Hi friends,
It happened again. Three chapters into my novel edit, a new, shiny, sexy idea for a short story appeared and instead of finishing the chapter edit, what did I do? I followed the story idea into the black of the night where, after dancing with me for a while, it abandoned me and went off to distract someone else.
So now I have an incomplete short story, a stalled novel edit, and no one but myself to blame.
My agent and I have been scheming and strategizing about sample chapters for my book proposal. I wrote the first three, and while everyone agreed they’re strong chapters, they’re all based in the adult part of my co-author’s life. Someone suggested possibly writing two chapters from the middle of the book, one where we can show how I would write her as a child. It was my decision to make and I asked a friend for advice. She read through the proposal and found the perfect chapter for me to write, the one that would cover all bases and be a very strategic choice for the proposal. I promised my agent I’d write it and send within the week.
I’m procrastinating on this chapter, I know, but I also know that it will get written. A couple of days before the deadline, I will start getting antsy, then I’ll watch the ticking clock and know that I’m running out of time, and eventually, like a true journalist, I will sit down a few hours before it’s due and get it done. I will then step back, consider how easy it was, wonder what the fuss was about, and do it all over again the next time.
Because I have a deadline and someone I owe this chapter to, it will get done.
This is not true for my novel edits. I’ve promised Sam that we’ll be ready to read it next month (I read my books out loud to Sam so we can catch any storytelling inconsistencies, then he does a thorough edit before I send it to my mentor/freelance editor, and only then does my agent see it). But if we’re not ready to read next month? He doesn’t care. My mentor doesn’t care. My agent doesn’t care.
No one cares.
I’m the only one who cares and so I have to find ways to show up and finish it even when no one’s waiting for it.
How?
Well, there are a number of productivity tools that I’m sure you’re already aware of, but I want to share a mindset hack that I think is pretty unique to me.
What I do is this: I consider what’s coming a few months down the line.
So, for instance, as many of you know, I have a novel out on submission. My work there is done, there’s absolutely nothing more I can do for that book. It’s out of my hands, it’s out of my agent’s hands, people are reading, we’re getting some excitement, we’re getting some rejections, it is what it is. There are two ways this plays out: Either I get offered a book deal that I accept, or I don’t.
If I don’t get offered or accept a book deal, I’d like to have another novel ready to go that my agent can take out. This means that even if the worst case scenario happened (no book deal), I’d still have a new project ready to send out as soon as my agent thought it was appropriate to do so. It means that I’d go on submission again quickly instead of waiting around for months (or years).
If it does sell? Well, yay! First of all, I’d like to take some time off to enjoy the moment and that would get in the way of novel edits. But also, when you sign a contract with a publisher, especially for your debut novel, it’s likely that they’ll put a clause in there that says they get a first look at your next book. If I were to sign such a contract, I’d like to get my next book in the hands of the publisher the moment we’ve finished working on the one they’ve bought so that, ideally, I can get a second book deal before the first one is published. This would get me in the “novel a year” publishing schedule, which I would very much like. And of course, if I have a novel ready to go before all this goes down, there’s far less pressure.
So, back to what we were talking about.
How do I motivate myself to work on this book when no one’s waiting for it?
I consider all the benefits– emotional, financial, practical– that will accrue from having this book finished in the next month or so, and I work from that place. I may not have a deadline, but I have solid, practical, and strategic reasons for getting it done, and soon. That pretty much does the job of a deadline.
And so, despite the occasional fling with a short story, I find myself motivated enough to stay on track.
More tomorrow!
Cheers,
Natasha