Joanna Penn, a successful indie author, coined the term “finishing energy” to describe how she feels as she closes in on completing a project. I’ve noticed I feel the same. Though I’ve often mentioned that the finish line moves, there is an internal push to keep going, to write that last word, to do one more editing check, to verify all the pieces are in the manuscript before I hit “publish.”
It’s the elation of achievement, a giant dopamine hit that I accomplished a goal. I’m not the best at celebrating wins, no matter the size. So, I take a few days off. I might send an email newsletter reminding subscribers of the new book. When I feel satisfied about the new title added to my list of books, then I look forward to the next project.
I finished the anthology story. I really like how it turned out. I’m over my total word count of 20K words. Perhaps the others in the group will have suggestions on words or sentences to cut. The soft deadline of March 1, which I didn’t think I would make, was missed by one day. I’m currently editing parts three and four of the story. A couple of details will need to be tweaked, but nothing that would add words.
Not everyone in the group has their stories done. I’m okay with that. Lives get busy and priorities are shuffled. We’ll publish this anthology when everyone is ready.
Finishing the edits this weekend means I’ll be able to return to the holiday novella I abandoned in October. In keeping with the holiday spirit, I need to finish a short story for my illustrated collection about a Christmas thief. I’m optimistic that since I’ve made gains on a few admin projects, and that life tasks are currently in a lull, I can apply some finishing energy to these two projects. Is your energy full or depleted as you approach completing a project?
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