That
moment when you finish the last sentence of your first book...
Remember that? It's relieving, refreshing, exciting, and even
overwhelming. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. It felt so
rewarding to complete something that I had created from scratch, and
I just knew I had a diamond in the rough. The problem was, my writing
pace was a little atypical. I began writing my first novel just after
enrolling in college. Since I had gotten married the summer after my
high school graduation, I had to make a living, so that meant working
full-time while I attended school. This left very little time for my
project, and it took me four years to finish it.
As you can probably image, my writing skills had improved much over the course of those four years. Consequently, the writing in my manuscript had also improved over the course of the story. When I first completed the book, I was just a tad oblivious to this fact. The excitement of getting it finished had camouflaged the reality of the work still ahead of me. Sure, I knew it had mistakes. I had intended to edit it, and ensure I had used all the correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. What I had not planned on, was overhauling the first six chapters, and revising much of the remaining story. The realization that my book was far from ready, hit me quite hard. My diamond in the rough, I realized, was actually a rock amongst the diamonds.
I had already spent four years writing it. It was excruciating to think I would have to rewrite it. In addition, over those four years, I had read and reread it so many times that I had nearly grown to hate it. This looming fact hung over me like a dark cloud, and regrettably, I tucked the story away and ignored it for several years. During that time, I had gotten a job with corporate America, bought a house, and began raising two children. When I finally pulled my manuscript out of the file and blew off the dust, it felt quite new again.
My excitement for the project had returned, and I couldn't wait to get started working on it – that is, until I read it. All those old feelings came storming back, and I quickly remembered why I had stored it away so long. I knew it needed a lot of work, and I just didn't feel I had the energy to address those changes. Instead, I decided to do some research. I had no idea how to get a book published, and was curious about the process. I figured it was worth my time investigating if I ever wanted to get serious about it. When I decided that finding a literary agent was the best route, I drafted my first query letter and sent it to an agent. The rejection arrived in my inbox only two days later, but instead of being disappointed, I felt a rush of excitement. I finally had a challenge worth pursuing!
You're not going to want to miss part two of this story, which I plan to post on Monday. Until then, tell me about your first completed work. Was it a novel, short story, collection of poems, children's book, non-fiction project, or something else? How long did it take you to complete it? Did you feel confident in the finished product, or did it need an overhaul?
As you can probably image, my writing skills had improved much over the course of those four years. Consequently, the writing in my manuscript had also improved over the course of the story. When I first completed the book, I was just a tad oblivious to this fact. The excitement of getting it finished had camouflaged the reality of the work still ahead of me. Sure, I knew it had mistakes. I had intended to edit it, and ensure I had used all the correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. What I had not planned on, was overhauling the first six chapters, and revising much of the remaining story. The realization that my book was far from ready, hit me quite hard. My diamond in the rough, I realized, was actually a rock amongst the diamonds.
I had already spent four years writing it. It was excruciating to think I would have to rewrite it. In addition, over those four years, I had read and reread it so many times that I had nearly grown to hate it. This looming fact hung over me like a dark cloud, and regrettably, I tucked the story away and ignored it for several years. During that time, I had gotten a job with corporate America, bought a house, and began raising two children. When I finally pulled my manuscript out of the file and blew off the dust, it felt quite new again.
My excitement for the project had returned, and I couldn't wait to get started working on it – that is, until I read it. All those old feelings came storming back, and I quickly remembered why I had stored it away so long. I knew it needed a lot of work, and I just didn't feel I had the energy to address those changes. Instead, I decided to do some research. I had no idea how to get a book published, and was curious about the process. I figured it was worth my time investigating if I ever wanted to get serious about it. When I decided that finding a literary agent was the best route, I drafted my first query letter and sent it to an agent. The rejection arrived in my inbox only two days later, but instead of being disappointed, I felt a rush of excitement. I finally had a challenge worth pursuing!
You're not going to want to miss part two of this story, which I plan to post on Monday. Until then, tell me about your first completed work. Was it a novel, short story, collection of poems, children's book, non-fiction project, or something else? How long did it take you to complete it? Did you feel confident in the finished product, or did it need an overhaul?
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