Writerly Self-Restraint

There are a lot of things we try to resist as writers.

Source  Sometimes we need a little help

We sit on our butts all day so it's important that we limits sweets and wine (but not coffee; that should be limitless). We love books so it's hard to concentrate on writing sometimes when there are some many good books in our TBR piles. Let's not even get started on all the things we have resist putting in our manuscripts, like adverbs, cliches and obscure Warehouse 13 references.

For me the hardest thing to resist is...pitching.

Source  Here comes my awesome book. It's a strike!

 

 

 

 

It feels like there are dozens of amazing pitching opportunities going on right now. And I want to play!

But I can't, or rather, I shouldn't.

WIP1 is technically available for pitching events and if I had to pitch at gunpoint right now, it's what I'd go with. But...I put in back on the bench last month. After getting some great feedback, I know there are some things that need fixing. So even though it's finished, and has been polished numerous times, it's not ready.

WIP2 is a completed draft that I have yet to read. I haven't taken a look at it in over a month since I typed "the end" and hit save. I'm letting it fully marinate, so it is no where near ready for public consumption.

WIP3 I am super excited about and this one is the hardest to resist. I don't even have a full first draft yet, but I can't wait to tell people all about it. Plus, as part of the Save the Cat method I already have a kick-a** pitch that is well within 140 characters. I could slap that puppy up on Twitter without batting an eye.

But I won't, because pitching a manuscript that isn't spit polished to within an inch of its life is one of the cardinal sins in the world of hunting agents. Since the first draft isn't even done, I'm thinking it's not ready.

It's hard to resist the urge to shove my work out into the public sphere, but I can do it. I just have to keep reminding myself that there will always be opportunities to pitch my work. The regularity of contests and agent focused events is one of the things that makes the online writing community so amazing.

So instead of focusing on the opportunities I'm missing right now, I'm getting my butt back in the chair and back to work. Because next time I see an amazing event, I want to strip off the straitjacket and dive on in.