Finnemore Fridays (On Monday. I forgot to Hit Publish Last Week): You see, the problem with writing is…

…everyone has an opinion. At the Santa Barbara Writers Conference in June, I read aloud three chapters from the travel book I’m writing. The critique from the pirates in the room was, “Give me more story about the main character.”

I’ve also sent chapters to my writing group. Their feedback was the same, “More you! More of YOUR story! I care about you and your journey!” So I made a few small changes to the old chapters, and the new chapters I’ve been writing have focused more on travelogue-ing.

However, I recently had an acquiring editor ask to see my book proposal and pages. I heard back, and the editor said, “I love the idea and would have loved to publish this…but it has too much memoir in it. Good luck!”

This November I will be writing, editing, and hopefully finishing this book. But I really have to decide before I go any further what book I want it to be. Do I want it to be just a travel book?
Do I have a clear story to tell about myself, why I took this journey, and how I changed as a result?

Someday very soon I will have to decide…but until then I’ll be watching the way John Finnemore illustrates Victor Hugo and Quasimodo. And I’ll be laughing at the idea that The Hunchback of Notre Dame had his own opinion about the title.

BTW, the drawing process for this one is SO FUN to watch!