"Books are never finished, they are merely abandoned." Oscar Wilde
Is a book ever really finished? Is an author ever truly pleased with her own work?
I'm at the end of my fifth book, so I wonder. I mean, I still love/hate my other four books. They're awesome/crap and I'll never forget them. But I have moved on. I have to.
I'm a writer. Writers write, right? Or else they're not really writers. They're just thinkers. But it's kind of depressing to imagine finishing this WIP, revising it, and then letting it rot on a hard drive somewhere (as if I don't know exactly which hard drive it would be rotting on!).
Is it naive to believe every time that this will be the book? I mean, at some point, it IS the book!
Ask Beth Revis! Or Kiersten White. Or Elana Johnson. I could go on naming my favorite writers who became published authors after years and forgotten manuscripts built from hard work and perseverance. But I'll let you fill in the blanks with your favorite authors.
________ made it after ten years of writing and rejection.
________ almost gave up, but good friends and writing partners wouldn't let him.
________ changed my life with her one and only book.
Yes, I have abandoned more books than most people ever write. Maybe you have, too. But believe this (repeat it if you're alone): Someday a book by me will be finished by the hardcover binding that's more satisfying than typing THE END.
And real people who have never met me will pick it up and read it.
And I will be pleased with it, even though it will never be perfect.
Because it will be a piece of me shared with the world.
When do you feel your work is finished on a particular book or project? Is publication the end? Or do you feel satisfied just in finishing your final round of revisions?
