It’s Been a While
There’s something very odd about capitalizing the B in the word been. I’m staring at the title of this post and my mind is screaming at me to change it, it looks so odd. It might be because you’re not supposed to capitalize the B in been. I’m not going to even pretend I know the grammatical rules as to why, it just looks wrong, and now I’m starting to question the meaning of the word entirely. -The typical thought process of a writer on the eve of editing.
I finished To Private Ford Rayburn and I will commence with editing while also working on finishing book 2. The goal right now is to publish the book next fall, with book 2 following shortly after, but I won’t make a hard deadline for myself. I find the editing process to always be the longest and most tedious, and things often don’t go to plan in terms of time frame. But frankly, that’s not a bad thing. Good editing can make or break a book, and giving a book it’s due diligence is worth the time. But there’s another aspect to all this and one I don’t see ever really talked about, just hinted at if you know what the feeling is. There is nothing exciting about finishing a book.
It’s probably the hard work and time and effort etc. etc. but when you write the last scene and you go into editing mode, it’s one of the most deflating feelings in the world. It’s not like the movies where the author puts a flourish on the last words, ‘the end,’ a smile on her lips as she contemplates the brilliance of what she just completed. No, often the last word is somewhere in the middle of the book as you finally finish that random scene you just really didn’t want to write, deep down knowing you forced it out and you most likely have to do the most editing on it. The smile you wear is one of grim determination as you realize you know have a four hundred page book to edit and you’re thoroughly sick of this story. It’s not a great feeling. And it’s also not great when you go to publish. At best there’s just relief that it’s all over. But you know what is a good feeling? In a year or two, picking up the book again and rereading it after having let it go and started something new, being reintroduced to these characters you loved so dearly and so intensely and knowing you don’t have to do a thing, just enjoy the ride.