Perfectionism is something many people are familiar with. This is doubly true for writers who struggle with creating the perfect, polished manuscript for their readers. But what happens when your quest for perfection leaves you unable to complete a project? How do you handle perfectionism?
Author Rebecca Minelga shares her tips for kicking perfectionism to the curb.
Rebecca Minelga’s Book & Writing Process
Table of Contents
Q: What is the title of your book and what is it about?
A: Third and Long
Abby Barclay, finds purpose for her life with her therapy dog, Gen, helping terminally ill children and their families deal with pain and loss. When a playground accident brings nine-year-old Dylan into her life, even Abby is surprised at the depth of the bond between the boy and her dog.
Publication date: June 24, 2025
Q: What genre is Third and Long?
A: Sweet Romance/Women’s Fiction with Christian themes but no explicit faith component.
Q: What inspired you to write Third and Long, and how did you come up with the idea for it?
A: Having spent the last 20 years raising guide dog puppies, I know the very real impact dogs can have in our lives and I wanted to write a story that would capture that kind of emotional resiliency.
I drew heavily on my background training first responders and my own struggles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD to flesh out the story.
I’m sorry you’ve experienced depression, anxiety, and PTSD, but thanks for including it in this book. I’m sure readers will appreciate your transparency when they read about a character struggling with these issues.
Q: What themes and tropes are included in Third and Long?
A: He falls first; hurt/comfort; Emotional Scars, second chance at love; therapy dog; ready-made family
Some of my favorite themes and tropes are on this list.
Q: Who is the ideal reader for Third and Long?
A: Women in their 30s-40s who are starting over (for whatever reason) and readers who have a history of mental health challenges who are looking to see themselves in an MC and also find hope for the future.
I love this! Representation in fiction is so important.
Q: What’s the one thing you want readers to take away from reading Third and Long?
A: I see this book as a story of hope, recovery, and resiliency. This is the book I needed when I was in my darkest days, and I hope it will be the book that someone else needs to make it through their own darkness and find healing on the other side.
Aww. I love that you wrote the story you needed to read in your struggles. I pray that the right readers will find your book, and that it will inspire them to persevere.
Q: Share a favorite quote or two from Third and Long.
A: If he rejected her, she’d still have Gen. She’d still have Cara, and her work, and the dream of a therapy dog organization. She’d survive.
It may not be pretty, but she’d lived through a broken heart once before. She could do it again.
Q: Are you a plotter, pantser, or plantser? Share a bit of your writing process.
A: As this is my debut fiction novel, it was definitely pants-ed, but since then I’ve done more plotting with every subsequent novel.
I usually start with a pitch and a synopsis to make sure the concept is sound, and the plot has a clear arc from start to finish.
Then, I write a zero draft—just the scenes that I’m most excited about, or that have fully formed in my mind, or that really capture the essence of the main components of the story.
I write linearly, so after the zero draft, the first draft is written straight through, front to back. I usually go away for a long weekend to hammer out the majority of it.
Oh, I’m with you on that. I pantsed my first novel but have been doing more outlining for subsequent works.
I like the idea of writing the butter scenes or the ones that capture the main idea of the story. I’m sure that makes connecting the different scenes easier when you flesh it out later.
Q: Can you share an instance where real-life events inspired your writing?
A: The child character in this book, Dylan, is based heavily on my own son at that age, including his dad’s comment about being “cerebral,” his love of swimming, and playing the trumpet.
In a weird “stranger than fiction” paradox, after writing the traumatic injury that Dylan sustains, my own son sustained almost the exact same injury several years later!
What? It’s so strange how that happened. I hope your research gave you the resources to handle it.
Q: Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in your jobs/education in your writing?
A: Absolutely! After over a decade of training first responders and my own experience with PTSD after the death of a patient, processing those emotions through the lens of writing was incredibly therapeutic.
Yes! Writing is an excellent vehicle to process our emotions.
Q: How do you deal with perfectionism?
A: “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” I am a Type-A, Eldest Daughter, Perfectionist through and through, so repeating this mantra helps me keep focus on the process instead of the result.
I also edit in a very organized manner, so I know any issues I ignore. Now, I’ll get back to later, which helps me let go of fixing every little problem as soon as I notice it.
I also leave myself copious notes and comments to make sure I don’t miss anything.
“Perfection is the enemy of progress.” I like that, and it’s true. If we aim for perfection, we complete nothing.
I also like that you developed an editing process that helps you to go through your manuscript systematically.
Q: What types of questions do you ask when planning a new book?
A: Who are the main characters and what are each of their fatal flaws?
How will the relationship challenge and empower these characters to move past their worst selves into their best selves?
