Reading the Work in Progress… Again

Before a novel comes out to meet the public, it has to work out a lot. And I mean, a lot.

So, there’s this book of mine coming out May 1. I wrote the novel. I revised it. I destroyed it. I polished it. And then I sent it in to a publisher!

And lo and behold, Dark Owl Press is going to publish it!

But I’m not done yet. The editor at the publisher has sent me back notes on things that need to be worked on. So, here I am, again. Going through the novel. Again. Reading every single line. Again.

And you know what? Can I tell you a little secret?

I’m kinda sick of it.

Now, I’m still confident in the novel. I still love the characters, the world, the plot, the interactions… there’s a reason I wanted to submit this novel to a publisher. If I were reading this for the first time, I’m convinced I’d enjoy it.

That said, I know it front and back. I’ve gone through it so many times. And here I am, going through it again.

But… this is part of the work of publishing.

Writing is raw creation. That takes effort, and it is magical. But then comes the polishing and the reworking and… well, reading it again and again.

And again.

So let me recommend this to you: If you want to be a published author, write something you enjoy reading. Write something you really do want to revisit over and over again, because you’re going to. You’re going to evaluate sentence structure and story beats and character arcs. You’re going to make it as strong as you can.

And then your publisher is going to help you make it even better.

So, be ready for the work. I’m convinced it’s worth it – otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this at all. But work is work.

And here I go again. Time to dive into another chapter!