Thinking Ahead

Editing is always something I hate. While working on my Robert story, I keep getting sidetracked on publishing and what I'm going to do with this work. My instinct is to self-publish due to the fact that it's easy, quick and there isn't any rejection. On the flip-side, if I can find an agent who likes the work I can be represented, get it professionally edited for free and also have a realistic shot at getting it not only published but on a shelf in a store. Naturally this option is more appealing.

I listen a lot to the writing podcast "I Should Be Writing" and Mur chronicled her agent search. She searched for a year and came up with nothing. She ended up self-publishing. I look at her work and think if she can't get an agent, how could I?? Of course this is the mantra of any writer: self-hatred of our skill. Every writer thinks their work sucks in some way or another.

Really my focus needs to be on editing the beast and getting it as polished as possible. My game plan right now is to finish this round, fatten it up a little and then find some beta readers to go through it. Once they give it back with their notes and suggestions I'll go through it one last time before shopping it.

I really don't have a time-frame on this all but I would like to have my first round of editing done by the end of this month or no later than the middle of Feb. We'll see how that goes. I just gotta stay focused on the here and now.