Before I’d ever written a book, I thought “done” meant writing the last sentence of a manuscript, maybe followed by a dramatically written “The End.” Now I know, that’s only the beginning…
For several years now, I’ve been setting the goal of releasing my second novel, Frost. But unexpected things have come up in the world at large, as well as my work life and my personal life.
I still plan on releasing it. I hope in the near future. But I’m not setting anymore “I want it done by…” goals. Because what does “done” really mean? I now have a complete novel with a beginning, middle, and end. It’s been through numerous drafts and several edits. But the quality still isn’t what I want it to be. So now I’m going through the manuscript, yet again. This time my focus is on worldbuilding more than plot/character. Frustrating? Yes, but also necessary.
I reached a point this year, where I could have published it. I gave it a lot of thought. But I don’t want to publish something and then regret it. I wrote about this a bit in my How Prolific Do I Want to Be post several years ago. At the time, it seemed like I had another year or so of work on this book. Actually what I’ve said about the status of this book then is similar to what I’m saying now: a number of drafts, several edits, and still not done.
Does that mean I haven’t made any progress in the last few years? I hope not! It’s easy to fall into that trap, but I’m trying to remember that Frost is a better book now than it was when I wrote that post (also it was called Frozen Heart then. I like Frost better.)
In some ways it feels like posting this is a failure to finish my book. I compare myself to other indie authors who seem able to publish three books a year, while working full time, raising five children and training for the Olympics. But I’m not them. I can’t produce quality writing at that pace. I hope someday I can, but I’m not there yet. That’s not a failure on my part.
The book is coming.
I’m just not sure when.
So to all my many fans eagerly awaiting my next release (kidding!) it’s going to be a bit longer. I don’t know how long. But hopefully the book will be better for it.
Fran Laniado- Author 
It sounds like you’re making the right choices on this one! Growth as an author can be hard to pin down, but it really does make such a huge difference in the finished product.
Also, 100% agree. I used to think that “done” meant writing “The End.” And then I thought “done” meant going over the manuscript on an editing pass, and fixing typos and other obvious mistakes. But it’s really so much more than that.
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The hard part is that most other people do think “done” means writing “The End” and a quick pass after that. People ask me how is it progressing under the assumption that I’m just trying to get to that point. It’s hard to explain that I’ve been “finished” with the story itself for a while, but the book is still a work in progress!
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Good point, the pressure from society is that once your’e done writing scenes and doing an edit of the work as a whole, it’s “done.”
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I love the image at the top!
And about those super productive authors … IK, R? One indie author I admire is cranking out the series, working FT, married with a child, and attending law school. LAW SCHOOL. I don’t think I could survive law school if it was literally my only job, cause I need to eat and sleep.
But if you are not sick of the book, by all means continue with that luscious world building! It means your book has good bones and you love it.
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Do they have more hours in a day than the rest of us? That’s the only way it’s possible!
I’m definitely sick of this book sometimes, but I also really want to make it good! Does that make sense? I care about it, even when I want to just be done with it already. I feel like it’s worth putting in the effort so that it lives up to its potential.
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