Once a manuscript has been polished to the point that it has begun to fade, submitted then to an appropriate publisher, and accepted, it will come time to turn to the terrible job of promoting the thing. Sounds easy? Well, for some it may be. There are plenty who are extrovert enough, articulate enough, and flamboyant enough to quickly make the existence of their newly published work known. It’s all about representing yourself to the market and not taking ‘no’ for an answer. Sales. Big voice. Aggressive come-on. I’m an introvert, and I just can’t do that. In fact, I rarely leave my house for any reason at all — I would have to deal with people otherwise, and I can’t have that! Yet, there are many things that even the most reclusive writer can do to get their work noticed. The first step is to communicate openly and freely with your publisher. If they are any good in their chosen profession, they will most likely already have a plan-of-action. In this case, you simply follow along. However, one might argue, many smaller publishers simply don’t have the finances available to them to actively market your book beyond the basics. So, set up a blog, activate a few social networking sites in either your name or the name of the book, and start making frequent representations to the world about your genius. Of course, it is hoped that you actually have a work of genius to sell. You might even like to tease your audience by building up to the book as Pynchon did when he published a synopsis online just ahead of the release of Against the Day. And try to get as many reviews for it as possible: submit the book to as many relevant literary magazines as you can. Most will turn you down, but one or two may go for it. And that’s all you need to get the ball rolling. If you are of the opinion that your work is truly great, a once-in-a-generation deal, then you might like to try what Joyce did with Finnegan’s Wake: have your writer friends each write an article extolling the virtues of the work and then publish that too (self-publish if you have to). It sounds arrogant and somewhat ridiculous, but it’s just crazy enough that it might actually work.

In summing up, the goal of this series of articles has been to examine the individual steps involved in producing and then representing a piece of writing. I could have written so much more, but space did not permit this. And so to end, I’ll leave you with this thought: if Dionysus does not have you in his possession, then are you truly in your vocation? Writing is a birth-right. And walking around constantly with a pen in your hand and your heart and mind in the clouds certainly is just as important: practice truly makes perfect and the intuition does amazing things to the direction of your climb as a writer.

With all the great psychological works behind us, it is the innovative, risk-taking writer who will succeed in up-dating the artistic process of writing. Bend your mind to the task and see what you can’t accomplish.

Dominic Ward currently has a novel and poetry in print. Balloon Cotton Bush was published by Small Dogma mid-2009 and represents a risk taken in literary development. He lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his partner and two children.

The re-write begins with an overall assessment of the first draft. The first draft will be rubbish, make no mistake. It will be largely untenable. This is not a problem. For now you can begin to focus your vision on the small parts that make up the whole, and by this I do not mean that crude whole of the first draft, but the completed picture to which you are ultimately striving. At the level of the re-write, barren areas of your plan become apparent, the flow of language can be analyzed and altered, and all should start to form a larger coherency of which the writer should be intuitively aware. As an example of this process, from top to bottom, I start with the rough concept I wish to express. The image I think best represents this concept is then thrown down onto the page in a mad blast of energy and iron will necessarily devoid of any higher refinement. Thus, the image of a man lost from himself becomes, crudely, ‘Blasted of form and distraught from mind, conceale’d of noose neck portent, the gizzard takes in the afterthought of his throat. Lost his way, he has; dealing in coin when he should have been thrown down arts.’

Okay, fine. There is our first draft, gotten on to the paper and nothing more. Now that it is in black and white, we can view it for what it is. And begin to make the necessary changes. ‘Blasted of form and distraught of mind’ reads silly. It’s missing an organic feel, being far too analytical, lacking in inspiration. It needs a touch of the ethereal. So, it can become, ‘Blasted form, shattered mid-morn mind, distraught and torn.’ The next line, of which I highly approve, can remain as is. The final line is problematic. The usage of ‘coin’ is this way is ugly; it is a hackneyed usage with no place in modern literature. And there is a simple grammatical issue with the usage of ‘thrown’. ‘Throwing’ is the correct word in this case. Furthermore, stylistically, the sentence is out-of-style when compared with its predecessors and thus alien. It needs a bit of work to make it fit. All corrected, I would then announce the passage, ‘Blaste’d form, shattere’d mid-morn mind, distraught and torn. Conceale’d of noose-neck portent, the gizzard takes in the afterthought of his throat. Lost his way, he has, as some thrower of heathen laments’.

This is by no means a complete description, but a short gesture into the process I like to follow. I can’t speak for others, but I find an integrity in this process that I have not found in any other. Whether you prefer the methods of Flaubert, Greene, or Joyce, or indeed, one of myriad others, the importance of the re-write cannot be denied. For it is then, and only then, that the vision present in the depths of the unknown mind can enter any kind of human reality.

Dominic Ward currently has a novel and poetry in print. Balloon Cotton Bush was published by Small Dogma mid-2009 and represents a risk taken in literary development. He lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his partner and two children.

