Behind the Scenes - Desert Steve Novel from fourth draft to fifth

I finished the fourth draft yesterday of my forthcoming historical fiction novel about Desert Steve Ragsdale. That draft consisted of reading through the entire manuscript (95,212 words) focusing mostly on transitions between scenes and chapters, consistent literary flow, and deleting irrelevant or unnecessary sections.

At this point, I have been living with this story for 4 1/2 years, through the initial research, outlining, detailed research, first, second, third, and fourth drafts. I am so close to the story that I need outside input by people who have not seen the manuscript.

The fifth draft is the work of some special editors and readers, who are reading the story for the first time. They’ll offer feedback on the overall story, whether the reader is drawn into it, the emotional elements, the flow and the characterization, any inconsistencies, as well as anything else problematic they spot, including typos or grammatical errors.

Postcard of Desert Steve at the grave he built for himself

It gives me the opportunity to sit back from the manuscript for a bit and let it rest. Since it is an historical fiction novel, I will be including an Afterword describing the process, what is historical and what isn’t, and what happened to the town in the decades since the story ends. I also begin working with the publisher on the cover (which I think is complete now, see below), blurbs, and promotion.

This is also when I begin working more in earnest on my next novel, although I have been doing a bit of research and brainstorming already (working title: Seven Planets). I discovered long ago that if I don’t start working on another novel, when one is finished it’s much like when your kids leave home for good. You sit there staring around an empty house, wondering what the hell you’re supposed to do with yourself.

Once my readers and editors have finished, and I have made the necessary changes and edits, I will do a read through out loud. Reading aloud can bring out some things that might not be noticed by just reading the text on a screen. Once that sixth draft is complete, it will go to the publisher. Their editors may have some requests for changes or edits as it is proofread.

After that, publication! I expect this to be about September, but depending on the number of changes that come back, it might be sooner or later.

Thank you to all my readers and followers for your messages asking about the novel, your encouragements, and in some cases, the adoption of the saying “Nuff Sed” (this is how Desert Steve ended many of his writings and poetry).

Nuff sed. (For now).

Cover of Nuff Sed: A Novel of Desert Steve by Markus McDowell.

Desert. Sun. Sand. No roads or human settlements within fifty miles in any direction. The perfect place to found a town?

That’s what Steve Ragsdale believed. So he and his wife bundled up their four kids in their 1915 Ford Model T, bought a local prospector’s shack and well, and built a fuel station (50-gallon drum), a repair garage, and café. He advertised “Free food on days the sun doesn’t shine” and “No drunks, no dogs—we prefer dogs.” He was the owner, sheriff, rockhound, author, naturalist, desert guide, and Santa Claus at Christmas.

He became one of the local “desert rats” and earned the moniker “Desert Steve.” Along the way, he became part of history: the Colorado Aqueduct, the construction of the first State and National highways, the invention of prepaid healthcare, General Patton and World War II, the largest iron mine in the United States, flying saucer sightings, murder, and much more.

Based on a true story, this is the tale of a quirky, clever, and bold man who pursued a dream, wrote bad poetry, and found ways to survive when many would have perished or packed it in.

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