WHAT'S IN YOUR CLOSET?

Since turning in my latest manuscript to my publisher a couple of weeks ago, I've been spending the majority of my time revamping my website and cleaning out my closet.

On the surface, you wouldn't think those two things have much in common, not only with each other, but also with writing. But the truth is that they all share some of the same fundamentals.

Readers usually only see an author's finished book---the one that appears in the bookstores, all wrapped up in a glossy, foil-embossed cover and neatly typeset inside. They almost never get a look at the one the author actually handed in to his/her publisher---the one that was the author's original work before it went through the editing and copy editing processes. So, that great book you loved? Well, in reality, it might have originally been kind of messy, in need of some revisions and better structure.

In just this same fashion, visitors to a website usually only see the finished website---the one that pops up on the WWW, with all its graphic design and packaging in place. They almost never get a glimpse into the folders where all the data for the website is stored. That website you visit everyday? If you peeked into its folders, you might discover that they're such a total shambles, you'd wonder how the website continues to operate properly.

And what about closets? Well, if they've got their doors shut, that's all houseguests see---functional, closed doors. Unless houseguests are poking and prying into your closets, they rarely ever view what's inside them, whether your closets are clean and orderly or a complete disaster. People's closets? Opening the doors to some of those could subject you to an avalanche of junk.

Since my editor's been out of the office recently, I won't find out for another few weeks what kind of revisions she thinks my manuscript ought to undergo. But I don't need her to tell me that it's been a while since I weeded out the folders at my website and sorted through all the clothes, etc., in my closet. So until I can get started on revising my manuscript, I'm revising my website and closet.

When I'm finally done with everything, there'll be few visible signs of all my hard work. Readers won't know what I've cut, edited, rewritten, and/or shifted in my manuscript. Visitors to my website won't know how I've reorganized my folders and got rid of graphics I don't use anymore. Houseguests won't know how I've decluttered and rearranged my closet.

They'll all see only the end result.

But I'm not complaining---because, when it comes to creative works, at least, I think that's exactly how it should be. What do you think? Do you want to know how everything works behind the scenes---or does knowing too much spoil the magic?