Deborah Woehr

Karen wrote an excellent post called The Lure of a New Project, where she discusses how writers fall into the trap of starting new projects before they finish their current one. I find myself at the opposite end of the spectrum, obsessed with finishing a project before I start another. It took me about nine months to hammer out the manuscript of my first story, which I promptly shelved because I felt that bookstores had an overabundance of serial killer novels already.

I started writing Prosperity shortly thereafter and have rewritten it eight times over the past ten years. A writing mentor helped me with Draft 5. When I finished, his advice was to keep editing it until I felt that it was good enough to submit to publishers.

As soon as I typed those magical words, I would start at the very beginning. The problem is that I’m always finding things that I think need fixing. I’ll always find something wrong with what I’ve written.

I finished the 8th draft late Tuesday night. The next morning, I brought a copy of God’s Last Twilight to work with me and handed it to one of my co-workers. Everybody gathered around when she began talking excitedly about my book. I announced to them that I had just finished writing Prosperity and that I was shopping around for an editor. They were very happy for me. I smiled, but on the inside I felt a dread that I’d never experienced before.

What if they don’t like the book I’ve just given to them? What kinds of mistakes will I find when I look through Prosperity this time? Is it even close to being sellable by traditional or self-publishing standards?

The last question has always lured me back to the computer to hunt for mistakes, which inevitably leads to a near-total rewrite. This time, I forced myself not to open the first chapter, except to gather all the files together for an official wordcount. This time, I forced myself not to touch anything because I know myself too well.

Instead, I contacted another horror writer (who also offers an editing service) and submitted the first five pages of my manuscript. I’ll scout and contact more editors tonight and tomorrow. I’m hopeful that he/she will enjoy what I’ve written. What concerns me the most right now is that I’ve hacked this story to death. They’ll tell me.

My situation is not a unique one, but it is just as harmful as the writer who flits from project to project. The end result is the same: potential books that will always be “in the making.”

I’ve been tagged twice, by Patrick at Writing Life and Steve at Blog-From-The-Darkside. I wanted to ignore this meme because I tend to look at (perhaps focus too much on) my negative qualities, especially as a writer. Before I started writing, I had no idea that I was such a perfectionist.

Okay, guys. I’ll give it my best shot.

1. Determination. My first story began as a “mind movie.” I’ve been striving to learn how to write a full-length novel ever since. I won’t stop until I do. Then I’ll keep writing more.

2. Vivid imagination. That’s where the “mind movies” come from. I decided to put them to good use instead of going to waste inside my head.

3. Character Creation. I’ve always loved listening to people’s stories. Psychology was one of my favorite subjects in school, especially the abnormal kind. Personal experiences also play a strong part in the creation of my characters. I find it interesting how different people handle the same situation.

4. Dialogue. For some reason I can’t explain, this is the easiest aspect of writing for me. Well, most of the time. I love to include the characters’ body languages, their thought patterns, and their actions. This is how I get to know the characters in my stories, by “listening” to the way they talk and interact with each other.

5. A bulging library. Do I need to explain this?

If you’d like to continue this meme, feel free. I’d love to hear your strengths.

I’ve been debating whether to spend the money on an ISBN for GLT because it’s so short–108 pages. Part of me thinks that $100 is a frivolous expense for a novella, but I am proud of the design work I did for this book and want to show it off. Here is a shot of the interior cover page.

I gave some thought about using Lulu’s “Published by You” service ($50) and even went so far as to buy a domain name for my publishing company because nothing screams vanity like having your name listed as the publisher on Amazon. I’ve decided to call this company Crescent Moon Publications. So far, I’ve done absolutely nothing with that because I’ve been too busy trying to finish this year’s writing projects. This will be a project for next year.

For now, I’ll opt for the “Published by Lulu” for marketing purposes. I’ve given a copy to an acquaintance already and plan to bring a copy or two to work for my coworkers to read. I’m hopeful that they’ll enjoy the book and want to recommend it to their friends or family. If that’s the case, then I can’t complain about spending the $100.

I’m still plugging away on the rewrites for Prosperity and getting closer to typing “THE END.” I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am to finish this project. Can any of you recommend a good professional editor that won’t charge more than $1 per page?