Biting the Bullet - June IWSG

There comes a time in every writer's life when he must simply bite the bullet. In this context, bite the bullet means submit, whether it be a manuscript, short story, article or anything else. If it's something that must be reviewed, judged or accepted, then it must be submitted.

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I recently realized that it has now been a full year since I completed the initial draft of The Bonding. It's gone through three intense revisions and some hefty edits. The last two edits have focused almost exclusively on word count reduction.

It's not that easy for me. Some people have trouble shedding pounds. I have trouble shedding words. I know my nemesis.

Wordiness is the bane of my writing.

So I trimmed the fat. I whacked and whittled, cut and chopped like a lumberjack on steroids. I now wonder if there's enough fat left to flavor the meat.

But this post is about biting the bullet of submitting, not my struggles with word count reduction. Or are they one in the same? Perhaps wrestling with word count has become my way of avoiding the bullet of submitting. I tell myself it's a valid excuse. But is it just an excuse?

No matter! This is the month that Jeff bites that bullet. I've given my knightly oath to dragon and spouse alike. (And I dare not provoke either!) This is the month that I begin to seek publication in deed and not just in word.

Wish me well?