“Minneota, Minnesota. Smalltown, America. For some, growing up in a place where everyone knows everybody evokes memories of grandmothers’ quilts, cruisin’ after school, and leaning in for your first kiss. But for others, a small town becomes a prison and as each year passes, the cell bars grow closer to asphyxiation. In The Town of Watered-Down Whiskey, Geiwitz taps into the nostalgia and claustrophobia of Smalltown, America, where each citizen learns they have an outlandish, wise, regretful, or tragic role to play, whether they choose it or not.”

The Town of Watered-Down Whiskey will be released next fall.

Again, thanks all who entered last year’s contest. We are now accepting entries for our 2010 contest. Rules are post on our website.

The subject of this essay is the first draft of the manuscript. Having conceptualized the work, mapped it out, and researched its subject matter, it is now time to turn to the dull and painful task of writing. There is no method for short-cutting this stage; get yourself alone and write, write, write. You are going to need time for this, lots of it. Unless you are one of those cyberpunk novelists who can write a full-length novel in 36 hours while high on amphetamines. I personally don’t relate to this at all, but you might want to try it sometime if you’re so disposed. For most of us, though, it really does mean time out from the world, madness in isolation, and the depression of acute introspection. Too much of one’s own company is never a way to good mental health, but you will have to be strong and be able to fight through the pains if you are to finish.

Amassing this raw product — the first draft of the manuscript — is dog’s labor. It’s made of pure hard work and mind-numbing dedication. It is this first process that ends most would-be writers. But the first draft in itself is no destination. It’s a mere waypoint. I often involve myself with serious CNS depressants in order to dull the wits just enough to boggle my mind to this grind; I have found a need to be slightly slowed in order to ignore the strong desires towards perfection at this stage of the creative process. This is not the time to be analyzing and perfecting: just get your work from liquid concept to concrete form, and for this purpose any old form will do. The real magic is applied in the re-write.

Some writers like to have either self-imposed or externally-imposed deadlines to help get them through this stage. From personal experience, having a keen publisher in gentle pursuit of a finished manuscript is a great motivator. But it must be kept in mind that not all books are destined to be concluded within a year or two. Some first drafts, such as those of Joyce, have been years in the completion, decades even. It all really depends on the nature and scope of the work itself. What will make this tedious process just a hint easier is having a special workspace. J.K. Rowling wrote much of the first Harry Potter in her local diner/café. Many left-bank writers have done the same. Graham Greene wrote privately within the confines of his apartment. Wherever you prefer to do your writing, make sure it is a place of comfort and personal tranquillity. Personalize your space if you can. If you can’t, at least make sure the ambience of your chosen refuge reflects some key element of your psyche. Cut back work to part-time if you can, or take time off from work altogether. Lock yourself away. Disown your friendships and familial responsibilities. Just get that first draft done!

Dominic Ward currently has a novel and poetry in print. Balloon Cotton Bush was published by Small Dogma mid-2009 and represents a risk taken in literary development. He lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his partner and two children.

• Helping Hand for Ethan by Daniel Lance Wright
• Into the Wilderness by Chris Helvey
• The Lost Language by Marianne Villuenva
• Triple Jeopardy by David Hoof
• Heartaches Are Going to the Inside by Jennifer Barton
• All the Roads that Lead From Home by Anne Leigh Parrish
• South Side Miracles by Birute Putius Serota
• Sidewalk Dancing by Letitia Moffitt
• Love and All the Things We Didn’t Say by Victoria Kelly
• Too Many Moons, Too Many Miles by Christopher Helvey
• My Secret War by Thomas Balazs
• The Caravan Passes On by Molly Power
• Oppositions by Carolyn Osborn
• Shades of God by Will Ryan
• The Town of Watered Down Whiskey by James Geiwitz
• Love on the Big Screen by Bill Torgerson
• Years of Light and Gangrene by Thomas Livingston
• Places Where Judas Lost His Boots by Barbara Delacuesta
• Sunlight of a Suggestion by Michael Milburn
• Real Job by Alan Catlin

Thanks to all who submitted.

Here’s what the judges had to say:

“This book gives voice to what is usually shrouded in silence. Author Carden opens a small window on the lives of prostitutes, of strippers, of the “lost” girls who serve some unacknowledged need of men, as they have for centuries. Perhaps they provide love. Certainly love is a central theme of the book, even if only wounded or furtive. The painful story of a married man struggling with his increasing sexual desire for other men in this McCarthy-era setting feels furtive. So does the love between the black “madam” of the house and her white boyfriend. Galveston, Texas society does not have tolerance for either one, the man or the couple. It only pretends to disapprove of the houses. Perhaps that is what makes this such a compelling read. For love will not be denied, even the girls know that. The author shows without saying and the effect is stunning.”

On Cold Mornings
I speak
judiciously
so that my words, captured
as white puffs of thought, will linger
with you.

The First Sip of Coffee
Hot and
sugary and
creamy, somewhat like a
first kiss — too much to consume with
one sip.

What Sarah Palin Wrote on Her Palm
An off-
color limerick
because she was confused
by the syllable count used in
cinquains.

The First Time Making Love
is al-
ways a bit clum-
sy, feet tangled in the
cuffs of our pants as we fall in-
to bed.