Productivity trumps subjectivity…today, at least

Today, after about a month since I sat down to complete the rigorous job of rewriting my FIRST MS I retyped the words THE END on the page.

I can’t tell you how overwhelming it feels to have TWO completed manuscripts saved on this hard drive. It’s exhilarating, mind-blowing, fan-freaking-tastic, but…now what?

I’m sure I’m not the only one who battles with the voices in her head, the ones who can’t wait for their turn to get out and down on paper…that’s the life of a writer I’m learning. But the part I am DYING to experience is the part where I get to share the stories, hear the feedback from my readers and get to say…”I wrote that!”

Since completing the first version of Taking Second Chances in November I’ve been at the subjective mercy of agents and publishers and contests judges…none of them are yet to give me a shot. Yes, that’s normal…I’ve read blogs and articles about best selling authors who’ve had 400+ query rejections and 15 years of waiting for their MS to be out on a shelf. For anyone who knows me…I CANNOT wait 15 years to see this through.

In fact, I don’t know how much longer I can wait until I just do this thing by myself. With all the news about self-publishing on the rise, I’m starting to think that’s my route. Just last week a small publishing house emailed me with a request to revise and resubmit Man of My Dreams. The story has a lot of nostalgic aspects to it…song names, band names, TV shows, etc. The publisher isn’t comfortable leaving those in the book for legal purposes. I’m not sold on taking them out…I have to be true to the story I want to be told and let’s face it, music is just as important to me as is my writing. Without it life would be bland and so would my story. So, I’m mulling it over and waiting for more feedback…I got a rejection from an agent this week who actually wrote in her email that she looks forward to kicking herself when she sees the book on the best seller’s lists. Made me feel good, but it was also a WTF? moment. Why not take the chance on it if you think it will end up there?

But today…my joy in being productive, and creative and loving what I do over exceeds the idea that this business is subjective. I’m starting to think that I want the reader to decide if I’m worth the purchase of the next book. The idea of having someone else decide my destiny for me…that’s getting old. I did the hard part…I told a story, weaved together some really pretty words and emotions and poured myself and my characters out on the page. Should I wait until someone else tells me I can to let everyone read about it? Sounds silly now as I type it.

I’ve blogged a lot about self-publishing lately. I know I don’t have many followers and God only knows who’s out there reading my ramblings, but I’d love to know what you think about throwing caution to the wind and leaving the traditional path of publishing in the dust?