Are We There Yet? (Book Writer’s Quandary Decoded)
When is your book ever right?
When is it good enough, or even actually done?
A new writer contacted me, in that same quandary that most writers face, whether with their first book or their 30th.
Here was his message:
[My writing] is going slow and quite frustrating. I know there are a lot of changes that need to be made, to both the story (better-inciting incident, character motivation) as well as the writing. Knowing where to start and how to get out of the snow blindness that comes from working on a project for over a year is another obstacle. I want to be sure it is ready for an editorial review before I submit it as there is going to be so much more to edit afterward, too. Any advice you have would be very welcome.
What writers need to know:
Writing a book IS a slow and frustrating process.
Writers thrill and then agonize, plunge and then ponder. It means you are a writer!
There are always more changes you COULD make.
The question is whether you should or not. Most times the revisions a writer makes are improvements. Occasionally, I’ve encountered a writer whose revisions defeat the original premise or dilute the spirit of the piece. Where is that line? It can’t be defined exactly. But if you get to a point where you have that gut feeling of “what the heck am I doing,” then stop!
Snow blindness happens to all writers.
We can’t adequately evaluate our own words, it’s a fact. That is why we have BETA readers (to get a variety of ideas about what readers think); and critique groups (to get a variety of ideas about what other writers think).
More ideas can mean more confusion.
Sorting through that “variety of ideas,” however, often points out a significant issue or two AND complicates with even more confusion as ideas conflict and confound.
Get professional help for your book when you need it.
Which is where (ahem!) Developmental Editors come into the picture for a professional and more unified opinion.
Timing and Deadlines:
You’ve worked on your book for over a year? Try five or ten years—many writers come to me with decades old ideas that they’ve kicked around in journals and files and finally pieced together. There is no time estimate or boundary on writing a book. Try NaNoWriMo any November when thousands of writers each hammer out a 50,000-word+ story. Most are, well, rough drafts at best, but some actually are darned good. But the experience demonstrates this: it takes time, dedication and sometimes a deadline to “get ‘er done.”
Is there more you can do to make your book better?
Of course! There always will be. A famous writer (Steinbeck, I think, or one other such literary giant) confessed he’d rewritten the ending to one of his classic books over 30 times. When asked why, he snapped back, “To get it right!”
Is a book ever perfect?
No! Every writer wishes he could tweak this or change that even after it is published. As the saying goes: “The enemy of ‘done’ is ‘perfect’.” Try for perfection and you’ll never finish your book. Try for darned good and you’ll be on your way to fulfilling your dream.
When is a book ready for an editorial review?
It can be when you are thrilled and know it is done. Or when you know you can’t see it clearly anymore. Or when you feel sick of the whole thing and wonder why you even started it. In other words: there is no “right” time to send a story in for review. Trust your own judgment.
My best overall advice:
Do your best to get it as right as you can without killing yourself over it. Then bless it, attach it and send it off. Preferably for a professional review (but you kind of figured I’d suggest that, right?) before you submit to agents or publishers.
Want personal help with your writing project?
Contact me directly with an email and let’s discuss YOUR book project!
Sandra Haven, Editor
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