Progress Report: June 25th, 2018

Much of what I do, I do as a diversion.

The process of writing, polishing, and submitting a novel for publication is such a long-term investment that the author generally has to keep themselves busy in the meantime, or else go completely insane due to the snail's pace of the progress.

This blog is one such diversion. Giving myself a weekly project to fulfill, as I wait for any good news, helps to keep me calm and rational.

See how calm I am?

But There's a Problem....

Some days, it feels like I'm running out of things to talk about. I have a few secrets up my sleeve that I'm keeping to myself. Other than that, it seems I have already spilled the beans about all the things I know about writing. And I know precious little about anything else.

More than anything, I just want to chronicle my own strange path to publication on this blog, as a reference to anyone, down the line, thinking of walking the same road.

And so far, the best information I can give about the process is that it involves a lot of waiting, and also wondering what more you could do. There is no way of A-B testing the people you submit query packages to, as you only get one chance to query each person, and what works for one may not work for any others.

But if I'm going to be honest about how my endeavor is going, then I'm going to need to post frequent updates.

So Here We Go

At the moment, I have one world-changing book on the market and another one cooking at home.

It's presumptuous to call them world-changing, I know, but it is not without reason that I believe in both of them. Each is a fresh take on a familiar genre, with the kind of synthesis between action and mystery that often leads to moment-defining stories. Both have dramatic themes without being preachy. Both know how to take unlikeable characters and leverage those characters' vulnerabilities to make the reader want to help and encourage them (creating the kind of "character heartache" that makes the Tina Belchers of the world write fan fiction).

And the hardest part of all of this, so far, is convincing people to just give it a chance.

Overall, I could be a lot worse off. Still, I can't help but want more.

But if this is what progress looks like, then I'll gladly muddle through. I'm glad at least a few people read this blog, because that means it's fulfilling its purpose.

Thank you for your continued support. I hope to have better news (or even just a hint of better news) in a future update. Until then, hold on and embrace life, for both our sakes.