hellojed
My goals for my next project are to not take 7 fucking years lmao.
It is crazy how these things can just go on for years and years before you know it. I recently published a novel that I wrote and re-wrote for four years, and now that I think about it, the book I’m currently working on has been in the process of writing for over a year and a half and I still think of it as my “new” project. I really related to getting to a point where you just want to release it without making a fuss just to get it over with, and then still feeling a little disappointed when it doesn’t make the impact you wish it had. At the same time, the book resonated with a few readers, and in the end, I’m able to think of it as a success.
But yeah, I went through that whole same thing about not trying to find a publisher, not wanting to do marketing, and just wanting it in the world. And I also had that same experience of looking at people who are investing a lot more of their time and resources into all that salesmanship stuff and having it go nowhere at all, and thinking that at least I’m not betting my whole life on making this stuff work.
It’s a harrowing experience but it also shows that you have a true passion for what you do. I confidently declared many times that I was giving up on my book completely and throwing it in the bin, and then there I would be the next day with a new idea for a scene or a character. So I guess this speaks to one answer for why we make art, which is just that we are compelled by some incomprehensible part of ourselves that won’t go away.
