Monday, July 5, 2010

Job Sharing

Summer is supposed to be a leisurely time. Or so we believe. It comes from our school days. Three months off to do with as we please--at least within the parameters of what our parents will allow. But I still can't shake the feeling that I should be able to kick back, read, ride my bike and generally goof off.

But that's not really the way the adult world works. No three month break from the day job. Grass needs cutting, and houses need cleaning. Life--and the responsibility that go along with it--marches on.

Which means that I can't drop everything to work on MMG revisions. As much as I'd like to. But there is one thing I can set aside for a while. Or, rather, put in good hands until I can give it more of my attention. Creek Writers Council. As I work on the revisions, I have nothing to submit to the group. Some of them have read the book two or three times now, in different iterations. Instead of trying to put it through piecemeal, I've asked for a couple volunteers to read the whole thing when it's done. Some will be new to it, and others will have seen it before.

I'm letting D.B. deClerq, a good friend and fellow writer, take my spot for a while. She's working on a second draft of HM, her cozy mystery, and would like the opportunity to submit it to the group in chunks, while she works on another mystery series.

Once again, CWC shows what an amazing group of people they are. Within our rather strict rules, there is room to do what's best for each member's process. The rules are there to keep everyone working. But when they get in the way, they can be nudged a little to fit.

I'll still be reading the submissions--can't quite give that up--but won't have to worry about having something to put before the group myself until D.B.'s received the final feedback on HM. It should give me time to get MMG in shape and out into the world AND rework TKoS so I can submit it again. While that's going through, I can maybe get Vesta ready to submit as a full. But if I don't get it ready in time, D.B. could have her second mystery ready. I foresee us leapfrogging like that for a while.

Win/win. Gotta love that.

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