So I’m just about finished with the second draft of my new novel (or is it my third or fourth or fifth? Who cares.). And now I’m ready to share my work with the world and start getting feedback. Oh shit!
Over the past 15 months, I’ve mostly kept my novel to only myself and any hackers who have been able to secretly gain access to my Google Drive account so that they can be among the first to read about a dude reluctantly going on a self-improvement journey in the woods (at least tell me what you thought, hackers! Am I any good????). During this time, I’ve been 100% certain with each page I write that my story will be a best seller and will find its way into the hands of millions of people who will all tell me how much my book has meant to them and how it has dramatically changed their lives.
And now? The realities of a semi-finished novel are upon me and I instead see a story filled with grammatical errors, plot lines that don’t quite work, characters who change a little too quickly, and jokes that don’t entirely land. Oh, how I miss the fantasies I spun while writing in a vacuum!
But this is an absolutely necessary step in writing a novel, putting your work out there for a trusted few to see, and letting them show you all of the warts you have thus far overlooked yourself. So give me the Dr. Scholl's Clear Away Wart Remover. I’m ready to hear what you think, friends.