Erin Lodes

So for those of you following along, I’m still in a bit of a slump. I’m passively avoiding writing and when I do manage to get a few words down, I feel disconnected from them. I’m not going to get into it, because honestly everything feels really hard lately and I don’t like it and it’s not good for me or the writing career I want to have.

I’ve gotten really wrapped up in querying. And even though I’ve stopped obsessively checking my email, I’m still thinking about it all the freaking time. And I think it’s a big part of why I feel like my ankles have massive weights on them as I try to move forward.

And querying feels like such a big thing to me, like it’s the thing, it’s just so huge. But I think it’s becoming a weight around my neck. Which is not so great obviously.

But John, in his very honest wisdom, made a good point. Or several good points really. I don’t want to be a professional querier. I want to be a professional writer. And writers write. So I need to stop focusing so much on the query part of the thing, and get back to focusing on the writing part of the thing.

I’m still going to query, but I’m going to try to treat it like an annoying small task of the whole being a writer thing rather than the end-all-be-all of it. So I’m not going to write about it here; I’ll find other things to write about (at least until there’s some kind of development). I’ll just keep moving forward with the new book.

And I’m going to repeat my new mantra (thanks John) to myself:

I don’t give a fuck about querying.

How I Published My Novel is going to be an ongoing blog series detailing how I get this freaking thing published. I know, I know, you could probably tell that from the title… I’ve gotten to this point (and am still getting help from) the amazing John Adamus, who is my writing coach.

If you haven’t already, check out Part One of How I Finished My Novel, and start from the beginning of this story.