The Right Way to Write

People seem to be asking me a lot lately if I've sent my book manuscript into any publishers. They all seem remember me saying something about doing that sometime soon. Or, last summer.

Yes, I have been procrastinating big time, but I promise it is not because I am scared. Or at least, not entirely. Last summer my query package was not ready to go, and then in the fall I got tired of working on it and started working on the sequel instead. While in Thailand, I set a goal to have it ready to go by the end of January.

I'm sure you can guess how that one went.

The fact is, I was scared. I'd done a lot of research on publishing, pitching and writing a marketable product, and the way I saw it, my manuscript wasn't ready. The way I figure, it would be better to spend more time preparing the manuscript now that I know what's wrong with it, then start sending it in an obviously flawed form. Maybe then I can skip at least one level of rejection letters.

I've started reading this book called Thanks, But This Isn't For Us: A (Sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected by Jessica Page Morrell. It's written by an freelance editor, who goes through what makes a good product, and what editors will reject. I'm finding it hugely helpful, and would recommend it to any other aspiring authors out there.

So that's where I am in writing right now. Hopefully, I can get back on the pitching wagon soon.