When to Stop Beating a Dead Horse

First of all, don’t literally beat a dead horse. That’s weird. 

Second of all, hello, everybody! It’s been a while. You good? You been working out? Did something to your hair? Looks nice! You’re killin’ it. 

Third of all, figuratively speaking - when should you stop beating a dead horse? Society says you shouldn’t do it at all, but what if there were a chance for the dead horse to come alive again, or like, become some kind of (friendly) undead zombie horse? You probably still couldn’t lead it to water and make it drink, but you’d have a horse again! And zombie horses don’t need to drink, …right? 

But in this strange, hypothetical, and over-stretched metaphor, when do you decide to stop beating the dead horse? When does it become apparent that the dead horse isn’t going to un-un-alive? When do you give up on a dream? (That’s a weird dream to have, but stick with me). 

For the last year and a half, I’ve tried my damndest to get Waypoint: Eclipse published traditionally. I’ve sent my queries and manuscript to nearly 100 agents, and I received a few partial or full manuscript requests. I’ve workshopped the manuscript in writing seminars with big-name agents and writers. I’ve asked for feedback (and many of you were involved in early feedback sessions! You all rock). 

Despite it all, I’ve had very limited luck in getting this thing out there. It’s been disappointing, but I’ve recently realized that I haven’t had time to both try to sell this book *and* try to keep writing my next project. On top of that, life has been hectic in all the best possible ways lately.

So when did I decide to stop beating that poor, dead horse and just let him rest in peace? 

It wasn’t one particular moment, but several moments of frustration and just wanting the project to be done, for God’s sake. I don’t want to shelve the project, because it’s a snapshot in time. I couldn’t write Waypoint over again even if I wanted to. I originally had the damn idea back in 2012, and I’ve been writing it in fits and starts for over a decade. That’s just entirely too long. 

But I also don’t want to wait for the perfect agent to come along. 

So, in this blog - I’m thrilled to announce that Waypoint will soon join my other two works on Amazon in the coming future. I’m more excited than I thought I would be, and I’m taking a bit more time to perfect the book and the cover this time around. 

Right now, the latest version of the manuscript is with a professional editor I found online that’s worked with best-selling authors, and on top of that, one of my favorite science fiction writers agreed to offer a review for my back cover! 

I’m shaking my head just typing that sentence. It feels way too surreal. 

Once I know my final page count, I’ll reach out to the artist who did my previous book covers and start getting that prepared. I’ll simultaneously plan to get the book professionally formatted this time. After that, it’s usually just a matter of clicking and pressing buttons!

So, you heard it here first, folks. I’ll keep you all posted when Waypoint comes closer to reality. I’m so excited to share it with everyone!

Until then, again, please don’t literally beat dead horses. The last thing I need is PETA on my ass.