# Just ~8,000 words away from finishing my fourteen-year WIP



## Guest (Apr 19, 2014)

I take that back. It's thirteen years. Can't count.

I started writing Eleanor in 2001. The story has gone through several incarnations, including a brief detour into graphic novel territory. But the end is so close it's not just in sight, but in sharp focus. I can smell it. It smells like... toothpaste.

I did just brush my teeth, though.

I've created a few covers for this book over the years, including one way back in 2003, long before I designed any real covers. This is the one I believe I'll be publishing with, once the book's finished, edited, proofed, blurbed, etc.:










I know what project I'm working on immediately after I finish this one. But I don't have any idea how it's going to feel to finish this one. I've lived with it for a long time.


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cover. Outstanding!


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## bardeh (Nov 3, 2013)

That is a BEAUTIFUL cover, wow! Best of luck with it!


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## Crime fighters (Nov 27, 2013)

Heading to your website and (hopefully) signing up for a mailing list - I want that book NOW


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## I Give Up (Jan 27, 2014)

K.B. said:


> Heading to your website and (hopefully) signing up for a mailing list - I want that book NOW


^This! Congratulations, Jason. That cover is outstanding and the story is extremely intriguing.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2014)

Viola Rivard said:


> ^This! Congratulations, Jason. That cover is outstanding and the story is extremely intriguing.


Thanks, everyone. 

That mailing list, btw, is a great place to get a copy of the book for free. My entire list gets each new book as a gift before it's published. (My so-crazy-it-might-still-be-just-crazy experiment.) Case in point -- I have a short story collection that doesn't come out until May 13. The day the preorder page went up on Amazon, my subscribers all got surprise free ebooks.


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## Crime fighters (Nov 27, 2013)

I've signed up


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## Andrzej Tucholski (Jan 4, 2014)

I hope for best!


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## Scottish Lass (Oct 10, 2013)

Good luck Jason, I can't imagine what it would feel like to finish something after so long, but at least you know what you're moving on to next.
All the best.


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## Stefan Magi Fionn (Feb 22, 2014)

Wow 13 years! That is quite a long time indeed! The book cover looks exceptional and your works are extensive quite impressed and will be sure to get a copy when it comes out.. bookmarked! Best of luck man


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## ricola (Mar 3, 2014)

Very cool!


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

Awesome.

I still owe you a blurb. Sorry! I'll email this weekend.


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## S. Elliot Brandis (Dec 9, 2013)

Can't wait to read it, Jason. Cover looks gorgeous.

The free books thing is very true (and awesome). Jason sent out a free copy of 'Deep breath hold tight' last week. Michael Bunker also sent out a free copy of Pennsylvania to his mailing list. Giving free books to your current fans -- it's an interesting idea.


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## micki (Oct 8, 2010)

Oh my soul--that is for ages to write a book -- but hey congrats and wish you great success with it. I do love you cover - it's magical


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## My_Txxxx_a$$_Left_Too (Feb 13, 2014)

Content removed due to TOS Change of 2018. I do not agree to the terms.


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

Stunning cover! Best of luck.

Sent from International Space Station using Tapatalk


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## SWF (Jun 14, 2011)

Wow, gorgeous cover, and I like your blurb too. I'll definitely taking a closer look when it comes out 
Good luck, and congratulations!


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## S. Elliot Brandis (Dec 9, 2013)

Jason is a fantastic cover designer, but he's an even better writer. I hope this shit blows up.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Gorgeous cover, and the back cover copy is making making my reader brain salivate. 14 years? You're practically Donna Tartt!


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## Adam Poe (Apr 2, 2012)

Congrats! That is a long time coming for sure.

And, I am assuming that when it is done ... you'll be taking on more cover commissions, right? RIGHT?


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## Samuel Peralta (Dec 31, 2013)

This one is going to be massive. Believe it.


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## ericajones (Apr 19, 2014)

Wow! Great cover  Looking forward to reading Eleanor.



jasongurley said:


> I take that back. It's thirteen years. Can't count.
> 
> I started writing Eleanor in 2001. The story has gone through several incarnations, including a brief detour into graphic novel territory. But the end is so close it's not just in sight, but in sharp focus. I can smell it. It smells like... toothpaste.
> 
> ...


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## Carina Wilder (Nov 12, 2013)

Amazing! I love the cover and yes, the blurb is brilliant.


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## 16205 (Jun 8, 2010)

Congratulations, Jason!  That's a fantastic accomplishment. Thirteen years is a long, long time.

