Are you working or waiting for a book to appear?

I had completed my first manuscript. It sat on my computer’s hard drive waiting to for the next set of things to be done to it. I still had to do another run-through, take out halting words, zap overused words, edit it within an inch of its little life. I was still green at the writing game, at that thing called editing. This writing a book thing was a tasty tidbit to be savored, to be lingered over. Back then, publishing seemed about as far away as it could get. When I attended a romance writer’s conference in my town and listened to experts talk about what they did, and how I could do likewise, things changed.

A desire to publish began to well up. I decided to give it a try. After all, others had gained representation, why couldn’t I? So I moved into the next part of my writing life. I finished the second edit, the third edit, and then found a second person to edit it. Then I sought an agent, and ultimately a publisher.

I started a long, long journey that I am still on to this day. And when I hear writers sitting around saying, well, I am “working” on a book, I want to ask them, when will you be finished with it? When will you quit “working” on a book, and get on with what lies ahead? There is a lot more to this journey than just writing the work.

Let me tell you, if you are waiting for the right research to fall into your lap, you are going to be waiting a long time. If you are waiting for the next exciting story idea to come full-blown to your fingertips, uh uh, not going to happen. There will always be research, always be a new story idea. Work on what you have now.

I am talking about living your dream. Is your dream to finish a fiction novel? Is it to publish one? Is it to be a famous author who has mega-sales and spends 6 months out of the year at live events? Well, you had better get a move on. It ain’t happening while you are playing another round of some silly game on Facebook.

If you will step out of your dream for a moment and put in some real world time, you may actually see the scales move in your favor. So let’s set some goals, how about it? Let’s do what we say we want to do. Let’s just do it. Work hard to finish your book. Edit it the best you can. And go to the next level, whatever that is for you.

________________