How long have you been writing that?

Some of my readers know that it took me about twenty+ years to finish my first novel - not that I was writing every day (nor, dare I admit, even every year!) during that time, but still, it took a while. During those years, I kept thinking I would eventually send it out to publishing companies and agents, but I never seemed to find the free time to get it out to more than a handful of people. 

As many writers know, the business end of things (publishing, marketing, and such) is challenging for the introverted, artistic type - the tortured, introverted, artistic type. Okay, just kidding there. I wasn't tortured - except when it came to query letters and varying length synopses.

So, I kept editing instead - a good thing since writing styles changed over the course of those decades.

Here are a few tips for anyone out there who's taking as long as I did. They might save you some grief.

1. I'm sure you've heard not to get too attached to the words you've already written. That one took me a while to integrate into my psyche, especially when they'd been there for so long. Grow detached and change them. 

2. Get beta readers throughout the period, not just right at the end, or just somewhere in the beginning, of your journey. This applies especially any time you change POV. Just make sure they are trustworthy people.

3. I once had a long essay of mine with very specific and unusual ideas and references stolen (reprinted without my permission and taken out of state). Several years later, while I happened to be walking through the many shelves of books in a store (remember those days?), I saw an expanded version of it.  Hence, I was wary and hesitant to provide people with copies of my novel for a long time. If you are equally concerned, just take precautions such as sharing with more than one person, keeping old copies of your work, officially copyrighting the material, and/or sending a copy to yourself through the US mail (don't open it!). 

4. Remind yourself of what you've written before (has it been several months?) as you start again. Otherwise, it takes patience going through and ensuring you've not accidentally changed names, events, and dates. It's also helping me to write a few books at once now because they are interrelated and easier to correlate this way (for me). They are books 2, 3, and 4 in the The Search for Intelligent Life on Earth series, as well as a couple of novellas. 

5. I had multiple files/folders of chapters, which then needed to be formatted to match. Now I use the same document even if I skip around in the chapters. I find it easier and a time saver. 

6. Don't get discouraged. Remember that the ultimate goal is to feel good about your work, share something with the world, and daydream a little (in other words, have fun).