Drawing from the Well
Queries Sent: 1
Total Queries: 48
Total Rejections: 31 (+2)
Scenes Mapped: 63
Total Scenes: 498
The last two and a half weeks have been a flurry of activity. The submissions don’t look very productive above, but I have been preparing for #PitMad. And I AM ready for it. My wife helped me work up three excellent tweet-pitches and I can’t wait for Thursday when I get to try them out.
Even better, I JUST finished the map of Book 2. I’m so excited about it now that it’s all laid out. The bones were there with the original outline. Now the sinew is in place. Next is the muscle, the bulk text that will become the manuscript. Let Drafting begin.
Filling the Well
The Unbound: 100% (Book 28 of 25 for #ProjectBookworm2019)
Bloodwitch: 96%
The Bible: 75%
Blue Lily, Lily Blue: 24%
Trying to do as much reading as I can amongst everything else and actually making some progress. I’m reading some good books right now and loving them. I wish I could read faster and read more, but c’est la vie. Here’s to hoping I get more reading done during the coming weeks.
Polishing the Well
The kids are back in school and the craziness is on again. That’s not to even mention Hurricane Dorian that is grazing our eastern coastline right now. The kids are doing great but it’s an adjustment getting back to the grind. On top of that, my son got his first job! Talk about an adjustment there amongst all the other changes he is experiencing. His senior year is an exciting time even more than my own was. I’m so immensely proud of them both.
Well Chat
One of the Best Feelings
Success is one of the best feelings out there. Accomplishing something after so much time working on it is a huge relief and a boon to my confidence. Finishing this map, this first draft in my eyes feels great.
I went back and did the math looking at previous blog posts and it was just over seven months to draft this. That sounds like an exorbitant amount of time when there are authors out there publishing a book or more a year. Does that mean I’m not successful? Should I feel bad that I’m not as successful as others?
No! Why would I pollute my happiness by measuring it against someone else’s maxim? I am happy. Elated. Thrilled. Although this is the second book and it’s not written yet, it’s still immense progress. I have finished this phase with this book while I work on a different phase with the first.
Here are the words that keep me from trying to copy off another author’s paper when testing success: I’m chasing MY dream. I’m not chasing Stephen King’s dream. I’m not chasing V.E. Schwab’s dream. I’m not chasing Nicholas Sparks’s dream. I’m chasing MINE. And by focusing on that, I win.
I’ve talked before about comparison guilt. Avoiding that let’s me celebrate my successes for what they are. They’re mine and no one can take them away from me if I don’t let them.
So for now, I’m focusing on the success of finishing this draft. I’m looking forward to trying to make my break through #PitMad. I’m preparing to put together the manuscript for Book Two. Things are looking up. So let’s keep going. Let’s keep the momentum up.
And Happy Labor Day. I’ll be celebrating my labors on this book this holiday weekend. I hope you find labor to celebrate on your end.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG