I am posting this later in the week than on my usual Monday post because truthfully, I was hoping I'd have something exciting, interesting, or clever to share by now. However, my book is still with the editor and I am still waiting on a progress report. Which brings me to the point of this post. Writing means waiting,
Stay with me for a minute while I unpack this. A novel begins with an idea. It continues with a string of new ideas, which require waiting in some way, shape, or form. I've not heard of any authors who have myriads of thoughts just fly in their head all at once. No, it is through persistence in waiting that characters, plot twists, and scenarios appear and begin to come alive. Once the book is written, it is waiting through the editing process. I worked diligently to perfect my novel before handing it off to a professional. However, the self-editing process required waiting while I educated myself on how to self-edit.
Next, came the process of finding an editor. Weeks of researching finally lead me to the editor I've engaged to perfect my pages. And now, I am waiting for the edits to be completed.
The next step is to find an agent. That, like the rest of this process, will require some amount of waiting, I'm sure, Especially since I will send one query letter at a time and won't move on to another agent until I hear back from a previously contacted one.
Once an agent is secured, at this point, I assume the waiting continues. The agent then will approach publishing houses with my manuscript in hopes of finding a publisher who will commit to the project. By the way, this is speculation based on what I've read in books and online...
So, in the waiting, how do I keep myself focused and productive? That is the question, isn't it? For one, I am devouring every book that appears interesting to me from my local library. Nt only am I being entertained by them but receiving an education in writing as I read successful published authors. And starting today, I am going to draft a business plan for my book. With a background in business, I must admit, I love writing business plans. It's the challenge that thrills me - comparative analysis, marketing, etc.
I will continue to post on this page, even though I've not had any readers yet. But hopefully, in the future, my journey will inspire others to say the course in their pursuit of becoming a published author.
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