FIRST DRAFT IS COMPLETE!

And just like that, its finished. I really hit a groove and finished off the end of the beginning of the book (the last major hole in the thing). And funny enough, I felt happy and a little proud that it was done. I’m not sure if it will, but to date, the whole project has yet to feel like something I have to do.

I think I can finish this. I think its doable that I can make this into a book. It may be garbage and not worth reading, but it wouldn’t be the first one of those. I suppose that the whole success or failure of the project comes down to how I would define it.

Best case: Somehow this things gets some notice and people hear about it. Enough people read it that someone thinks that I could make some money for them. They pay me to write another book or two. OR, no one pays me, but it still gets the word of mouth and publicity. Then I can go on self-publishing other books and have some sort of audience. Though, the odds of either of these happening are slim.

Medium Case: I sell enough books to make my money back. I get a couple emails, maybe a letter (from someone I don’t know) that thinks the book isn’t complete shit. I can’t quit my job or move anywhere, but I get a feeling of acomplishment. This seems likely given a lot of work marketing the thing. 500 books should get me my money back. It seems like there should be 500 people in this country willing to take a chance and drop down some cash.

Least Case: Maybe a dozen people that know me pick up the book. Probably no strangers, because what’s the point? But I still have written, edited, and published a book by myself. And like the weary carpenter at the end of the day, there is the satisfaction in a job well done. The schenario seems to be the most likely.

So, what do I think? Before I finished this first draft, I would have thought the last situation was the most likely, but after having read and revised the whole thing, I’m leaning more towards the second. I can make it better. I can make the book into something that wouldn’t be a bad read. The question then becomes, can I let enough people know that the book exists? We’ll see, I suppose.

Until the second draft is done, I’m going to stick with the middle definition of success for this project.