What Took You So Long?
Imagine writing a story, a true labor of love, agonizing over every word—and then putting it in a drawer where no one would see it for years.
I’ve now done this more than once.
On November 7th, 2012, I jotted down some notes for a new book I would write for middle grade students. Using the pen name I employ for this genre, Buster Blank, I planned to call the story Bolly Higgins. I only knew one thing: I wanted it to be a ghost story.
I didn’t even know where the title came from. It wasn’t until I actually wrote the book that I invented a story for how this character came to be called Bolly. But I didn’t know that origin when the story first crossed my mind.
The words did not fly from my fingers. I made some notes, waited a few months, made more notes, and finally started writing the story in September, 2013.
Even then, I didn’t rush through it. In fact, I was disappointed with how it was going. So I set it aside for at least a year.
By 2015—three years after first considering it—I went back to work, and got most of the story finished.
In 2016, I finished the first draft. Keep in mind, while this was going on, I had several other writing projects underway. I wasn’t being a total slacker.
In 2018, another draft was finished and the story was ready to go. But I didn’t focus on the other things required to make it an actual book. Like cover art. I was, for whatever reason, still in no hurry.
Finally, in December of 2022, I reached an agreement with a cover artist, and they went to work. Today—I’m writing this in February, 2023, more than TEN YEARS after making my initial notes—the book is just about ready to go.
The title has expanded to The Ghost of Bolly Higgins. I love the artwork, and I’m thrilled it’s finally rolling out to middle grade kids. Well, for that matter, rolling out to anyone who might enjoy the weird little tale.
So, back to the original question:
What took you so long?
I chuckle when I think how this fun little book, which I really enjoy, just sat around on various hard drives for a decade. It was good enough to be published—but I waited.
Sometimes I’m convinced books will tell me when they’re ready to go. I know how that sounds, and I’m sorry if it’s a bit woo-woo (or a LOT woo-woo).
But this isn’t the first time I’ve finished a book and sat on it, either.
I have not one, but two middle-grade/young adult mystery novels finished—full novels—and they’ve both been ready to go for ten years. TEN YEARS, and they’re just sitting there. The reason for this particular delay is that I want to write the third book in the series before releasing any of them. When I finish number three in that mystery series, I’ll release them all.
Maybe there’s another strange psychology to this. Knowing I have finished material in the pipeline is somewhat comforting. On days when I don’t feel like I’ve produced enough words, or when an Eric Swan novel is taking too long, my subconscious can say, “Hey, you’re not a total loser. You’ve got all sorts of books already finished.”
I’ve heard of authors who died, and their estates later announced that they’d found unpublished manuscripts lying around. So apparently it’s a thing with authors. We hoard shit like squirrels, I guess.
The Ghost of Bolly Higgins, however, has aged like a fine wine in its oak barrel. It’ll be out in the fall of 2023. The young adult mystery books will hopefully be not too far behind.
Time to get more stuff in the pipeline.
* * *
If you’re a writer who takes a LONG time to finish a project, consider buying Dom a tea or a beer right here. It might inspire both of you to hurry up. :)
