Limbo
My agent took a look at the draft for the China non-fiction book. She liked parts of it, but wanted more of a wow factor for kids. I had to put the brakes on her notes. I explained that I was trying to keep the tone of the first book in the non-fiction series. I didn't know how far to deviate from the first book, and I was reluctant to make any wholesale changes in tone without the publisher seeing what I had delivered. Thankfully, she agreed that we needed more input from the publisher about what he wanted. Neither of us was sure if he wanted to echo the tone of the first book in the series or to revamp the tone to something less formal and more casual and fun.
To quote a proverb, better to ask a question and look like a fool for five minutes, than remain silent and be a fool forever. We opted to tell the publisher our dilemma, and he agreed to take a look at my rough draft and give feedback on how much more fun it needed to be. I feel more comfortable knowing that if he looks at it, I'll get a better sense of what he wants. I'm hoping he'll be impressed that I wrote a rough draft instead of two sample chapters, and I really hope he likes the tone. I've bridged the tone of the first book with my own sensibilities. If he wants more fun, I can deliver that, but I've felt handcuffed to the tone of the first book. It's tough trying to figure out the direction of a series when you jump in midway through. I don't know if the first book is the example that all others have to follow or if it's the first step in the evolution of the series.
Anyway, now I'm in limbo as I wait to hear whether or not I get the book contract or if I have to do some more work to the rough draft to convince the publisher I'm the right guy for the job. Now I'm in this weird limbo where the publisher could get back to me in a couple of days or a couple of weeks. I want to start working on A Close Shave, but I don't want to lose momentum from the China book. I've pitched the Edmonton Journal a couple of article ideas, but the editor is away until next week, so I can't do anything short.
I don't want to start a big project until I've settled my other big project. Does anyone else ever feel like this? Am I just looking for an excuse not to work for a couple of days? Argh. What to do? Fish or cut bait?