The Craft and the Voyage

I recently participated in a writers group meeting that was attended mainly by traditionally published authors. One attendee mentioned that she had asked a self-published writer how she knew when a book was ready without the input of a publisher. The response was that she published when she felt she was sixty percent “done.”

Sixty percent?? That was horrifying, but I couldn’t come up with a way to express why.

Then I attended a charity event in Maine where one of the items being auctioned was a beautiful hand-built dory (that's David Rockefeller, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, admiring it). And I found the metaphor that expressed why sixty percent was unacceptable, and that encapsulated my own approach to writing: writing is a craft in both senses of the word, and the author owes it to the readers to send them off on their journey in a well-built, seaworthy vessel.

Then, in a serendipitous coincidence, a link to this video--“Artistry on the water: Wooden motorboats”—appeared on my Facebook feed. Does the boat-building metaphor hold up? 

Sanding? Check. That’s every word I wrote and then had to strip away to allow each sentence to run smoothly.

Fastening? Absolutely. That’s ensuring that each chapter has a logical and solid place in the frame of the story, and links seamlessly to those on either side.

Varnishing? As they say in the video, many circumstances must align to ensure a high quality finish: not the least, a talented editor. (A gorgeous sheen can be most elusive without a second pair of eyes on the craft.)

That sounds like more than sixty percent to me.

So did I end up with the nautical Steinway that the “Artistry on the water” video rhapsodizes about? I think my books are more like the pleasing and trusty dory that earned Mr. Rockefeller’s approval.

I feel that there’s a lot of value to plumb with this boat-building theme. To provide a platform to do so, I have established The Indy Author Facebook page to engage with you--please Follow me on this voyage!

Whether you are an author, creating the craft, or a reader, making a voyage in it, does the boat analogy ring true for you? Please post your thoughts at The Indy Author!