OK. So I've cut 25,000 words. Baby's still got back, but significantly less. I'm feeling good about my new, more-streamlined manuscript. BUT there are a few outstanding issues. And by "few," I mean 41. These are the things that I'm just not sure if I should keep/delete/rework/enhance etc.
At this point, two and a half years into this process of writing a book, nothing I wrote seems funny, original, clever, or, frankly, worth keeping. I know it's because I've read it approximately 399,998,221 times and nothing's funny after that many reads.
Or, you know, at least I hope that's why. Maybe it was never funny, original, clever or worth keeping.
And what I'm really struggling with right now is when your brain is at this level of mush...when you've read and re-read and re-re-re-read it and you're so burn out that you curse the day you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, maybe I should write a book!" how do you keep editing? Keep staying the course?
I know that if I'm ever lucky enough to land an agent and then even luckier to land a publisher and its inherent editor, that I'll definitely be doing many more rounds of edits. And I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm better than fine with it--I'll be thankful and thrilled. Because then I won't be alone! I'll have professional, knowledgeable, authoritative guidance to steer me.
But right now, three steps back from that, when I'm all alone and just trying to refine this thing in the slim hope of someday landing an agent, it literally feels like I'm in the dark and shooting randomly in any and all directions.
Argh. Any comments? Thoughts? From those that are here? Those that were here?
At this point, two and a half years into this process of writing a book, nothing I wrote seems funny, original, clever, or, frankly, worth keeping. I know it's because I've read it approximately 399,998,221 times and nothing's funny after that many reads.
Or, you know, at least I hope that's why. Maybe it was never funny, original, clever or worth keeping.
And what I'm really struggling with right now is when your brain is at this level of mush...when you've read and re-read and re-re-re-read it and you're so burn out that you curse the day you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, maybe I should write a book!" how do you keep editing? Keep staying the course?
I know that if I'm ever lucky enough to land an agent and then even luckier to land a publisher and its inherent editor, that I'll definitely be doing many more rounds of edits. And I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm better than fine with it--I'll be thankful and thrilled. Because then I won't be alone! I'll have professional, knowledgeable, authoritative guidance to steer me.
But right now, three steps back from that, when I'm all alone and just trying to refine this thing in the slim hope of someday landing an agent, it literally feels like I'm in the dark and shooting randomly in any and all directions.
Argh. Any comments? Thoughts? From those that are here? Those that were here?
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