Something is pushing me.
I tried to go to sleep last night at around midnight because I was tired. All of a sudden my entire body started shivering and words just started flowing into my mind. I allowed them to flow and I recognized them as words that should go in the next chapter of my book but I really didn’t want to get up.
They didn’t go away. After a few minutes I sat up straight and turned on my laptop to begin writing. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. I felt like I was possessed by the words. After I was done with one chapter I went ahead and started the next one. When two chapters were done I said, “May as well go the extra mile and finish the last one.”
I didn’t go back to sleep until after 6am.
I had finished my entire book by then…I was so tired I couldn’t even celebrate.
I woke up around 11am and went sleepwalking to the cafeteria for food. I managed to lift my fork enough to take a few bites of pineapple slices and a couple of bites of pizza but I didn’t have the energy to eat anything else.
I slogged back to my room and checked my voicemail. My designer had called to discuss what’s next.
“Go ahead and send me the full version of your book, make it as clean as possible,” she said.
So I opened my laptop to begin the editing process. I created every page just like it would look in a book and I spent at least an hour deciding which order the chapters would go in to give the greatest affect. Since it’s a self help book, there’s no real order that it HAD to go in, but I really wanted the emotional effect of the content to be smooth and uplifting.
I worked and I worked and I edited and I added paragraphs, deleted words, re arranged sentences, expanded on other stories. Then I researched quotes and made up a lot of my own inspirational quotes to highlight throughout the book.
Then I read some more and tweeked some more. Before I knew it 8 hours had gone by.
So I read some more and edited some more and created the content for the front and back covers. I wrote a bio for myself and an acknowledgment section and then I read it once again for continuity.
I sat back and smiled. All done.
I spent 10 hours editing my book today but I just sent it to my designer so that she can start on the layout.
I heard back from another agent today. She said that she will review my proposal and get back with me within two weeks if she is interested in my project. I felt good about that.
I just tried to go to sleep but the words for the focus group questionaire keeps flowing through my mind. Again, I sat up and turned on the light, so I’m about to write that and send the copies of my book to the people who volunteered to critique it for me.
What a long, long process but you know what? I enjoyed every last second of it. Editing was way more fun than writing the actual book though. I got to polish my sentences, choose more fancy words and have fun with the text.
I don’t know what’s pushing me, but when the words flow like they did last night and today..I have to listen and write.
Thanks for all the love!