It Takes a Village

 

My Backyard Writing Spot. Isn't it gorgeous?!

"They" say it takes a village to rear a child, but I say it takes a village to write a book.

I cannot tell you the number of times I thought Conduit of Fire was done. Finished. Finito. Fin.

I cannot tell you how many times I was wrong.

If I wait for this thing to be perfect, I will never publish it. So perfection is off the table. But there is this thing called "author blindness," where the creators of the work quite literally go "blind" to certain issues that arise in the text. These could be simple typos, where we gloss over them because they're minor, and we know what we're trying to say, to larger ones, where we're trying to explain a concept but it doesn't quite come across because we forgot that either a) we didn't talk about that yet, or b) we forgot what we took out that relates to it and we still think it's in there, or c) some combination thereof.

Remember, Conduit of Fire was originally more than 220,000 words. That's ridiculously long for a first draft. Through the multitude of edits, I've been able to wheedle it down to about 140,000. It went as low as 132,000, but as I've had more betas and more critique partners read over it, I realized some of the cutting did not honor the story, and I had to add back in. This might, to those who don't write or create, sound like a waste of time or effort, but if I hadn't written those original 220k words, I wouldn't know what my story was really about. If I didn't have to add back in and fluff it up, I wouldn't truly know my story inside and out. And if I'm going to make this thing make sense, I'd better know it through and through.

Originally a panster (meaning I started writing with no idea of the plot or where it was going), I had a lot of fun writing the first draft. It bent and twisted, and every time I didn't know where to take it, I'd create a jarring plot twist and send it in a different direction. This led to me never finishing the first book, and because I didn't know where it was going, when I got stuck, I ended up pseudo-plagiarizing the books I was reading at the time (I realized this, scraped the entire thing, and redid it in 2020, thanks to all the time COVID gave me). The first draft was loaded with various bits of magic and different fantastical elements which, looking over the draft now, are nowhere to be seen. Oh, some of them will surely resurface, especially as I finish book two, and write book three, but that's the thing. Before, I had no idea where it was going. Now, I do. I have removed things from book one to squirrel away for book two and three. I have sat my happy butt down and forced myself to plot every stupid little thing that happens. I've reread Conduit of Fire NUMEROUS times, reading the various POVs to make sure they sound the same in their voice, don't sound the same as the other characters, make sense with each character's individual progression of the plot points, and have utterly deleted characters which originally had a huge role to play in book two.

It's been quite a whirlwind, I tell you.

But, as I keep studying more about the publishing industry, I think I've finally decided to officially self-publish. Now, I don't have much of a following, and that is nerve-wracking as all get-out, because I'm still learning how to interact with all you fine people who DO read my blog and engage with me on Facebook, and I'm still learning how to engage with MORE of you who do not YET engage with me on here. It is a weird, crazy, confusing world, marketing. But! Most traditionally-published authors sell fewer than a dozen books, so all I really stand to gain from traditional publishing is their name, reputation, and network. I will lose all my creative rights (or many) to my book, barely get paid, and have no control over what the publishers do, even if they up and decide to stop printing the book on the chance that I might sell fewer than twelve copies. (Yikes, this thing has been in the works for a decade or more; to think of only selling it to twelve people... Well, I'd be writing it anyway, so it doesn't really matter, I suppose. But I surely do want more than twelve to read it!) This said, their reputation and network would be HIGHLY advantageous to me moving forward in my writing career.

But THAT said... one of the newer trends in the writing industry seems to be mirroring the music industry. That publishers may -- slowly, especially with the recent merger of Simon and Schuster and Penguin Random House -- start wanting to adopt authors into the "traditionally published" sphere only AFTER they have proven themselves to be successful on the self-publishing front. Kind of like local musicians. They have to generate a following, fans, and show they can be successful locally before they earn the right to work with a record label and go national. That means it's up to us, the self-publishers, to put out quality product and don't just rush it because we want to see our book in print.

