The Status of "That Book"

A number of people have been asking me why I haven't finished "that book" yet.

It's a question writers get a lot, often from kindhearted folks who (a) think it's cool that you're a writer but don't really understand it, (b) think it's pretty much a waste of time that you're a writer but are too polite to say so, or (c) think it's cool that you're a writer, kind of DO understand it, but can't for the life of them remember exactly what book you're working on even though you had a long discussion with them about it just last week.

Sorry.  I've been watching too much John Oliver, lately. :)

My current WIP (that's Work in Progress in author lingo) is titled "The New Americans" but, for all intents and purposes, I just call it "Dad's Book."  This is because it's based on an outline that my father recorded onto a series of cassette tapes shortly before he passed away back in 1992.  If that intrigues you, I suggest you check out the podcast that Helene and I did on the subject.  It's called "Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience." It's free, and you can find it pretty much anywhere podcasts can be found.

I made a big fuss earlier this year, posting my rising word count almost daily on social media as I struggled to finish what is shaping up to be the hardest writing project of my life.  At the time, I got tons of encouragement.  Thanks for that, by the way.

Now, I'm more than halfway through the second draft.  After this is done, there'll be a third draft, and then likely a fourth.  At that point, I'll hand it off to my "First Read," who is my wife, Helene.  Following her edits, which can be both extensive and incredibly useful, there'll be a fifth and sixth draft.  After the sixth draft, I'll be sending it out to prospective agents and editors.

Welcome to my world! :)

Editing isn't more or less difficult that writing the first draft; it's just different.  You have to look at your own work with as critical an eye as possible, reword and often rethink huge passages.  Sometimes you add characters, sometimes you take them away.  Sometimes who chapters need to be rewritten. By the end of the second draft, the book can be substantially longer or substantially shorter.  It's a lengthy, often tedious process that is 100% absolutely undeniably VITAL if you want your work to shine.

And, perhaps more than any book I've ever written, I want "The New Americans" to shine, if only for my dad's sake.

So, today, tomorrow, and every day for the foreseeable future, I'll be diving again into the world of my three Sicilian brothers who become reluctant immigrant to the US in 1915.  This is a story about real people doing real things and living real lives.  There's not a zombie, spaceship, or superhero is sight!

Oh, and to answer the original query: Right now, I foresee handing the book off to Helene before the end of the year. But, no, that's NOT when the book will be "finished."  When you're a writer, nothing's "finished" until it's sitting on a bookstore shelf.  

Until then, WIP is the order of the day! :)