Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Busting The Myth of the Word Crunching Machine

Novel #2, DEATH SCENE, is being released 15 months after SUFFER THE CHILDREN, my first novel.

A lot of people, upon hearing this news, have indicated how impressed they are that I have been able to finish a second novel so quickly. What they don't know is that both novels had been finished for a long time, and had been riding the rejection circuit, before they got picked up by Lyrical Press.

And there is the myth. To the average uninformed person, a writer is a word crunching machine, churning off one novel after another. The reality is that most writers have several finished novels under their belts by the time they find a publisher willing to take one on. And once one novel has been released, the publisher's probably willing to take a look at what else you've got, which is when you haul out those other finished novels.

However, I only had two finished novels that I felt were anywhere near publishable standard. The first was SUFFER THE CHILDREN and the second was DEATH SCENE. The imminent release of DEATH SCENE is making me a tad anxious, as I can no longer roll out anything I did earlier for Book #3.

I have to write something new. And that's a scary thought. Although I have several WIPs on the go, they are all a very long way from completion.

I can't help but feel that once I have two published novels out there, the game will have changed. There is no room for procrastination in the life of the professional author. I guess I need to get my backside onto that chair and get on with writing.

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