Happy Accidents

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” – John Lennon

So, I wrote a novel. It’s a short one. But it’s done. I’m told that ninety-nine percent of people who say they are writing a novel, never finish. I am not certain that is statistically true. Who conducted the study? What was the sample size? Did it pass peer review? But the point remains, the act of seeing a project to completion puts me in the one percent (or somewhere among an unmeasured but significant minority). Yay me!

It was a fun project. Sure, there were difficult sections but generally speaking, the story mostly wrote itself. No, for me, the hard part was not in the writing but lies ahead in the editing. Editing is challenging. And necessary if I want my readers to enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

So, I’ve been waiting on my test reader feedback. And while killing time, I’ve practiced my editorial skills by going over a collection of short stories that I had previously written. There are eleven of them. But guess what? The other day, I realized that I had gone through them all. Here I am, poised to get started on the final edits for Soiled Undies & Other Gorgon Encounters, the novel that is supposed to be my first book release and wouldn’t you know it, I accidentally finished editing my short story collection intended to be my second book release titled Not the Tales You Remember. Oops.

Now what do I do? Book one is on a six-month timeline to release but book two is just about ready to go. That was an unexpected inversion that I had not counted on. Do I shelve the second book for now and keep my sights set upon the release of book one or do I swap the release order? I mean, why wait if one project is already set to go?

You see my predicament, don’t you?

Here’s a few things about me: One, I don’t like unnecessary waiting, I’m biased toward action. Two, I prefer to stay on plan, I don’t like getting distracted or derailed. Discipline and focus are my mantras. Three, I have a tendency to take on too much. I am drawn to ambitious projects and prone to double down when all that’s needed is a bit more elbow grease to get the job (or in this case, jobs) done.

You see where this is going, don’t you? I mean, it seems like fait accompli.

To be honest, I’m not really sure how I didn’t see this coming. Eleven short stories, editing one each day, the math seems pretty obvious in hindsight.

Stay tuned. I am still committed to a June release of Soiled Undies & Other Gorgon Encounters but though it will be my first novel, it may turn out not to be my first book release after all. How surprising life can be sometimes. “The best laid plans of mice and men…”