That said, I also am with the knowing that "Fear is excitement without the breath." I can't decide if I am excited or frightened.
Jane and I both leave for Esalen on Sunday and will be out of email and phone contact until the next Friday night or Saturday. So, the question is do I mail the manuscript out before we go, which frees us to work on totally new material. Of course, that is the right thing to do. The alternative would be to drag it with us and have it hanging over what we are trying to do. So, today, we proclaim that, for both of us, this week at Esalen, working with Sharon Olds, is about working with the new, allowing in whatever wants to enter now. There, it is said, proclaimed.
So, today, I will get a final version of the manuscript printed and ready to mail. I understand that J.R. Rowlings of Harry Potter fame was rejected until she had to go out of England for a small publisher. I am not putting us in her category but I do understand that a book needs to find its niche and even if it doesn't, the whole process has been cathartic for me. It is enough, just having it done, for now.
I have been requested to prepare you. I will post Sunday morning before I leave, and then, I won't be back in computer or email range until Friday evening or Saturday morning. We'll all have a break.
I'm off to meet a friend for breakfast and to hand her a copy of the manuscript. The baby is birthed and can be handed off to others to nurse.
Happy Beautiful, Exploratory, Revelatory Day.