Creative fatigue has no expiration date. It comes and goes, strengthens and weakens, and almost always affects me after publishing a book. This go-around has lasted longer than most, but it’s showing signs of dissipating: I wrote a chapter in a recently begun work in progress and got a small start on the Dawn Coyote ghostwriting project. That erotic romance project is a planned series of five novellas.
I’ve also been working on another ghostwriting project, a YA science fiction novel that’s been going on for over a year. The client and I average about two (sometimes three) chapters per month. Both of us think that this single immense manuscript will be split into a series of three or more books. Strangely enough, I don’t find that my creative fatigue affects me with this story.
It’s not because YA science fiction is my go-to genre, although the client and her teenage son seem to think I’m doing a good job with the story. (Her son is our “test reader” because he’s the target age group for this book. Thus far, the developing story has kept his interest.)
I wonder if my continued lack of fatigue with this project stems from the regular phone calls with the client during which we discuss what happens next. Maybe it’s because it’s not my project, but someone else’s, which engages that strong work ethic my parents instilled in all their children. I have an obligation to work on this because I was hired to do it.
Who knows? What I do know is that whatever factors serve to keep me engaged with this project do work. I just need to figure out how to identify them and replicate them for my personal projects.
In the meantime, a client for whom I edit has resumed production of content. I edited and formatted two small books for two new clients. And I edited and formatted a course workbook for another new client. It’s wonderful to see the work coming in and I could use more, lots more. Incoming projects really improve my productivity and enthusiasm, because each new project is an adventure.
To that end, I am hoping that the exhortations from me and many others to use the COVID-related lockdowns and shelter-at-home orders have inspired many to use that time to write their stories. The countless hours of not going to work opened a lot of time for people to write the books, fiction or nonfiction, that they’ve always wanted to write. Months into this pandemic, many of those first-time authors will be finishing their manuscripts. Most will not know what to do next.
That’s where I come in. There’s a method to publishing madness, especially if the author wants to produce a book that meets professional standards for quality. I can help: consider me your adventure guide or navigator as you explore what seems to be uncharted territory.
If you’re one of those people who has produced a manuscript, contact me to learn what comes next. We’ll discuss your goals and ambitions for the project and figure the path that best suits you. Then we can get to work in making it real.
You know you want to.