Here’s the thing – I’m not very good at waiting. I’m good at tasks, at procedures, and at anything that resembles measurable progress. Waiting … not so much.
And that’s what makes this particular part of the book-writing process so incredibly difficult for me. My first draft is done. I’ve read through and edited it twice. I’ve sent it out to a small group of readers to get their initial reactions, and now I’m stuck (say it with me now) waiting!
This waiting period comes with a strange mix of emotions. After working for months to complete a draft, I’ve just recently gone back to read the whole thing from beginning to end. The excitement to see the complete (if not polished) work in front of me makes me want to hit “publish” already and get it out there. I’m excited to see my work in print, and I can’t wait to share it.
But on the other hand there is a nagging, gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that this book isn’t going to be any good, that I’m going to discover that it needs a complete overhaul or a from-scratch rewrite. The lack (so far) of feedback from my beta readers has me on pins and needles. I’m half-hoping that their response will be filled with nothing but praise and jubilation, and simultaneously half-convinced that they’ll discover major flaws, gaps, and problems that I, as an author, lack the perspective to notice.
And in the meantime I’m stuck waiting, which (I may have already mentioned this,) I’m not good at doing. So here’s a list of productive, useful things that I can start doing now in order to keep myself busy while I wait:
- Create a list of things to do to keep myself busy while I wait
- Start writing the blurb for the back of the book
- Put together a media kit
- Begin laying out and designing the book’s interior (using the current draft – I’ll swap it out for a final draft in the end)
- Assemble and organize my front matter
- Write my preface
- Touch base with my cover designer, start talking about working on a mock-up
- Work on the 3 other writing projects that I’ve put on the back burner while I’ve focused on Dream-Chasers
- Assemble a list of people who should get a copy of the book once it’s published. Start collecting mailing addresses for them.
What do you do to kill the time? Is there anything I’m missing? Leave a comment below and let me know 🙂
Paula Casill 