Research has shown that investors will hang on to their shares in a company even when the market tanks because they desperately hope the shares will rise again in price. Same goes with intimate relationships. People aren't clicking emotionally anymore, but they stay together because they have invested so much time in them or have children together.
Cults operate on this system, as well. Cults often have inner elite circles that can only be accessed if considerable money, time, and effort are given by the congregational member. Some elite cult members have learned lengthy texts by heart, have gone through bizarre rituals, or have given heavily of their funds, all of which serve to ingratiate the cult to the person, drawing them in deeper. In other words, the cult sinks their teeth in further the more they can get the person to invest.
This theory is also helpful in looking at relationships from all angles. Most people look at their satisfaction in a relationship as a result of 3 things:
- Rewards and costs and what they see as a fair balance.
- A comparison with potential alternative relationships
- How much they have already invested in the relationship (the Sunk-Cost Effect).
Can you see how this might apply to your manuscripts? You go through critiques, conferences, and contests, all of which you paid for. You labor hours after your day job to get scenes just right. You diligently prepare a synopsis and proposal and revise and edit. All of this represents your time, love, energy, dedication. When that's not received glowingly by an agent or editor, it can be hard to accept...and thus writers can spend an inordinate amount of time trying to market a finished book rather than starting on a new one.
How To Move On
See how this can apply to moving on past your finished manuscript? Looking ahead to the next big story you roll out is far better than ruminating on the perceived "wasted time." No time writing is wasted. It's all going to aid in making you a better writer. Book Two (or Twenty) will be even better because you will have learned how to keep additional "costs" at a minimum from Book One.
So go ahead and file that manuscript away in a drawer. It's served it's purpose.
4 comments:
Hi,Jeannie! This is such great advice. Even when we're still shopping a manuscript, it's best to move on to a new project. Who knows? An agent might like our writing, but not the story and want to see something else. Wouldn't it be nice to have more to show them?
Hope you're doing well, Jeannie! Merry Christmas!
But it's so haaaaarrrrdd!!!
Merry Christmas, Jeannie!!!!
*hugs*
Frankie
"No time writing is wasted." A true gem! I only wish my DH would stop saying the opposite. Grrrr
Hmm, well, that's a really good point. I think that I will have an arbitrary time limit of 'until the end of this month' to finally finish my edits and then I will start writing something else.
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Both comments and questions are welcome. I hope you enjoyed your time on the couch today.