And this is fine. But it sure is daunting. This love of writing forces my face into a laptop screen (because my brain moves WAY too fast for hand-writing; not to mention, you'll just have to type it up anyway) for hours every week. That's one of the reasons staying fit and healthy is so important. Not only because... well, it is, but because it enables me to have a more sedentary habit-that-will-hopefully-become-a-career-at-least-in-some-vague-shape-or-form. I am an active person, and many folks like to claim that if they didn't know me, they'd say I was on crack. (Lol; I'm not. I'm almost as green as they come. I tried weed for the first time a couple months ago, just a little nibble, and it jacked me up so bad I couldn't even READ the next day, let alone write. I did NOT like that; anything that makes me unable to use the gifts God gives me, I'm not interested in. But! It was quite fun to giggle like a fool while my husband and I tried to touch finger-tips, and on the way home, I kept forgetting what road we were on. That was fun... So. Who knows. Maybe I WILL do it again, only make sure I have no intentions to do anything but laze around the next day. Gosh, but to plan to be so lazy is just so... I just don't like it!). Anyway. The point is that I'm a wild, wired busybody, but I DO know how to park and sit for HOURS until my butt goes numb working on my book.

The catch-22 of this is that, regardless of how I publish, I will have to spend even more hours working on marketing. And that's fine. But HOW can I do this without asking you fine people to spend even MORE time staring at a screen instead of living your life?

Honestly, it really isn't blog posts that keep folks from living. It's the mindless scrolling on social media.

Hm... I'm going to have to figure that out.

Anyway. Went on a little ramble there. 

Overall, on the book writing front, I'm making progress. This week, I paused on book two to work on a scene or two from COF with my critique partner Angela. Guys, I cannot tell you how frickin' blessed I've been with these amazing critique partners. First, I had my dear, long-time friend Nicole, who writes short, sexy erotica reads. She helped me make the book more acceptable to a general audience, since she doesn't really read fantasy. Then, for the genre-specific CPs, I had Mara (HAVE YOU GUYS BOUGHT HER BOOK YET? Tide of Darkness. IT CAME OUT LAST WEEK. BUY IT! Dark fantasy romance. Get some!), then I had Becca (she's a doctor, and has created an AMAZING story, as they all have, but I could legit see this girl having her stuff adapted to film. If she only gets back to writing it! How dare she let sick people get in the way of writing a book. Gosh... lol. I'm kidding... ahem.). Then I had Ren, who is in England and who has written an awesome stand-alone book that I sure hope she can get published (she's going traditional). It is SO good and well thought out, and totally different than any of the others I've read. It isn't so much fantasy, but man, it's good. And now I'm working with Angela, who's writing an awesome shifter-based, season-based, portal fantasy that is super fun and character-driven (whereas mine, COF, is plot-driven. Most fun, easier reads are character-driven. I just had to be complicated). I can't wait for when she's ready to publish either. All these guys -- not to mention my MULTITUDE of beta readers!! -- have put in so many hours to help me hone COF. I cannot WAIT to get it out to you guys. I'll be looking to do what I can financially next year (since all the cat emergencies have taken my extra funds this year; oh well, God is good and He knows the plan, and this way, I should easily be able to have book two ready shortly after book one is published). 

Anyhow. The list could go on. I'm just so blessed.

The next time you look at a book on a shelf, whether it's amazing, mediocre, or even sub-par according to your tastes and opinions, know that a lot of work, love, and sacrifice went into creating that story. This does not mean to force yourself to like what you don't. Don't finish or buy what you don't want to. Effort, while it is VITAL to success and self-esteem and self-respect, does not mean something is good or enjoyable to everyone (it never, ever will be). But it is still honorable, respectable, and admirable, that someone, a mere human, can create a story from out of nothing, and have it be nurtured and developed into reality.

We are truly amazing creatures.

And me and mine would not be what it is without the hard work and effort of all these CPs and all my betas. Spells. If only I was ready to publish it today!

Alright. I'm legit rambling now. And I'm hungry. Got to make the husband some food. (Because hey; football has started, so that means I almost don't have a husband on Sundays anymore, lol. 'Tis fine; he tolerates me disappearing into my laptop 4-5 days a week for hours at a time throughout the entire year; he can disappear into his TV half the year for a couple hours one-three days a week. Go Falcons! -- lol; that's my husband's team. But I don't care. I chose Green Bay as my favorite team once, which pissed my dad off because he likes the Bears, but what do I know. I just saw a team on the screen and said, "That one." I stick to my guns, though. GB rocks.)

All you folks who took the time to read this long thing: thank you. I love you.

Until next time,

Jess the Mess