The book is finally done. All the years of painstaking revisions, editing, formatting–both print and ebook versions–are finally done.
All that is left is the cover artist.
While I wait, there is still a lot of planning. The marketing aspect of all this is still something I fear tackling. And everyone has their own advice, their two cents, to add to the whole approach. There is no clear right or wrong in the advice, a lot of it will be trial and error. Every book and strategy is different.
The basics are evident. I still have to find a few places and people to host a sort of blog for the release; which means I better get those ARCs ready. (Advanced Review Copies). I should also prepare a news release, plan out a few months worth of blog entries on my site, oh get the book contests ready.
All those thoughts ferment, teetering between finely matured and spoiled to the point of corroding against my own psyche. What if I’m just not ready?
The dearest @JeffeKennedy recently had a blog post about over polishing. For as many passes as I’ve made, I wonder if I could’ve done more–and in phrasing this I realize, you could always have done more! What’s that saying about the artist and his canvas? … An artist’s work is never done?
I recently read a book by Nathan McGrath (@NathanMcGrathSF) and was just blown away by the beautiful prose. I read an earlier draft of his work and then his latest. His latest was spectacularly better than his prior version. I had to ask if he hired an editor or simply took another round on the revisions. The secret? He had a good editor, which is now his agent. (Yes, editor turned agent). From the looks of the polished version I’d say he’s on a very good path to becoming a successful author.
I couldn’t help but examine my own work and put it under the microscope. The story has changed more than a few times, more than I dare keep count. Characters have been dropped entirely, setting changed, ages, plot elements… how many more rounds can I go before it’s a different story entirely?
:: shrugs ::
I should really get back to worry about that cover art and outlining that book marketing strategy. In the meantime, let’s study the following rules…
Yes, yes, and yes. Did that answer any of your questions? 🙂
The truth is that we never truly finish any novel. There’s always one more pass you can make before the release date, but you have to set a date or you’ll never stop revisions.
My best advice, after you’ve found a killer editor to work with, is to stop revising (after the 15th or so pass) and put it out into the world. With each novel you bring to life, you’ll learn more about writing and hone your skills. So, the second book will be better than the first, and third will be better than the second, and so on.
Trust the process, but more than that trust yourself.