Pacing Your Writing Career

When the snail's pace of publishing gets you down, look to the parts of your writing career you can control.

- FINNIAN BURNETT

The publishing industry is slow. Mindbogglingly slow. It consists of equal parts hurry-up-and-wait, we-need-it-now, and we'll-get-back-to-you-in-a-year. Whether you're working on drafting a novel, involved in endless revisions, perfecting your query, crying over writing a synopsis, or entrenched in the brutal mire of trying to find an agent or a publisher, it often seems as if being a writer means long periods of:

a. Nothing will ever be finished.

Or:

b. No one will ever get back to you.

Both of these things are equally true. Trust me, it’s not just you.

Nontraditional Career Paths

It sometimes feels as if everyone is publishing four books a year, or some debut novelist just got a three-book deal with a novel they wrote in 30 days while living on a houseboat. I have a couple of friends who put out three books per year, every year. I have another friend who finished their book, got an agent, and landed a publishing deal in about two years. It’s hard not to internalize the idea that you're falling behind because everyone else seems to be doing better. Or that your slower pace means youre not a real writer. That the two years you're taking to write your first draft means you've ruined your chances of getting a deal. That your book is fully on trend right now, but you're still editing Chapter 10 while agents are on social media, clamoring for the exact plot you're currently working on.