Last weekend I attended the annual Writer's Digest conference in NYC. The event served as an informal deadline for me, to get my revisions done so I could pitch my story to agents of the science fiction genre during the conference's Pitch Slam event.
So I did that and it was great. I had a number of agents show interest in my story so I began to send out queries. One step closer to rejection letters!
The book is on the long side at 104k words. I'll be spending the next month or two waiting for more beta reader and agent feedback and ruminating on tweaks that I can make. Like every writer, I hope the feedback isn't disastrous--necessitating major work--but that's something I need to anticipate and accept. When it's time to roll up my sleeves and get the work done, then that's what I'll do. That aside, I'll be researching more agents to query. I'll start fleshing out my ideas for follow on books. I'll keep writing.
I need to establish my groove.
If writing is something I plan to do for a long time, it needs to be integrated into my life the same way I integrated my career, marriage, home, children, and Kung Fu. It's just another thing I do. I need to make sure I keep up a good balance with all the things that are important with me. I can't go overboard in any one thing at the cost of the others.
My job still needs focus. My wife and my family need attention. The house still needs maintenance. The kids still need guidance. I still need to sweat it out at Kung Fu. It all needs to keep happening.
As I integrate writing into my life, I will avoid telling the people in my life, "Oh, I can't because I'm writing." Instead, I will integrate writing into my life so it's undetectable. Consistency is key here. Putting things off and then cramming them in at the last moment is when you start to make excuses about your time. It's when stress begins to creep into your life. I want to avoid all that so I'll need to establish a new groove.
Thanks for reading.
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