I finished revising the manuscript for Following Infinity today.
I really wish I could convey what a huge thing this is for me.
Unfortunately I only know of maybe three other people who have gone
through the experience of having an idea, working tirelessly to turn it
into a book-length story, having it read and appreciated, deconstructing
the whole thing in an effort to improve it, starting over from the
beginning and finally winding up with another version that is
astonishingly better than what it was before. Reaching that landmark
moment brings on an all too rare combination of pride and humility and inner peace.
I expect most people would see writing a book as something so ridiculously insurmountable that it's barely worth considering. For the most part I'd agree. It is impossibly hard work. There are a lot of early mornings and late nights, and there is very little, if any, "free time." Life becomes isolation and sacrifice. The world around you has to compete for attention and importance with the world constantly growing and evolving in your mind. The characters you struggle to create become interchangeable with the people in your life. You have conversations and arguments with yourself, and abuse your own fragile self-esteem when that one perfect word you need escapes you. From my perspective, the only real reason anyone would ever subject themselves to the physical, mental, and emotional challenges of writing a book is because you can't NOT do it. The story digs into you so deeply that you're compelled to tell it, and telling it exactly the way it needs to be told is the only way you'll ever find release. I know it's hard to explain that to other people if they see writing as just a unique or interesting hobby, but it really does become that defining.
So my biggest writing goal of the summer is done... sort of. There will be more proofreading for the typos I'm sure I missed. There has to be a query letter and two or three different versions of a synopsis to write before I send it to the publishing universe, and if lightning ever strikes and an agent and/or editor decides they want to work with it, everything will go back to the drawing board. This business and management end of writing is much more of a chore for me, but I'm now able to approach it knowing I have a work to present that I believe in. In fact, I'll go as far to say this revised version of Following Infinity is by far the best thing I've ever written.
And as promised in earlier posts, here comes the recruiting pitch. If you've found your way here to the Summer Vacation blog and have ever read one of my self-indulgent writer posts, or if you know me from the real world and we've ever had conversations writing, perhaps you'd like to read this. Because reading "Summer Vacation?" Not the same thing. If you've read any of the glorified first drafts I've accumulated from Nanowrimo... eh, maybe a little closer. If you've read Lake Emily or the previous version of Infinity, you've got some idea. But if not: Well, after all the writing talk going on here, aren't you a LITTLE curious?
If you are, please let me know. As a policy I try very hard not to ask individuals to read my writing because that introduces a dynamic of obligation that too often becomes awkward. But please understand, just because I'm not standing in front of you with a printed manuscript and a big needy smile on my face that doesn't mean I don't want you to read it. I'm very much hoping you'll be interested. And then I'm hoping you'll love it so much you'll tell me all about it and share it with your friends and tell any 9-14 year-old kids you know that, oh, they HAVE to read it because it's just that good -- that age group is the target audience, after all. I'll have printed copies ready to circulate very soon, and I can always send out electronic copies as pdf files to anyone who'd prefer to read it on their tablets or monitors.
So there's my pitch. Thanks to anyone who does ask to read it. It means a lot to me. And regardless of what happens with the manuscript from here -- it still feels pretty amazing to know I finally reached the peak.
