I look at Publisher’s Weekly every freaking week because you know, I got a dream. It’s fun seeing the latest twenty-something year-old signing their first six figure deal. Boy, kids today.
I try to imagine my name in Publisher’s Weekly in some six-figure deal with super cool agent and big publishing company. Only I won’t be twenty-something. That boat sailed by like a rainy spring day followed by heavy hail and damaging winds. Yeah, it shows. It’s been that kind of life.
I am writing the book and not so much this blog. I’m neglecting everything but this damn book. My Keurig gets lots of attention. Black coffee at 5:00 PM after work. Super stupid idea because then I can’t get to sleep. And by the time I get to work at 7 too freaking early in the morning, it’s more caffeine and dragging myself home at 4:00 PM in a daze. I am like some blood-crazed creature only writing is the blood I crave and must have. I’ll die without it. No, seriously.
I’m so close I can taste it. This is the book, finally. After so many half-finished, badly finished, and not-quite what I was going for books, this is the one. Probably.
At draft 53, well doubts begin to settle in. Also, a beta-reader damned me to Hell so that’s fantastic. So, my super-agent and big publisher will have to be cool with a book with the power of damnation. I shudder to think what that beta-reader would make of Cormac McCarthy. I am pretty sure my stuff is not that kind of disturbing. It’ll be fine. So back at it. I will try to do better with the blog, but I doubt my half-dozen blog readers miss me much. Draft 53. Here we go.
Hey, Elise! Still here… still cheering you on!! 😀
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You go, girl!! Your book is going to rock! So proud of you. You’re going to look back on this and smile when you’re famous. 🙂 Miss you!
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If you can raise emotions in a reader enough to damn you, then you’re making me jealous. You just moved a reader. You’ll move other readers off their cans and into bookstores and libraries to read your stuff. Here’s one of those readers, by the way. {Raises hand. “Over here.”}
Keep writing, Elise. Keep moving people.
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It’s great that you’re so excited by your book. Enthusiasm is contagious. I can’t wait to hear your success story!
Today on Twitter I read a thread by a debut author that was *meant* to be inspiring, about how we shouldn’t feel discouraged if our publishing journey is a long one. It took her 10 years to get her publishing deal and she was sure she was among the oldest debut authors. She was 32… Um, yeah. My dog had fleas that were older than her. 🙂
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I can’t wait either. You inspire me too, so thank you!
But once I get past about 3 serious efforts at revision, I honestly can’t delineate draft versioning anymore. It feels like 53 just at 53 days’ running at the dragon with a butterknife! (And sometimes just 3 days …)
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