The cover is crazyawesomegood. 


p.s.  And the cover for Wolf Skin... LOVE.  A lot.


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## Nick Endi Webb (Mar 25, 2012)

I can't believe Ernie said that about you. And you still put it on the cover?

(Congratulations!)


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## SunshineOnMe (Jan 11, 2014)

So happy for you! What a huge amazing accomplishment! Very impressed you stuck with your story and finished it. Your cover is amazing.   I'm excited to read it.


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## Christine Reyes (Mar 20, 2013)

jasongurley said:


> Thanks, everyone.
> 
> That mailing list, btw, is a great place to get a copy of the book for free. My entire list gets each new book as a gift before it's published. (My so-crazy-it-might-still-be-just-crazy experiment.) Case in point -- I have a short story collection that doesn't come out until May 13. The day the preorder page went up on Amazon, my subscribers all got surprise free ebooks.


It might be crazy, but I definitely appreciate it! Deep Breath Hold Tight has been great so far.  Congrats on Eleanor as well!


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## Indecisive (Jun 17, 2013)

Looks great -- and I signed up for your mailing list. 

I started my current project in early 2002, but I was cooking the idea in 2001, in Portland. Maybe I'll finish too, some day!


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

"Perfect is the enemy of done."


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## George Hamilton (Dec 14, 2010)

Congratulations on finishing it. I also love the cover.


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## LeeBee (Feb 19, 2014)

MeiLinMiranda said:


> "Perfect is the enemy of done."


 For sure!

Congratulations, Jason! Can't wait for the book to be released!


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## Cat Amesbury (Jan 29, 2014)

A little late to the party, but I really wanted to say congratulations!

Your writing is very beautiful and I am all too familiar with the multi-year long work-in-progress from the other side of my writing life (I had a poem take six years once. Yup.).

I also wanted to say thank-you, because staring at your typography taught me a lot about how to work with my own covers, although I still have a long ways to go.

I hope that the finished story is everything you ever dreamed and that you have huge success.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2014)

Doomed Muse said:


> Awesome.
> 
> I still owe you a blurb. Sorry! I'll email this weekend.


No sweat on that -- I have more than enough for the collection. Happy to have one more, but I know you have other things on your mind, so don't let this be just one more thing on the list.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2014)

Thank you everyone for all of those wonderful replies! 

I don't know if this book will be massive -- as Sam suggested -- or not. All I know is that I'll be happy when it's done. I imagine it'll feel very freeing. I can finally write my vampire robot version of Bridge to Terabithia!


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## ElleT (Feb 2, 2014)

Best wishes! Awesome covers!


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## Rachel Aukes (Oct 13, 2013)

You are so multi-talented, Jason. Fantastic cover, and I'm looking forward to Eleanor!


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## Flopstick (Jul 19, 2011)

That fontwork is sublime. I think I want to eat it!


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## Free Range Editor (Apr 2, 2014)

Great cover!

Really looking forward to this.  I joined your mailing list as well!


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## Livia (Feb 6, 2014)

Truly STUNNING cover.  Totally inspirational.

A few months ago, I read the excerpt you posted on your website and was blown away.  Really wonderful writing!  Now get back to work on that last 8,000 so we can read it already!


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## Richardcrasta (Jul 29, 2010)

Congrats. That's epic determination and single-mindedness of purpose. Inspiring. Good luck.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2014)

You're all way, way too kind. Thank you!


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

jasongurley said:


> Thank you everyone for all of those wonderful replies!
> 
> I don't know if this book will be massive -- as Sam suggested -- or not. All I know is that I'll be happy when it's done. I imagine it'll feel very freeing. I can finally write my vampire robot version of Bridge to Terabithia!


Ooh! Write that!

Except, can she live? PLEASE? That book was one of the great disappointments and cries of my childhood. Cried SOOO much. Sigh.


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## Mandy (Dec 27, 2009)

The cover and blurb reeled me right in; can't wait to read this!


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## Mandy (Dec 27, 2009)

Hey Jason, I don't know if it's trouble on my end or yours, but I just signed up for the mailing list and the confirmation email was blank.

Edit: Signed up again and the 2nd email allowed me to confirm subscription.


