In the very beginning it starts with this, a manuscript:
One manuscript, complete with elastic bands
When I began writing, a manuscript was a bundle of paper which you posted in a Fedex box. Now, I deliver mine by email (though I usually take a paper copy to my agent, a kind of tradition we've established). The general rule for when to submit it is when you have entered a haze of exhaustion which renders you incapable of doing anything but adding and removing the same comma while feverishly muttering long sections of the book out loud to yourself to 'check the rhythm of the sentences'.
Delivering the book is difficult to do. You will have written, rewritten, polished and agonised over this book for probably well over a year - and that's if you are a quick writer. My books now take much longer. You will worry about whether or not it is as good as your other books, as good as it can be, whether your editor will be satisfied with it. But at some point you have to let it go. So you write a friendly email explaining that it's done, maybe give your editor a call to let her know to expect it imminently, and press send. This was what I did, on the 20th of June, with The Heart at War. Then, there is a moment when you don't quite realise the book is finished. Then, you feel a very tentative sense of relief and begin to realise that the labour that has consumed a large part of your energy for a large portion of your life is done. It's probably a good idea to celebrate in some way, despite your exhaustion, because this is an important moment. And also because your family and friends may not have seen you emerge from wherever you write for some time and might actually quite like to see you.
Delivering the book is difficult to do. You will have written, rewritten, polished and agonised over this book for probably well over a year - and that's if you are a quick writer. My books now take much longer. You will worry about whether or not it is as good as your other books, as good as it can be, whether your editor will be satisfied with it. But at some point you have to let it go. So you write a friendly email explaining that it's done, maybe give your editor a call to let her know to expect it imminently, and press send. This was what I did, on the 20th of June, with The Heart at War. Then, there is a moment when you don't quite realise the book is finished. Then, you feel a very tentative sense of relief and begin to realise that the labour that has consumed a large part of your energy for a large portion of your life is done. It's probably a good idea to celebrate in some way, despite your exhaustion, because this is an important moment. And also because your family and friends may not have seen you emerge from wherever you write for some time and might actually quite like to see you.
Exhausted author celebrates delivery of manuscript - note dark circles
And then, you wait. I am at this stage at the moment, and it's a good moment. I'm keeping in touch with my editor, Amy, and generally just enjoying some time to catch up on everything else I've neglected. My editor will spend this time reading the book, making notes and recording her impressions of the draft. At some point in the next couple of weeks we'll arrange a schedule for the editing process. Once that begins, the manuscript is well on its way to becoming a book.
Anything else you would like to know? Just tell me and I'll try to include it here.
Anything else you would like to know? Just tell me and I'll try to include it here.
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