Ironically, this started as a writing blog. I didn't ever intend to write a mommy blog or a crafting blog or a travel blog; it was supposed to be about my journey as a writer. Unfortunately, while that journey continues, it hasn't exactly been successful so far, and I decided a long time ago not to blog about all my failures. Besides, as long as I keep going, I haven't really failed, right?
I finished one novel last year which I've only queried lightly. I've had a few requests but not as many as I would have liked, so I decided to put that project on hold while I finished what I've been calling "the Russia book" for nearly two years now (Remember this post?). I got the idea for this novel right after we found out we were moving to Russia, and I wrote the first few chapters before we got there, but once I actually experienced Russian culture firsthand, I knew I needed to spend some time there before I could do the novel justice. Having lived there for more than a year, I finally felt ready to write it. And Baby #2 was just the deadline I needed.
So, the other day, I wrote "The End" for the eighth time. I don't know if this book will be "the one." I queried my first few novels enthusiastically, allowing myself to imagine the possibilities every time I got a request (and there have been quite a few all things considered). But I no longer see publication as an inevitability. It's still my goal, but I don't know if I'll ever get there. I believe I'm a good writer with good ideas, but I have absolutely terrible timing, and I don't have the willpower to query as widely as I might need to (60 has sort of been my limit, and for the last two novels I've only sent out about a dozen queries each). For now, my only goal is to make this manuscript as good as it can be before Baby arrives in approximately eight weeks. After that, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
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