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## legion (Mar 1, 2013)

Holy wow. *drooling, signs up for mailing list*


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## Wansit (Sep 27, 2012)

Beyond amazing - congrats Jason! I remember some of the former iterations of the Eleanor cover. They were all stunning. Can't wait to see this one on Amazon.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

Wonderful -- congratulations.   And it's been a long time since a book cover made me feel I needed to get the paperback.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2014)

Mandy said:


> Hey Jason, I don't know if it's trouble on my end or yours, but I just signed up for the mailing list and the confirmation email was blank.
> 
> Edit: Signed up again and the 2nd email allowed me to confirm subscription.


Oh, good. That was going to be my recommendation, since the confirmation comes from Mailchimp and not me. Thanks for doing that!


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2014)

Doomed Muse said:


> Ooh! Write that!
> 
> Except, can she live? PLEASE? That book was one of the great disappointments and cries of my childhood. Cried SOOO much. Sigh.


Maybe she can live -- but everyone else can die?


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2014)

Becca Mills said:


> Wonderful -- congratulations.  And it's been a long time since a book cover made me feel I needed to get the paperback.


I truly hope _everyone_ feels that way!


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2014)

I finished writing Eleanor today. Thirteen years, hundreds of thousands of words written and rewritten and deleted. Wound up just short of 98,000 words. 

My wife and daughter took me to dinner to celebrate. But the funk has already begun. I didn't expect it to hit right away. Absolutely cannot make sense of how I feel about finishing this thing.


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## wilsonharp (Jun 5, 2012)

Nothing to say but congratulations. You truly deserve all the success that this will bring, and more.


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## Marilyn Peake (Aug 8, 2011)

Wow! That is fantastic! The cover is stunningly gorgeous and the book summary is wonderful! I must have this book ... and I'm sure many, many readers are going to feel the exact same way. Wishing you tremendous success!


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## SunshineOnMe (Jan 11, 2014)

*big hug* just remind yourself that feelings aren't truth. You felt this way before, and it will pass. You have many great stories and adventures ahead of you.


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## MatthewAlanThyer (Jan 13, 2014)

jasongurley said:


> I finished writing Eleanor today. Thirteen years, hundreds of thousands of words written and rewritten and deleted. Wound up just short of 98,000 words.
> 
> My wife and daughter took me to dinner to celebrate. But the funk has already begun. I didn't expect it to hit right away. Absolutely cannot make sense of how I feel about finishing this thing.


First, congratulations! The fact that it is done is, regardless of how its completion makes you feel, a real accomplishment. Personally, I think a lot of us understand where you're coming from with this one. Once the writing stops then the real work begins. Getting 98,000 words to print, on your own, is never easy. But seriously, look around you dude. You've got fans, a lot of people. Strangers who have been anticipating this baby for a long time. Some of them are drooling with anticipation. Rise of flop? It no longer matters.

Second, as this baby grows up it will also grow away from you. Anticipate this. Lots and lots of people are going to make this story their very own because it will speak to them. You're job as its daddy is to let it go right now and work on writing some brothers and sisters for it.

Way to go Jason! Looking forward to my ARC.


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## LeeBee (Feb 19, 2014)

jasongurley said:


> I finished writing Eleanor today. Thirteen years, hundreds of thousands of words written and rewritten and deleted. Wound up just short of 98,000 words.
> 
> My wife and daughter took me to dinner to celebrate. But the funk has already begun. I didn't expect it to hit right away. Absolutely cannot make sense of how I feel about finishing this thing.


You're grieving the loss of a project that's been a fixture of your life for fourteen years. Of course you're feeling that in a negative way. You need time to adjust to the vacuum created by the end of this obligation. Let yourself feel the loss as you try to also experience the joy and sense of relief you have from the accomplishment. Balance will eventually be restored. 

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS!


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## Elliott Garber (Apr 8, 2013)

Congratulations! I can only imagine that complex mix of emotions. Hoping that I might be able to experience it within the next month or two when I finally finish the first draft of my first novel.


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2014)

You guys are all the best. Thanks for the encouragement.


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## S. Elliot Brandis (Dec 9, 2013)

Awesome. When do you reckon it will see the light of day?


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2014)

S. Elliot Brandis said:


> Awesome. When do you reckon it will see the light of day?


The book goes to the editor on May 1. I suspect he'll be able to tell me in about a week if I've got something good on my hands, or if it needs major work. Once I get that verdict, I'll pick an appropriate release date for the amount of work that remains to be done, then start setting up preorder product pages.

Shorter answer:

If the book doesn't suck, probably June or July. If it needs major work, then proably August... 2018.


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