The Business and the Art

When do you set aside the book upon which you're focusing all your creativity, in order to query and submit your previously completed novel? It's funny how the business side of it can sap your creative energy somewhat. Researching where to query is exhaustive, as is refining that most important query letter.

Here's the thing. If I'm doing that after work and dinner, I'm not writing. If I'm writing, I'm not researching and querying. Rock? Hard Place? Meet your man in the middle.

There's also the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest to consider. Submissions begin next week! Do I go down that path as well as querying? But wait, I also want to finish and revise Mythos in time for the next BEA Writer's Digest conference, which I believe will be in NYC again this year. You can't beat those pitch slams!

If I research and query, how much time will it take away from Mythos? Will I still make my self imposed deadline for BEA? How strongly do I feel about this already written book? Mind you, I have queried this book before, and technically it's still out at one or two places, but it's been so long, I've half written them off.

Questions, questions, questions. Writing is art. Everything else is business. (Why do I hear Godfather dialog running through my head?) The art. The business. I love the former and don't mind the latter, but balancing the two is a major challenge.

How do you manage?