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I came across an interesting blog entry today, courtesy of the Renegade Writer Blog, that referenced ten common excuses for putting off writing. The author of the original piece is Gina Hiatt, Ph.D., president of Academic Writing Club and Academic Ladder. Here is Hiatt’s list of procrastinating thoughts and her rebuttals to them:

Thought: I need to warm up first by writing some email.

Rebuttal: You can warm up by starting the work slowly, making a list of what you will do, reading over your notes or writing from yesterday

Thought: I’m not in a good mood and I don’t write well when I’m not in a good mood – I’ll do it later when I feel better.

Rebuttal: Nothing will make you feel as good as getting something done. The main reason for your bad mood is that you don’t really want to do this task, so getting it out of the way will feel great.

Thought: Life is so hard – I can’t believe I have to do this unpleasant task. I’ll even it out by doing something more fun first.

Rebuttal: Yes, life is hard, and it’s terrible that you have to do this task. That’s why you will reward yourself after you do the task. Otherwise you’re applying backwards conditioning, which doesn’t work. And don’t forget to plan enough fun and relaxation time into your schedule.

Thought: I’ll definitely do it, in a minute or so.

Rebuttal: Set a timer, or that minute could last two hours. When the timer goes off, do the task. Even better, do it now!

Thought: After this bad thing is over in my life (midterms, meeting, in-law visit, etc.) my life will seem easier and I’ll be able to do my task on a daily basis. So I’ll wait until then.

Rebuttal: Life is always like this. You can afford to do 15 minutes of work today, can’t you? This is the one small act you can do to make your life a little better.

Thought: I just don’t feel like it.

Rebuttal: So what? Do it anyway! If you wait until you feel like it, the task will get done in 10 years if you’re lucky. They only way to make yourself feel like it is to get started and get into the flow of the work.

Thought: Why do just a little today – I’ll do double tomorrow – I work better when I feel pressure anyway.

Rebuttal: It’s a fallacy that you work better under pressure. It’s not true, because anxiety reduces creativity and clear thinking. And doing double the next day will backfire. You will feel less like doing it tomorrow because you’ve decided you must do double the work, and it will seem more overwhelming and less appealing, so you’re even more likely to put it off until the next day.

Thought: I can only work in one place (the library, a café, my office) and that place isn’t available or I can’t get there – so there’s no point in working at all.

Rebuttal: You’d be surprised how much work you can get done no matter where you are. Even if you don’t have your laptop with you, you can pull out a scrap of paper and write down a few notes on what you’d like to accomplish in the section you’ve been working on. Try it!

Thought: I’m not sure how to do this – I don’t know how sitting down and writing will enable me to do it — it’s just hopeless so why even start?

Rebuttal: If you’re not clear enough on what to do, writing may be the only way to get you out of this state. If you truly need help from someone else on this problem, you need to write down the questions clearly. The process of writing them down may clarify the issue for you.

Thought: I didn’t write well yesterday, so today will be terrible.

Rebuttal: Often bad writing days are followed by better ones. The reason to write daily is that your brain is still plugging away on it while you’re doing other things or sleeping. So you may surprise yourself today!

I agreed with Dr. Hiatt’s rebuttals and the “get it done” attitude. There’s no way you’re going to be on the same wavelength as your muse most days. It’s been just to make a date with your manuscript every day for at least a few minutes and put something on the page. You can always go back later and add some polish to your text.

At the Mysterious Matters blog , a mystery editor shed light on common reasons for manuscript rejection.  Apparently at their office, they keep a database of all the works they turn down.  On reviewing this database, this editor realized that there were certain words  used over and over again in their in-house comments on these rejected manuscripts.   Be sure to read the article, which explores each word in depth, but here is an overview:   Pretentious, derivative, self-indulgent, slow, forced, ho-hum, inane, depressing, amoral, dull.  

The ho-hum was a little disturbing to me.  The editor commented: 6. HO-HUM.  A ho-hum manuscript might actually be a good book if you were stranded on a deserted island with nothing to read but pulp fiction.  It has all the right elements but doesn’t manage to rise above the everyday formula.  Sadly, a competent, ho-hum  manuscript won’t make it in this cutthroat era.  If we can’t get excited about it, we’re not going to be able to get readers excited about it, either.

It just goes to show you really do have to go the extra mile with your manuscript.  Even if it’s good, it has to be great to pass an editor’s requirements these days.

Okay, I know it seems I’m hopping around a lot between topics.  That’s because not only am I starting a new book, but I’ve got a book that’s being published next summer. 

Although there’s lots and lots of information on querying, synopses, finding a publisher, etc., there’s not a whole lot on what happens after your book is put under contract and before it’s published. 

I thought this blog entry that is referenced by literary agency Fine Print Literary Management does a good job explaining what’s going on (particularly publicity-wise) in the 6 months–1 year before your book hits the shelves: Fine Print blog entry .

These days, the more that the author can do to promote his book, the better. There are plenty of inexpensive means of promotion, like going on a blog tour.  There’s a wonderful group that discusses promotion and publicity for mystery writers (and other writers) called Murder Must Advertise http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MurderMustAdvertise/ . You have to join the group (it’s free) and then you can either view the forums online or you can choose to have them delivered to you by email.  They also offer some great tips in their archives on working on publicity before your book is published.

Agent Susan Rabiner offers seven tips on getting your book proposal noticed on her client, Penelope Trunk’s, blog .

On the other hand, Penelope Trunk writes five reasons why you don’t need to write a book: here .  Interestingly, she is working on her second book.  :)

Check out this blog entry by Moonrat regarding the editorial cycle: Editorial Ass: the Editing Cycle (a confession) . It’s reassuring to know that editors experience the same gamut of feelings that writers do. I sometimes forget that editors feel (and are) accountable for the success of a work and are just as anxious to avoid a manuscript full of problems as we are. And can have just as many insecurities.

I have so many days where I look at my WIP and wonder “Where am I going with this?!” It’s good to know I’m not alone.