Note - the illustration above is from Kate Buss's Long Overdue book titled The Book of Monsters from A to Z." The monster pictured here is W for Wawell.
On a windy, winter Wednesday,
the Wawell wistfully wallows while
watching
his woolly white ewes
Writing Groups
A couple of weeks ago, I had a great conversation with someone who had reached out through the website, wondering if Long Overdue had or knew of any writing groups. I shared a few that I knew of and then thought to myself, "Why don't we have Long Overdue writing groups?"
So, here we are. Officially launching five writing groups.
Writing in Retirement - Now that the 9 to 5 is out of the way, let the writing begin!
But then I had kids... You used to write all the time, but then you added a little one. This is a group for parents who are trying to get back into a writing habit.
Early Bird Gets the Word - For people who like to write before 9 AM
Night Owls - For people who like to write after 9 PM
Chicago Writers - Writers in the Chicago area. The question is, how far into the suburbs does "Chicago Area" extend?
If you're interested in joining one (or more) of these groups, please fill out this Google Form. And if you'd like to start your own group, let us know!
Congratulations Safe Landing Authors!
Another great milestone for the Borchers siblings (left to right - Kim Jockl, Melody Smith, Jim Borchers). The Safe Landing authors recently received the International Impact Book Award, winning in the Grief category. Safe Landing was selected out of 88 entries. Congratulations!!
Time Heals all Manuscripts... but don't wait too long
I self-published my first novel in 2017. The idea for the book hit me in 2008, and I started writing it in the summer of 2009.
And now, here I am, in 2025, doing a "book renovation" with the goal of moving it over to Long Overdue before the Printers Row Lit Fest in September. More to come on this "book renovation" concept in future newsletters.
What I've learned during this process - Even all these years and revisions later, I can still make the book better. I've cut at least 1,500 words, and probably another 1,000 words will be on the chopping block. These edits have improved the pacing, especially with dialogue. This new version will be better than the one from 2017.
But I've also learned - I mean, my goodness, 2008?! I'm 35 years old. That was literally half a lifetime ago. Especially for this book, where the bulk of the action takes place when these characters are 18 - 23 years old, I'm very cautious about editing their voice, or the way they talk, or what they care about. What they're worried about. If I'm not careful, my book renovation could start sounding like a 35-year-old breaking into the story. And, like my metabolism, that 35-year-old self can really slow things down.
So yes, time heals all manuscripts. When you're a few years removed from the work, you become a better editor. It's easier to make cuts. It feels less personal. It's also totally fair game because you're not locked into the original version of your book being the permanent record, even after you've hit publish. It's really as easy as uploading a new PDF.
But at the same time, don't wait too long. Or change the heart of the story and your characters. Don't lose your vision via too many revisions.
There's something special about books being a time capsule of what you were like, what you thought about, what you cared about, and what your writing was like at different ages. And while my 35-year-old self has some advantages in terms of writing and experience over my 18-20-year-old self, that 18-20-year-old me was much better at writing what it's like to be 18- 20 years old. And that guy took more chances. He didn't have a mortgage. And could eat a whole pizza and go play basketball.
Moral of the story - don't edit and rewrite forever. You'll have plenty of second chances, but don't forget that the first chance was pretty magical too.
"As a nearly 9-year-old dog — 63 in dog years — I look back at my puppy self and think, 'Man, where'd he get all that energy?'"
-Crash, Team Dog
Best place to keep up with all things Long Overdue is a tie between our monthly newsletter and our Instagram page. If you enjoy this newsletter and know someone who might enjoy it as well, let us know, we'll make sure to add them to our subscriber list. We also got back on Facebook recently, you can follow us here.
And that picture above? Yeah, it was awesome. It's a dish from Istmo Chicago. A must-go-to restaurant here in Lakeview East.
And check out the rest of our website - Long Overdue Books. Long Overdue Books is a community for creating books. It's a place for authors (and soon-to-be-authors), readers, editors, artists, and designers to come together and move their stories from ideas to finished books.
Also, if you have any questions, ideas, stories to tell, you can reach Cal the Librarian at - library@longoverduestories.com
