If you are a writer, chances are you know how necessary, and painful, editing your work can be. You finish writing your newest masterwork and all you want to do is get it out to an adoring audience. But you know that there is still work to be done and so you go through it over and over (and over again).
By the time you think it might be good enough to go to an agent or publisher you are thoroughly sick of it. You might even be tired of writing. Sound familiar?
But what about all those other stories flitting through your mind? The first thing you should remember is that it isn’t the writing that you are tired of. You are tired of being “Stuck” on one story. You are tired of ignoring all the other ideas you have. You need something new to get re-energized.
This was the situation I was faced with not even a month ago. I was just finishing a multi-month, major rewrite of one of my stories and I was tired of the whole thing. I had made myself a solemn promise not to start anything new until the rewrite was done.
The problem was, once the rewrite ended, I didn’t feel like doing ANY writing. I didn’t want to take any of my story ideas and bring them to life. I didn’t want to bother with query letters to agents and publishers. In other words I needed something to get me excited again.
I knew I wanted to write a story specifically to be podcast. I knew the premise of the story and some of the characters. I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and started writing the new story. That exercise of doing something new was exactly what I needed and I felt my motivation soar.
That new energy and excitement might be just what you need to find an agent or publisher (a task not quite as onerous as editing can be). Or maybe you just need to feel like a writer again. I know some authors do both writing and editing simultaneously to avoid burning out. I’m not wired that way or at least, I’m not disciplined enough to do it that way yet.
Maybe one day.
All I know is I am back in the writing frame and I’m having fun. That’s all I ever really needed. I was getting too caught up in trying to make everything perfect. I forgot what I love about writing which is the creative process.
Personal Update
My one story is still in front of a publisher. The full manuscript hasn’t been there too long so I’m trying to exercise patience. My novel rewrite is complete and I’m letting it sit for a few weeks before I do the much needed final edits then it will go off to a publisher.
I’m working on a new story that will go directly to podcast. It is a Science Fiction comedy (at least, I hope it’s funny). I want to write a few episodes before I start recording but I’m already happy with the direction it is going.
I also have one more completed book (a YA adventure) that I’ve got to start sending out. I’ve been following several agents on twitter so I think I will do some studying on queries and send a few out. I’m hoping if I follow their good advice I will get at least on interested. It will be an interesting experiment.
