — what
was the reason that you self-published in the first place? ”
    This conversation would be one of
them.   “ I wanted control over my own work. ”
    “ Oh.   So