A Work in Progress
One of the difficulties of being a writer is that there is such a long time before the piece you’re working on is ‘done.’
When is a story ready?
When has it been told?
Does it have enough emotion, enough action?
Does it make sense to others?
There are a thousand questions a writer considers while drafting and revising. But the primary one that teases their mind as they revise is…is it done?
I think many writers will tell you that there is no magic moment when a manuscript is ‘finished.’ Looking back on any previously published work, they will see things they wish they had done differently, gaps they wanted to fill, and characters they wish they had fleshed out.
But at some point, you have to let the story go. Stories are meant to be shared. So even if you don’t feel they’re ready, you have to kick them out of the nest.
I’m still working on that part.
I have been working on my novel for seven years. I wrote the first half of the first draft during Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2015. I took a couple of months off and finished the first draft.
Then, the following fall, I tried to write book two. But I was still learning so much about the writing process, the plot structure, how to craft a compelling character arc, etc. Things I proceeded to learn over the next several years as I went back and rewrote the first draft of the first book completely.
Then I revised it. Again. And again. Then I’d take a break and work on book two. Go back and work on book one.
This continued until I realized I couldn’t take this book any farther. The next step was getting input from someone who knew how to give feedback. So I hired a developmental editor. I hoped she could spot areas where I needed the most work.
I am so glad I went through this process. Not only did the feedback I received help me identify what needed work on the novel, but it helped me identify target areas of improvement for my writing.
It took her about six weeks to give me the full feedback. Then I took about two months to develop some of the worldbuilding holes she had identified and perform a deep revision pass to work on character interiority.
I just finished that recently.
But it’s not entirely done.
Jocelyn, you’re surely thinking by now, enough is enough! It’s ready. You’re ready.
I know. I know! We are so close. But there are still a few things left. I need to do one final pass for language. Then send it to Beta Readers (these are just readers who can give you some insight on reader experience) and then to a proofreader to catch those pesky typos and grammar errors.
Then the manuscript will be ready. I will still have to format the manuscript into the proper file type, hire a cover editor, and begin the process of marketing the book.
It seems there is still so far to go, but I have, obviously, never been this close to publishing a book before.
I am proud of myself. I’m proud that I never gave up. I’m proud I pushed myself and didn’t settle for less than the story I envisioned. I am hopeful for the future.
But I’m also terrified. One thing I, and probably many others, face during a process like this is extreme resistance when approaching a specific milestone. I cannot push through the final steps when I get to something significant. It took me three times as long to revise the last two chapters this run as it did the rest of the chapters. And it took some serious self-discipline and self-care.
But I pushed through. And I know that I will do so again and again until, eventually, this story is out in the world to fall or fly. Then the only thing that’s left is to turn to the next.
This book is still a work in progress. It will probably still be in that stage for several more months. But my goal is to publish this book in September of 2023.
Do you think I can do it?
I think I can.
And then, when I’ve hit that publish button on that book, I can finally say, “It’s done.”
Right before I open a blank document and start on the next one.