You can fiddle with a writing project forever. Really. It’s feasible to never be finished. Short form. Long form. It doesn’t matter. There’s always one more spell check, one more read through, or one more word search that you could do. And once you’ve released the final product, you can always go back and find a mistake or something you could have done better. But how do you decide to just be done? How do you walk away with the satisfaction that your story is complete?

NightWind is done. It has to be. The designer is working on the cover. The back of book copy is written and the artist doing the formatting is ready and waiting to begin her work. I told her just one more week. But, honestly? I think I’m done. The idea of sitting down and doing another pass at the manuscript is not thrilling to me. And sure, there are things that I could do to improve. I’ll never be perfect. But for now? I’m done. I have too many things on my plate and it’s time to call this project complete.

The only way I know how to do this is hit send. Once it’s in the formatting designer’s hands, there’s nothing left to do. Do I have anxiety about having missed something? Sure. But, at the same time, I had three beta readers and an editor each read behind me. They gave great feedback and are honest in their opinions. So, I don’t think I’m putting out something that’s too shabby. I’m a one-woman shop and I’m being pulled a thousand different ways. It’s time to move on.

Do you have a project that you’re having a hard time calling complete? Here are some tips to help you work through the transition.

1. Tell yourself that the project is finished.
2. Remind yourself of all of the work that you’ve done to ensure that you have the best product possible. Did you use beta readers? An editor? Have other people given you feedback and then you did your best to address that feedback if needed? Great! Then you can be done, too!
3. Give yourself a hard deadline. No matter what, I’m sending the manuscript to be formatted this week.
4. Remind yourself of your publication timeline. Have you selected a publication date? Then it’s your job to stay within those time constraints. Just like at your day job, you have to be accountable with your manuscript, too.
5. Celebrate your victory. How many people start writing a book and never finish? Hundreds, probably thousands. You’ve accomplished something that few people see through to the end. Congratulations!

When you put so much of yourself into a project, it can be hard to walk away. That’s normal. But don’t spend seven years on a project that doesn’t deserve that sort of attention. Think how many other projects you could have pursued in that time frame if only you’d been brave enough to say, “I’m finished!”

NightWind should be complete on time and available to you on May 24, 2019, on Amazon! I hope you’ll take the time to check it out. I’d be so grateful to have your support! I will share pre-order links as soon as they are available!