When Life Hands You Lymes: Holding it for the First Time
A couple of weeks ago my dad told me that if I printed out a copy of my WIP (work-in-progress) When Life Hands You Lymes then he would read it. That was a deal I couldn't pass up, so I worked until after midnight nearly every day that week to finish the draft I was on so I could order a copy for him. We're currently in Florida for a conference with my non-writing job so when I ordered the still-messy-draft of the book from Lulu, I had it sent to my grandma's house because she lives close by.
The book arrived on Thursday when we were taking a break from work to spend family time playing putt-putt. I had gone along just to watch, so when Grandma arrived and handed me her keys I ran out in the pouring rain (that had just started) to her car to retrieve my box. It was a special moment for me since I started my book 764 days before then and probably worked on it for over 600 of those days and yet had not printed out even a single word of the story before ordering the book.
For the rest of the game (after the rain stopped) I followed my family from hole to hole, cheering them along and hugging my book and looking at it's beautiful pages. And, actually they weren't quite so beautiful because everywhere I looked I saw changes I needed to make, but at least I was holding it in my hands.
It can be overwhelming getting edits back from all my beta readers with huge sections that need changed. I like it and I'm thankful for all the time and energy my beta readers are investing, but that doesn't make it easy.
That's one reason why it means so much to be able to hold a physical copy of the WIP in my hands, even though I know it's nothing like what the finished product will be. This helps renew my perspective and remind me that if I continue on then one day (Lord willing) I will have a finished product to hold in my hands and the years I've poured into the book will be worthwhile.
Well, my dad finished the book a few days ago and he liked it (cue cheering). He was the first person in my family to read the book, so I was a slight bit nervous and very anticipatory about what he would say. I knew I wouldn't get any deep plot suggestion changes from him (although he did mention a few things) but I was hoping his overall impression would be good. When he did like it, that helped give me a boost and extra enthusiasm to tackle the changes all my beta readers have been suggesting...
So, onward and upward and forward we go!
The book arrived on Thursday when we were taking a break from work to spend family time playing putt-putt. I had gone along just to watch, so when Grandma arrived and handed me her keys I ran out in the pouring rain (that had just started) to her car to retrieve my box. It was a special moment for me since I started my book 764 days before then and probably worked on it for over 600 of those days and yet had not printed out even a single word of the story before ordering the book.
For the rest of the game (after the rain stopped) I followed my family from hole to hole, cheering them along and hugging my book and looking at it's beautiful pages. And, actually they weren't quite so beautiful because everywhere I looked I saw changes I needed to make, but at least I was holding it in my hands.
It can be overwhelming getting edits back from all my beta readers with huge sections that need changed. I like it and I'm thankful for all the time and energy my beta readers are investing, but that doesn't make it easy.
That's one reason why it means so much to be able to hold a physical copy of the WIP in my hands, even though I know it's nothing like what the finished product will be. This helps renew my perspective and remind me that if I continue on then one day (Lord willing) I will have a finished product to hold in my hands and the years I've poured into the book will be worthwhile.
Well, my dad finished the book a few days ago and he liked it (cue cheering). He was the first person in my family to read the book, so I was a slight bit nervous and very anticipatory about what he would say. I knew I wouldn't get any deep plot suggestion changes from him (although he did mention a few things) but I was hoping his overall impression would be good. When he did like it, that helped give me a boost and extra enthusiasm to tackle the changes all my beta readers have been suggesting...
So, onward and upward and forward we go!
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