Joe says that he kept his first book in the mail for two years while he worked on his second. When he finished his second book, he took the first one out of circulation to send the second one out. So, his second book got published first. Later, his first book got published, after he revised it.
This is the part of the new plan I did not know was missing until Joe told me his own pre-pub story. Plus, I like the idea of not having to look at Attracting Jack for two years. It might as well sit, if not in my desk drawer, then at various publishing houses, before I edit it again.
Amazing what a little distance will do for editing skills. Recently, looked at an old story I’d written and had not looked at for a couple of years. Had spent years honing that story and had worked on it until I was sick of it. Thought it was as good as it would ever get. But when I took it out of the drawer a couple weeks ago, I saw right away where I could shave off some literary pretensions, tighten some places, expand others. It’s weird how that works.
So, thanks Joe. I love the idea of committing myself completely to the new WIP. Six pages today, btw. And it’s a Monday. Which for me is not usually a writing day. But I did my usual routine this morning and afternoon and even went to the bookstore for a browse and when I got home around 2ish I STILL wanted to write. So I did.