Not bugging The Eight for progress reports is hard. The kid on Christmas morning in me wants to blast a broadcast email message, a temptation thus far resisted. Besides it’s actually the Seven right now, as one manuscript is still in the mail. Must…resist..urge to check…package tracking.

Yet another lesson in letting go of outcome. That’s been a major problem for me throughout the writing process. I took the story as far as possible with minimal outside input and now is the time to allow other voices some sway. While I could pull a J.D. Salinger and invest another 9 years writing, that sort of gestation period is unacceptable. I don’t write classics; I write entertainment.

Hopefully, the fun of entries like these is that I’ve no clearer idea how the story will end than anyone stumbling across them.

Printed the last of the eight copies Sunday for the pre-submit readers. But before doing that I did some reading of my own. Actually reading my copy start to end took six hours; your results may vary. I edited a few awkward sentences, adjusted some punctuation goofs, and dropped one paragraph. The cuts totaled a net loss of 107 words – not too shabby. The pre-submit readers are getting essentially the same manuscript I read on Saturday, which is very much the manuscript that wrapped on November 1, 2005.

Monday is all about distribution. The Wife whisked some copies away; I dropped a few off at people’s homes last night. One leaves by post for the Heartland this morning. The final package is being picked up at my place. At this point, everything about the process is beyond my control. It’s time for new challenges.

This is the last entry about the book for awhile. Back to amusing entries – I hope – again.

A 353 page manuscript times eight readers equals a lot of paper and toner. OfficeMax had a good deal on the recycled stuff, so I bought 10 reams ( 5,000 sheets ). Until this weekend, the novel existed in printed form as segments, usually the most recent 100 pages. Next time around, I might try the Koontz approach: write a chapter, revise 15-20 times, print and read the latest. If it meets quality standards, start the next, otherwise resume the revision cycle. I used the first half of his method with good results, just not the second. Tackling the lion’s share of the editing in place made for a very long gestation time. Perhaps more frequent print outs would improve efficiency.

On the economy of scales, I’m sold on the benefits of short chapters. They complement my writing style and force me to make each one matter. There’s passages that breath as Stephen King says, and there’s those that suck wind ( says I ). My strength is directness, not long narrative freak outs that draw the reader to hell and back. It works in some hands. Not in mine. Also, short chapters make for easier edits – nice bite-sized chunks. I suspect the next book the page count per chapter will fall.

Challenging – that was the best verb for a day with no writing. Sure, a few hours were fun. I reread On Writing by Stephen King, and half of Post Mortem by Patricia Cornwell. Both served a purpose and came with their own lessons. On Writing contains a lot of great advice, the best piece of it might be: write a lot, read a lot. Simple enough. Cornwell offers an another lesson.

The Kay Scarpetta forensic thriller is a good example of a plot-driven story that hooks the reader into staying up way past their bedtime. Some dismiss the “Oreo effect” ( gotta have just one more cookie, gotta read one more page ) as an act of manipulation, and here’s where I agree and disagree with Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. Both consider plot little more than footprints in the snow left behind by their characters, secondary to the story. That’s absolutely correct, if the story is situation based. What if it’s not?

Situation driven stories – like what would happen if a writer was kidnapped by his biggest fan, or mankind had to move to Mars – tell the story slowly. Readers learn of the characters in bits and pieces just as the writers do. Hopefully, this builds to a crescendo. In the hands of a Bradbury or a King, it can be a great journey.

Plot driven stories place the emphasis on engagement. The action pops out front, right in the beginning. The stories burn bright; the stories burn fast. Patricia Cornwell, Dan Brown, John Grisham all deliver plot by the truckload. I’ll argue that Thomas Harris does as well, though he has a few more goodies in the toolbox than the others.

Given the competition books face from other visual mediums, the flat growth of publishing in general, and ever shrinking attention spans, it begs the question – how long will a reader tolerate a slow burn? Myself, I respect the get in, get out, take no prisoners approach. Put the ball where everyone can see, roll it, and keep it rolling. Brand me manipulative, I guess.

Lest this idea seem to come from a vacuum, here’s an article in the New York Times that raises good questions about technology scattering attentions in the workplace. Registration is required, but it’s free.