I wanted to write some sort of summation of 2013, but honestly I didn’t know where to begin. So instead, I thought I’d look ahead at 2014. THESE GENTLE WOUNDS hits the shelves four months from today. Even though that sounds like a long time, in publishing, that’s like a nano-second. And every day, I’m reminded that there are things I have to do: radio interviews and podcasts to prepare for (more on this later), bookplates to print, in-store signings and release events to schedule. Suddenly five months doesn’t sound long AT ALL.
Ever since I announced that TGW would be coming out, I’ve had people asking me where they should buy it and how they could most help. Thankfully, Jen Malone wrote a great series that answers this question and others. No pressure. But if you’re curious, http://writersrumpus.com/2014/01/03/how-to-help-an-author-beyond-buying-the-book-part-one/
Anyhow, I usually make New Year’s resolutions, but this year I really only had one: Don’t Screw Anything Up that was Set in Motion in 2013. This includes some family stuff, but also a whole lot of writing-related things.
For instance….I’m at the tail end of my going through my TGW proofs. Word. By. Word. Sigh. 336 pages. Don’t ask how long this is taking me. But I’m determined not to screw it up.
And I’ve just submitted a round of revisions for my favorite manuscript to my agent. The revisions were written (a) in the middle of the night in Bulgaria (b) on a plane flying over the Atlantic (c) at various desks in Nashville. Not the way that I usually work, but I love this book and I’m determined not to screw it up.
(As an aside….since some of you might have had a peek at TGW by now….the craziest thing is how drastically different the first person narrators of these two books that I’m trying to work on simultaneously are. I keep trying to picture Gordie and Sean in a room together and it makes my head want to explode).
Anyhow. There is also my current WIP, which has had to take a back seat to all of the rest. Up until this week it had been quietly waiting its turn, biding its time. But I’m thrilled that it’s been starting to poke at the back of my mind with a large, pointy stick. “Remember me?” “Remember me?” “Remember me?” At this moment in time, that manuscript is a number of things I said that no manuscript of mine would ever be: most notably 3rd person and magic realism. But I also argued with friends for YEARS and said that I would never write a work of fiction.
Shows you what I know.