Goodbye
Finishing a book is like a bittersweet parting from an old, dear friend—a friend with whom you have a passionate, yet tumultuous, relationship. Their visit was heavenly at times, and other times you wanted to rip off their heads. But the good always outweighed the bad, and the love never diminishes.
I've written three types of books: poetry, short story collections and novels. Finishing a novel is very different from the shorts and poetry. A couple of days ago, I finished my third book of poetry. It's a strange thing when I write a book of poems—I have a general idea of how many poems I want in it, but it's not a hard and fast number; mostly I have to "feel" done. Even though the subjects run the gamut, each book has its own, indelible arc.
It starts with a certain feel, a certain rhythm, and for me the end has to feel as though it has come full-circle with the beginning. I did something a little different with this book, since it's the third: I didn't just end with an arc that started at the beginning; I ended with an arc that completes the trilogy of all three poetry books. I'm now working on a book, aptly called work in progress, because, really, aren't we all?
Now that the creative portion is done, the pragmatic portion begins. My editor reads through for cohesion and quality—she picks out any poems that don't fit, work or otherwise suck. My next editor goes through for line edits. Then a call for beta readers who will give me their impressions, as non-professionals, about the book as a whole.
I wouldn't dream of skipping a step. All are necessary for a final, quality project. My hope is that this book, no regrets, gives my devout poetry readers what they've come to expect from me, and at the same time, gives them a fresh dose of it.
Meanwhile I have to let go of my dear friend and try to get on with my other projects as it fades into the sunset on its train back to nowhere. I'm patiently awaiting a visit from another friend, a different friend, and we will have some laughter and tears together as we spend time inside each other's lives.
