I am a writer, which is to say, I write. I am not an author, which is to say, I’m not published. Yet. But I want to be. That’s my goal.
This blog is a chronicle of what I’m doing to achieve that goal. More importantly for you, this is a demonstration of how being a member of Delve Writing helps me take steps to achieve my goal.
It’s a little scary to do this so publicly. What if I fail? Wouldn’t that be like the “Hair Club for Men” president doing his commercial bald?
That’s what I thought at first. But I reminded myself that writing is a bit different than growing hair. No, really. I wish it were as simple as rubbing some smelly liquid on a bald piece of paper and watching the wordcount grow.
There’s a whole lot more to growing a saleable manuscript and getting it published. A whole lot of forks in the road, roadblocks, and rickety bridges to cross. A lot of doubt about being on the right road. Not to mention running out of gas, and apparently a lot of mixed metaphors. In this, I'm no different than you (except maybe for the mixed metaphors). I'm not here as the president of Delve Writing. I am here as a writer heading down the road to publication. I want to share my journey so you can see what the road looks like with Delve Writing by my side.
Here are some of the milestones I’ve already passed on my journey to publication:
The “great idea” for a novel
The decision to write it
Writing
Reading books about the craft of writing
Reading fiction
Writing some more
Joining a critique group
Submitting my writing to the critique group
Listening to feedback, processing it, questioning it
Writing, revising
Attending writing workshops
Completing a rough draft
Learning about the business of writing, while continuing to learn the craft
Revising
Revising again
Querying an agent
Getting a form letter rejection
Writing, revising, reading, learning more
Researching agents, networking, honing my query
Querying again
Getting a more personal rejection
Writing, revising, reading, learning more
Querying again in the form of an in-person “pitch” and getting a “send it”
Submitting the requested materials
Getting another rejection, albeit a complimentary one
Learning from the agent’s comments
Writing, revising, learning, submitting
Lather, rinse, repeat
The decision to write it
Writing
Reading books about the craft of writing
Reading fiction
Writing some more
Joining a critique group
Submitting my writing to the critique group
Listening to feedback, processing it, questioning it
Writing, revising
Attending writing workshops
Completing a rough draft
Learning about the business of writing, while continuing to learn the craft
Revising
Revising again
Querying an agent
Getting a form letter rejection
Writing, revising, reading, learning more
Researching agents, networking, honing my query
Querying again
Getting a more personal rejection
Writing, revising, reading, learning more
Querying again in the form of an in-person “pitch” and getting a “send it”
Submitting the requested materials
Getting another rejection, albeit a complimentary one
Learning from the agent’s comments
Writing, revising, learning, submitting
Lather, rinse, repeat
Sure, I get discouraged. But I keep on truckin.’ (That phrase alone should give you some indication of how long I’ve been at it.) I keep heading down the road, sometimes like the tortoise, sometimes like the hare. In all honesty sometimes I'm more like a rock on the side of the road. But I can’t NOT write. And I want to be published. So eventually I lather up and start moving again.
Here’s the truck stop where I'm idling right now:
I have two completed novels that I believe may one day be good enough to be published. One science fiction, one fantasy. The fantasy is in the proverbial bottom drawer waiting patiently to be resurrected, revised and resubmitted. The SF is on the verge of going out into the world. I have three agent requests for it, and three interested editors waiting in the wings.
I have two completed novels that I believe may one day be good enough to be published. One science fiction, one fantasy. The fantasy is in the proverbial bottom drawer waiting patiently to be resurrected, revised and resubmitted. The SF is on the verge of going out into the world. I have three agent requests for it, and three interested editors waiting in the wings.
I can hear you all shouting, “Send it! Send it now!”
But I want to get it right. I don’t want to blow this chance by being too hasty. The final scenes need some tweaking, and then I should go over the whole manuscript one more time. I need to make sure I have a good story that's well-executed, and that I send it in a reasonable period of time. And I need do this despite the obligations and distractions of my non-writing life, and in spite of my inclination to revise until it’s “perfect.”
How do I do this???
I’m attending a “check in” this morning to find out how Delve Writing can help me. I’ll report back here on a semi-daily basis to let you know how it’s going. Hopefully reading about my journey won’t be as boring as watching hair grow.