By Guy
Well, after a year of researching, speaking with experts across the planet, eating and sleeping the subject of ‘Protective Growing’, my book is with the publisher and the editor has very gracefully given me a few days off from it before embarking on the editing phase proper. As somebody who has never written a non-fiction book professionally before, I had no idea what was expected of me. I was given a contract, a writer’s guidelines, a word limit, a deadline and a vague direction to explore. Over the year, several times, I thought I had pretty much finished the book; all it needed was a little polish, 45,000 words down. Each time I would put the book down, go away and do something else; read something or other and try to switch off. Then I would come back refreshed and with new ideas, rewrite chapters, paragraphs and sentences, having realised I hadn’t come close to where it needed to be. In the end, entire chapters have been removed and what I thought to be vitally important bits of information ended up in the ‘stuff deleted’ file. Then came the images. Were they good enough, which to include, which to exclude? 150 for a book about a visual medium is nowhere near enough.
To be fair, I approached this project with an over-inflated ego and an unrealistic view of writing. It wasn’t plain sailing, it wasn’t just a matter of me getting down my knowledge in a grandiose way. The journey was long, was tiring and taught me things about myself I had no idea I had in me. But, it has been a great journey too, despite the 3am starts before heading off to work at 5am for a 9 hr day a hundred miles away, then coming home for another hour or two of notes and reading. I have loved every minute of it. Writing is my passion and I hope I get the opportunity to do it again.
But then again, now I have the next unknown phase of the process. Further ego shaving no doubt, of discussions about content and style. I also have to prepare myself for the reality that after all that sweat, the book may not be accepted for publishing at all.