"R" IS FOR....

There are a lot of "R" words that writers have to deal with. I couldn't decide which of them to write about, so I'm writing about all of them! Rough drafts, re-writes, reality, readers, reviews, rejection and readiness. Some of these are scary, some of them are rough, and some of them are wonderful... but all of them need to be faced. And if you're not ready to face some of them, then you're not ready to be published.

Rough Drafts

Oh the bliss of just writing. Your pen skimming across the page, your fingers tapping the keys as they frantically try to keep up with your imagination, the story flowing from your mind onto the page. This is why you write. For the lovely rough draft. That sensation of the story being actually WRITTEN... that's what it's all about.

Re-writes

Also known as editing. This is where you hone your skills. Sharpen your pen. This has its ups and downs, as you cut out your heart... er... unnecessary adverbs, scenes that don't further the plot, descriptions that you are seriously attached to but you just can't use in this story... but then there is the triumph of getting that sentence just right, the euphoria of completing the edit and being ready to send your baby out into the real world for others to love. They will love your baby, you just know it, how could they not? It is your precious, your darling, your heart and soul... and it is beautiful!

Reality

Publishing is hard work. All that writing and re-writing you did is easier than falling asleep in comparison to marketing, querying, and writing multiple versions of a synopsis. Getting people to actually pick up your book and read it is a lot harder than you thought it would be. It's hard to understand: it has a catchy title, a beautiful cover, and an intriguing blurb on the back cover... and yet it's like pulling teeth to get anyone to look at it twice... or even once for that matter. You get back form rejection letters, and they hurt, but you keep on...

And eventually, you get it out there, either through traditional methods or self-publishing, and then you begin to deal with...

Readers and Reviews

Like re-writes, this aspect of writing has its beauty and its pain. Some readers may love your story. They give you a glowing review, which you read (some authors claim they don't read reviews... but I'll bet they only got to that point after the first several dozen), and you are just absolutely walking through outer-space for the rest of the day. "They love me!" you think, "I really can write! This'll show (insert nay-sayer's name if you have one in your life here)."

Then you get a negative review... or worse, a neutral "eh, didn't love it, didn't hate it, it's not that original, and was actually kinda boring, but elements were pretty cool so I dunno, I wouldn't read it again but it was fine" review. Oh! Dagger to the soul! You wish they'd just loathed it, because then you could be angry with them. You could pretend to shoot laser beams through cyber-space at them. But no, instead of hating it, they called it mediocre. How could they?

But this can be a good thing. Maybe a negative, or "so-so" review spurs you on to greater things. You do another re-write, you get beta readers, you hire an editor. They give you feedback, comments, etc.

Readiness

The truth is, until you can take that negative, or semi-negative review and let it just wash over you... until you can receive a critique and pare through it deciding what parts of that critique are useful and what you disagree with... until you can stand firm by your own writing or bend when you hear good advice... until you can do those things, you're not ready. Not ready to put your pride and joy on the shelves. Not ready to read a review of your own work.

It comes at a different point for everyone. I had written 6 books and was 10 years into my "career" as an author before I was ready. Ten years before I could take anyone's but my Dad's advice/criticism on my writing without getting defensive or ending up with hurt feelings.

But once you are ready, well, then the adventure really begins!

What about you? Are you "ready" to publish? Which of the R's are you in the midst of right now? Can you think of an R I might have missed?