The Stages Before Publishing!

I was talking with a friend and she was asking me why I won't release Lumen yet. I told her that I'd written it and everything was coming along well... but Lumen isn't ready.



Writing, editing, and publishing is a lot like having a child... although I've never had one, I can only imagine this is what it's like... and I'm having another, I'm having another 21 in fact, and they're the ones that are planned.... I can guarantee though that there will be some unplanned novels/novellas in the mix! Ha!




So at first you're in the ideas stage with your book, at this stage your baby is just a foetus in the womb, here you're just deciding on the characters, the plot, and everything else. (I know that some people aren't planners, and that's fine, but this is my story.) Now that you've decided on everything and you've got a bunch of new clothes for your characters to wear, and you've got the food that they're going to survive off; for the first couple of weeks this will be your breast milk, that will be the initial writing boost but then you hit the lull.




So, now that we've got the child all planned and everything, and we know when it's due to be born... now, by born, I mean when the first word of the novel/novella/short story is being written, that's when your baby hits the birth canal... yes, it's tough to get those first words out, to entice the reader into your writing (or to entice your baby out of the womb). However, when you get into writing it, the words just slip out... like the baby. And it's only natural to want to clean your baby off---meaning: going back to edit your first bit. Well, sure, you clean it a little bit... but don't be fixated on constantly trying to make it all neat and prim the first draft.




Now, once you've finished writing your book your "baby" will have turned into a "toddler" and they're a nuisance, they're always messy and you want to scream at them when they scream at you. (Just in case you are wondering, I am only 19... but I have loads of siblings who are a lot younger than me, so this is where this bit is coming from.) This is the part that I like to call EDITING! Yes, the fun part! This is where you raise, or drag that child up until it hits puberty...




Some people have published their books when they're in the puberty stage... and only bad things can happen to them! So you can't release your book into the wild into you know that it's an adult. It's only right that this analogy is the one that you should follow (not preaching here or anything because that would be wrong).




Your Book is an Adult When...




You've come to terms with the fact that you're not going to change another thing in it's life, and everyone is going to see your book in the same way. And unless your book goes through a mental breakdown (true story) then you may change stuff.




Or maybe it will say "hey, writer... I think I'm ready to leave. You've polished me as much as you can now. If you want you can take a last read through, because nobody is perfect... I will have my flaws. Can I spread my wings and fly now." (also a true story)




You know when your story is ready to be published... it's an innate feeling.




I'm not sure what you guys are supposed to be taking from this post, but this is how I envision the writing / editing process... and maybe you do as well... and if you don't, then----




How do you envision this process?

What did you think of mine?




-Joseph




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