15 November 2004
Waiting
Almost as difficult as the finishing, is the waiting …
Last week, I delivered my novel Labyrinth to my UK editor and my agents. The editing's taken longer than I'd expected and I ended up needing to do three drafts rather than two. What that means is an initial version of about 180,000 words, then another, then another.
The third version meant the process took longer than I'd anticipated, so I was a couple of months late delivering. But it was worth it.
First of all, I've been very lucky in that I've been put under no pressure. My editor, my agent, my family and friends, everyone has been extraordinarily patient and supportive. No one has been tapping the calendar or muttering about publication dates. I have been encouraged to take my time until I was happy.
Finally, I was.
On Wednesday 27 October at 3:20pm, Greg and I emailed off the last few chapters, having already hand-delivered 78 of the 82 chapters to London two days earlier (genuinely, the printer packed up!). The word count was 185,000 words, give or take the odd hyphen, which is what I'd been aiming for all along.
But then, the waiting. The silence, the picking up the phone repeatedly to check there's not a fault on the line. What if, after all that, they don't like it. After sixteen months of writing and rewriting, what if it's not what my publisher or agent were hoping for?
Did they like it?
In the best traditions of commercial television, I'll let you know after the break.
Let's pause a while in the Labyrinth …
