When I first got the contract information, the fact that Ave Maria wanted a first draft by June 1 was daunting to some people I talked to. “Can you do it in two months?”
HELL YES I CAN.
II.
Why was I so confident?
Because I have journalism training. And political training.
And when you have both of those, you learn to write quickly, on ridiculous deadlines.
Deadlines? WHAT DEADLINES.
So, thank you to Professor Kelly Messinger in college for all the Chimes Wednesday nights where we ate Chipotle and wrote into the wee hours! And edited! And wrote! And edited!
III.
Now, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, because sometimes….
But then I apply my Maxim: You cannot edit a blank page.
Get anything on the page. Anything. Let it sit there and then come back later and edit it. You never know what can happen.
Chapter 10, for example? WENT OFF THE RAILS. I had no idea where I was going with that one, and we went somewhere I had not anticipated. But there it is!
(It might not stay the way it is. LOL.)
IV.
Speaking of writing—my ebook, Catholic 101, is now $5!
That’s it. Five bucks, y’all.
Go get it!
V.
I also promise to have the Denver travel posts up next week. This week was just nuts, with getting the first draft done….oh, and getting a new CI processor!!!!!!!
VI.
So, if you want more on the CI, you can visit my series here. Basically I was glad to have hearing, but the processor I had had shortcomings. I couldn’t use the phone.
Now….I might be able to use the phone! I mean, what?!
I can listen to my voicemails and understand them!
So far, this new processor is a game changer.
VII.
Oh, one more thing about the draft—a question I’ve been getting a lot is, “Well, didn’t you have to write the book before you submitted it?”
Short answer: No. Most places, for non-fiction, want a proposal, with a chapter sample, but not the whole book. I’ll talk more about the parts of the process later (especially in my newsletter!). But, no. I had to write the book to the proposal specs.