{"id":151,"date":"2015-05-04T23:30:38","date_gmt":"2015-05-04T23:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/normamegraphsen.wordpress.com\/?p=151"},"modified":"2026-01-03T16:36:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T23:36:04","slug":"how-is-your-book-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/normasueoneil.com\/?p=151","title":{"rendered":"On Writing a Book Before It Exists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author\u2019s Note (2026):<\/strong>
This post was written while I was still in the long stretch of revising my first novel. While my circumstances have changed since then, the philosophy hasn\u2019t. The uncertainty it describes \u2014 about finishing a project, sharing work, and stepping into public vulnerability \u2014 is an honest part of creative life, and one I still recognize today.<\/h3>\n

How Is Your Book Coming?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Process, Patience, and Inviting Others Into the Work<\/em><\/p>\n

In any creative endeavor, this is the sort of question that either inspires excitement or dread.<\/p>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve been asked this question often \u2014 How is your book coming?<\/em> \u2014 and its repetition has made me realize something important. It may finally be time to stop deflecting and begin sharing the journey more openly. In many ways, that was one of the reasons I started this blog<\/a> in the first place: to have a place I could point people toward when progress feels slow, invisible, or difficult to explain.<\/p>\n

Editing and revising a manuscript is not a very concrete concept to someone who hasn\u2019t experienced it. It\u2019s painstaking, iterative, and often looks exactly the same from the outside whether you\u2019re making meaningful progress or circling the same paragraph for weeks. The most honest answer I\u2019ve given for a long time has been, I\u2019m still revising.<\/em><\/p>\n

Alongside this work, I\u2019ve been researching publishing and marketing in preparation for whatever comes next. As part of that learning, I recently participated in a webinar with writer Jeff Goins, where he shared something that struck me deeply. He talked about how discouraging it felt to be asked about his book before it was finished \u2014 before he was where he wanted to be. Yet by the time he finally did<\/em> publish, he realized how grateful he was to already have a community to share it with.<\/p>\n

That idea resonated with me because it mirrors how I think about art more broadly<\/a>. Creation is rarely a solitary triumph; it\u2019s a slow unfolding. The work is shaped not only by discipline and persistence, but by conversation, encouragement, and the quiet accountability of being seen.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know exactly what the path to publication will look like. I expect the usual mix of rejection, revision, uncertainty, and far more time than seems reasonable. But regardless of outcome, I want to be able to say that I didn\u2019t let fear dictate whether I tried. Success or failure aside, I would rather move forward honestly than remain silent out of self-protection.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, I\u2019m preparing a few blog series to function as a kind of prelude<\/em> to the books themselves \u2014 not announcements, but invitations.<\/p>\n

One series will explore the Greek myths that inspired<\/a> or appear within the story, reflecting the research and narrative traditions that shaped the world I\u2019m building. Another will introduce characters through sketches, paintings, and written profiles, allowing the visual and literary threads of the project to grow together<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My challenge, as always, will be balance \u2014 between ambition and sustainability, between eagerness and patience. As my mother once said, you feast in company, but you binge alone.<\/em> So perhaps this project is best approached not as a solitary sprint, but as a shared meal \u2014 taken one bite at a time.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to walk alongside me as the work unfolds, I\u2019d be glad for the company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reflection on the long, often invisible process of writing a book \u2014 and why inviting others into the journey matters as much as reaching publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-projects","without-featured-image"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6v7yg-2r","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":71,"url":"https:\/\/normasueoneil.com\/?p=71","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":0},"title":"A Coalescence of Artistic Endeavors","author":"normasue","date":"March 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"An exploration of how art, writing, and mythology converge into a unified creative practice\u2014and the courage required to share that work publicly.","rel":"","context":"In "Personal Muse-ings"","block_context":{"text":"Personal Muse-ings","link":"https:\/\/normasueoneil.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150321_171744627.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150321_171744627.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150321_171744627.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150321_171744627.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150321_171744627.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15,"url":"https:\/\/normasueoneil.com\/?p=15","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":1},"title":"Reluctant Blogging","author":"normasue","date":"March 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A reflective essay on fear, creativity, and the decision to begin sharing work publicly\u2014exploring the internal resistance many artists face when stepping into visibility.","rel":"","context":"In "Personal Muse-ings"","block_context":{"text":"Personal Muse-ings","link":"https:\/\/normasueoneil.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150313_134954523-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150313_134954523-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150313_134954523-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150313_134954523-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normasueoneil.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/img_20150313_134954523-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":522,"url":"https:\/\/normasueoneil.com\/?p=522","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":2},"title":"Luxury Is Not Bought \u2014 It Is Created","author":"normasue","date":"September 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Luxury isn\u2019t about what you buy\u2014it\u2019s about how you live. 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