Hi Reader,

“My friends keep asking me when I’m going to finish working on my book. They tell me I should just publish already.”

I could give that quote an attribution. But it doesn’t need one, because I’ve heard this sentiment from so many writers.

These writers expected they’d be finished with their books a draft or two ago. Their journeys look like this:

• Write the first draft
• Edit one or two or three more drafts, some alone and some with an editor’s support
• Determine the book is done
• Begin the process of pitching to agents
• Revisit the manuscript and realize their vision for the story isn’t fulfilled in this draft
• Pause the pitching process
• Return to revise as many drafts as it takes for their vision to be fully realized

This is a courageous decision.

Not one of these writers took this decision lightly. One writer wrote a draft of an entirely different book before they returned to their first book and decided to continue revising it. Another writer paused their writing for the better part of a year and focused on completely unrelated projects.

Yet all these writers realized: crafting the book they truly wanted to create was more important than taking the nearby opportunities towards the glitzy rewards of publication.

Make no mistake, elevating their good manuscripts to the excellence of their visions is hard work. It’s slow work.

And there’s no guarantee that they’ll reach that goal in one more draft.

Every one of these writers has asked me, “Will I get there after this draft? Will this draft be the last one?”

And I can’t tell them. We’ll reevaluate after each draft and discover then what the story needs next.

Instead, what I remind them—and what I want to remind you today—is this:

Books take what they take.

It would be so nice if we could guarantee an amazing book within just a couple of drafts. But the reality is, books take what they take. Sometimes that’s three drafts, and sometimes it’s many more.

I’d like to say that I came up with the phrase “books take what they take,” since I say it so often to my writers.

But it actually comes from fellow editor and book coach Brannan Sirratt. She works in the nonfiction space, but this is true for all books, fiction or non.

As Brannan says, books take what they take. And there is no shortcutting the creative process.

​Brannan wrote about this truth—and the pressure writers face from the well-meaning friends asking when your book will be done—this week on her podcast, B is for Book Coach.

I’ve been waiting on the edge of my seat for weeks for this episode to drop. You can bet I’m sending it directly to all the writers I mentioned above.

And if your story, and your editing process, is taking longer than you expected,

. . . if you’re fending off questions from your community asking whether your book is published yet,

. . . if you’re seven drafts in and wondering whether it’s worth tackling another draft in the hope of elevating your manuscript from good to excellent,

. . . if your creative vision isn’t quite realized yet,

​. . . then I encourage you to give this a listen.​

The people in your life who aren’t writing books may be eager to celebrate your book getting published (and eager to hustle you to that “finish line”).

But Brannan and I, and all the authors you admire who’ve been in your shoes, celebrate you making the courageous decision to give your story and your process the space it deserves.

Your story, and you, are worth it.

Happy editing,

Alice

P.S. Brannan coaches nonfiction non-writers, so her podcast is geared towards that audience. But she has so much wisdom that we in the fiction space can benefit from, as well.

​Check out this episode, and if you like what you hear, peek through her catalogue for more gentle guidance through the creative process. You can find B is for Book Coach on Substack or in your favorite podcast player.

And keep an eye out for her appearance on Your Next Draft, coming soon. 😉
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