Great Advice

What does a writer do when she's finished writing a nearly 400 page story? My multi-published friends unanimously agree that I should take a break from the manuscript before jumping into the editing process. A two week hiatus will give your brain time to rejuvenate, time to look at the story with new eyes, they said.

Of course, being the skeptic I am, I did not immediately buy into this theory when I heard it for the first time last year. However, having read the blasted manuscript more times than I can count, I was in desperate need for a mini vacation from the thing.

So I took a break, but continued to write. I'd established a routine, you see, and my internal clock kept screaming at me "It's time to write!" Since I'm highly motivated by guilt, even self-imposed, I wrote and completed a short story in two weeks.

I submitted the story to The Wild Rose Press soon after and held His Secret Desire in my hands three months later. As near as I can tell, I experienced every step of the publishing process that an author would with a full book--editor's letter, revisions, galleys, cover, marketing, and a finished e-book to admire. The editor I worked with was wonderful and she snuffed out all my unfounded fears, which I will be forever grateful.

I plan on writing another short story while I wait for the details of my newly completed manuscript to fade and I can look at it with fresh, excited eyes again.

The moral of this post? Listen to your published friends. They are wise as well as wonderful.