Writing has taught me many lessons. More than I could have imagined it would.

It has shown me the generous, kind, self-absorbed, magical, narcissistic, funny, lovely sides of people.

It has taught me that time is never to be wasted, but that I should get used to waiting; which would sound like an oxymoron until I tell you that the crucial thing writing has taught me is to wrestle myself into productiveness, precisely because there is a lot of waiting, but time shouldn’t be wasted. It’s not really about being patient; it’s about becoming industrious as an antidote to the discomfort inherent to writing.

If you are thinking, “people aren’t robots, you type A fool! No one can be productive every day!!” I’m here to agree (definitely, mate, we all need to rest) and disagree (even thinking is writing; go put in the work as often as you can).

According to my schedule, I should be reworking my query letter and start querying by June 11. According to reality, my book is still being beta-read, and I haven’t given my query package a single thought since January.

When will I query this book? The universe knows, and it hasn’t told me.

But I’m writing my WIP as I edit my MS, and I’m working on a new book idea in the shower every morning (that counts!), and before going to bed.

The process of editing my completed MS has been plagued by disappointment and stress — and taken longer than I would have liked. But I have found invaluable help along the way. I keep hoping it’s for the best, and look forward to seeing the editing process come to a satisfactory conclusion very soon.

Finishing writing my WIP has been a mess, but at least it won’t take as long as my MS did. Editing it will probably require a year, but I’m leaving that problem to July-me.

All in all, I’m happy I keep trying, and I’ll continue showing up for these books every day.