When Is A Piece Of Writing Finished?
September 9, 2008 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
Yesterday I was, for a bit, convinced I’d never finish what I was calling the final pass on the book I’m working on. My goal was to finish my proofreading so I could turn it over to a copy editor.
It’s a book for an upcoming teleclass called How To Get Your Book Written With Vision And Spirit. But I wanted the book to also work for people who want to get a book written but who don’t want to take the teleclass. I think I’ve accomplished that.
I’ve been working to finish it over the last month, and this last week or so I could smell the end. I couldn’t, however, seem to get there. Every time I read a chapter I’d think of something that I really wanted to add. So I did. As a result the book picked up an additional 10,000 words, and is better for it no doubt.
This morning it feels finished. And since I’m writing the book and will self-publish, I get to say when it’s finished. Oh I have some formatting to do, including learning to really handle sections in Word, then getting running heads to work properly, but the writing is finished. I may reread it one more time or I may not. If I do, I’m sure something else will get added, but I’m betting it won’t be much.
As freelance writers we get to say when a piece of writing is finished. That doesn’t mean it won’t get changed before it’s published. An editor may ask for changes, a copy editor may find typos or awkward sentences that need to be fixed. But there comes a point in every writing project when it’s done. A client may want some additions or subtractions.
None-the-less, I find over and over again that declaring a piece of writing finished is my job.
How do you decide a piece of writing is finished? Tell us about it.
Write well and often,
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Ahhh…the never-ending book…I know thee well. I’m fairly guilty of this myself. And I have a few clients who need to be pushed to finish as well. One book I have been editing has been slow-going. My client just keeps on adding and adding and adding. I attribute it to a couple things – 1) a desire to make things “perfect” and 2) fear of the book’s reception by the public. I just try to remind my clients (as gently as possible) that 1) there is no such thing as perfection, 2) the book is great and it’s ready to hit the streets and 3) anything that you deem lacking in the book when you take a look at it later can result in a sequel!!
Tina, you sound like me!
It’s never finished. No matter what I’ve written, even if I let it sit for a year, I always look back and go “Ugh..” because some better way of putting it has come into my mind. I don’t even think it’s better, necessarily, but rather different and more suitable to my current way of thinking.
However, Tina’s number 3 certainly puts a positive spin on things, rather than an “ugh”.