I can’t believe that I’m at week 10 already. Can I ask time to slow down a bit? Please? Okay, that was a rhetorical question in which I already know the answer. Time stands still for no man. So, I guess I’d better keep plugging right along with it. Week 9… week 9… what can I say about week 9? Another rhetorical question that I’m getting ready to answer. Week 9 was awesome! I was solid once again on my word count goal, but I have to admit that word count isn’t everything. The quality of the words on paper or in the computer counts even more than the number of words themselves. I have a lot of rework to do on that note. My manuscript is very rough at this point, although I do regularly manage to go back to previous areas that I’ve already written and spruce them up a bit. It seems like some of my writing time throughout each week goes to improving upon writing completed from previous weeks. I find myself discovering better ways to reword sections; adding more detail to areas that need further clarification; and taking out pieces that don’t seem to fit where they are, moving them to other places or removing them altogether. I guess I’m glad that settling for the “first mention” isn’t my philosophy on how to write my book. Consequently, I plan on continuing to be moldable and mendable with my writing. A rough draft is just that and will obviously need to go through a process of getting all the bends, wrinkles, and holes out of it before others lay their eyes on it. For this very reason, I’d rather do as much rework while the book is under my tutelage than to have it torn apart during the editing process. And, I’m definitely wanting the book to be reviewed by a professional editor before going to press.
One interesting piece of information that I locked in on came through the YouTube grapevine. I was listening to a creative entrepreneur who was going through her writing process of outlining and I was immediately drawn to the concept. Now, she writes fictional novels that need obvious character development, setting descriptions, and event details and chronology. My route isn’t as involved as hers because my book will draw from personal experience and will be a non-fiction devoted to encouraging personal and professional development. However, the idea of chapter outlining is still a very worthwhile organizational step in the writing process as far as I’ve determined through actual application. I don’t know if you remember me stating last week that my one chapter morphed into several chapters all at once due to the fact that I had previous unused writing material that I was able to incorporate into this book. Okay, if you didn’t know, now you do. My quite unorthodox chapter outlining (instead of coming all brand-spanking new out of the old noggin) came in the form of taking my previously written work that was on stand-by and using it to develop the chapters that are formulating my book to-date. I practically took the old copy and paste method, moved the old stuff into the new stuff, and then reworked some things to make them seamlessly fit into the current subject matter. I do have some sections that have been moved over that haven’t had a chance to go through their finessing process yet, which is why I mentioned that I will continue to be adjusting some things until my final manuscript version establishes itself with complete confidence.
The last item I wanted to report to you is that my writing balance is leaning more towards the self-publishing route than the traditional publishing route. I spent the last three weeks contemplating whether or not to take a community course in writing that the local university here is offering or to by a book about self-publishing with its emphasis on e-books. I opted for the book because it’s cheaper, I can teach myself by studying the book on my own schedule and time frame, and it addresses all the areas that I’m most interested in, regarding the whole writing process. My reasoning in choosing the book over the course kind of sounds like the same reasoning I would use to choose self-publishing over traditional publishing. Ironic, huh? Yes, I must admit that I am totally in tune with the idea of having the creative control of every aspect of getting the book from inception to its live birth and then eventual introduction to the world. It means a lot of work on my part, but that’s what’s so scary and exciting about the whole endeavor. It will be my work on my terms and the results (positive or not) will be all mine to own. Whew! This is a little overwhelming to think about, so I’ll just keep on reading the book about self-publishing one chapter at a time and I’ll plan on giving you an informal review of the book once I’ve been able to digest more of it. I just received it in the mail the beginning of last week and started going through some of its pages during my non-writing research days. I have a lot to read and will undoubtedly be rereading it over and over again as I continue through this whole process.
All in all, Week 9 was both productive and eventful and has helped me to rein in some areas of writing where I was a little bit undecided. My method of chapter outlining has definitely allowed my chapters to take more notable form and my studying of self-publishing is solidifying my intention to do an e-book with other book formats as options as well. Again, I want to be pliable in every step of the writing process. I’ll never say never to other viable courses of action; but one thing I can say for certain is that the completion of my manuscript is just one step in a long line of many steps to follow.
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