How will each of these characters experience healing not only through their relationship, but also through their own work and the impact of those around them?
I love these questions as the answers will help with the backstory, character arc, dark moment, and theme.
I’m sure I’ve missed some things, but authors could benefit from including these questions in their brainstorming process.
Q: How do you prevent yourself from over-editing?
A: Is there such a thing? I think there is an art and a science to this question. There are fabulous tools all over the internet and in print to help guide the editing process, but my own experience has been that I’ve edited as far as I’m able, and then, while querying, I’ll get some specific and actionable feedback that will change my understanding of how editing works, or a place I’ve not thought to edit, etc.
I can take those lessons forward into revisions, and also into the next project. I’m sure I’ll always be learning something new!
This is a great perspective. While we shouldn’t use the quest for perfection in editing to prevent us from publishing, there’s always something new to learn.
Q: How do you handle moments when inspiration seems hard to find?
A: I’m a firm proponent of butt-in-chair. Inspiration is wonderful. Sometimes the words will flow. And sometimes they won’t. Butt-in-chair embraces that sometimes the words come when you fight for them, sometimes edits are hard, and sometimes the saggy middle threatens to derail your whole book, but you work through it.
Yes. I’ve found the inspiration muse elusive when I wait for it to show up. But sometimes, sitting down and re-reading the last thing you wrote or edited, or setting a five-minute timer, is often enough to stimulate creativity.
Q: How important are book reviews?
A: I think we all know how book reviews drive algorithms and how quickly the right social media review can launch a book into stardom. I want to support authors by reviewing books I love.
But as a reader, I tend not to read reviews too often before choosing a book. I’ve seen viral books that were terrible and hardly-reviewed books that I’ve absolutely loved! Seeing a book on social media might make me look it up, but the synopsis is what will make me read.
I love this balanced approach—reviews are one reader’s opinion, and while that’s important, we should be willing to take a chance on a new book or new-to-us author because we might find our new favorite book!
Q: What was the most challenging aspect of writing and publishing? How did you (do you plan to) overcome it?
A: Publishing is such a long game, and it is so rife with rejection, you really have to know what you’re getting into and have a plan to protect your mental health, or it will drag you down so fast.
After ten years, I’m in a good place, now, but that is only after multiple books, self-publishing, having and leaving an agent, several more books, etc. I have a process for handling the no’s and another one for handling critique without spiraling.
I know when to take a break and when to push through. I’ve had enough breadcrumbs of encouragement to keep going and enough therapy to recognize when my brain is lying to me.
My advice would be to find your process. I don’t use Query Tracker Premium because it would drive me batty. I file rejections as quickly as possible so they aren’t sitting there staring at me. I celebrate the wins, no matter how small, because otherwise I’d drown in the losses.
Yes! It’s so important to protect your mental health and to create a process that helps you to do that because every author must decide what they need to keep writing.
If the constant barrage of criticism and rejections overwhelms us, we won’t write and would deprive someone of their next favorite book.
Q: How do you use social media as an author?
A: Fair warning, I hate social media so much. I’d rather not use it at all and I’m actively working to grow other methods of marketing so I can ease back as much as possible. That said, I also know how important it is to marketing, so I try to find the balance.
A while back, I heard the advice to choose 1-3 that you actually enjoy and stick with just those, especially with how many options there are these days. I had mine nailed down and fine-tuned. Then the publishing community on Twitter/X kind of imploded last year.
Since then, I’ve been on more platforms than I’d like, but I’m trying to be aware of where my audience is as well as where I have good content I can produce (and don’t hate creating).
Oh, I feel you! Social media is a valuable tool, but many aspects are not fun for creators. I like the idea of focusing on three main marketing tactics and/or platforms and using those to connect with your readers.
I hope you’ll find the right balance that connects you with the readers who’ll love your work.
Q: When you’re writing an emotional or difficult scene, how do you set the mood?
A: I’ve usually mulled it over quite a bit before actually sitting down to write, so I have the high points, and maybe even a lot of the details already set in my mind.
I always worry I’ll end up overdramatic, so I tend to write the least emotional version first, then add more layers until it feels real.
That said, some of the most emotional scenes I’ve written have been revised again and again until they’re almost completely different from their original versions.
Sometimes you just don’t know until you’re into the midst of it how it needs to go, and sometimes those most emotional scenes need to change to fit the overall arc of the story once it’s complete.
So, you’re writing in layers. I do this too, though I have the opposite problem—I tend to understate the emotions and have to go in later to add more depth.
Q: Have you ever resuscitated a project you’d shelved? What helped it work better the second time around?
A: I haven’t, but I’ve also been lucky enough to only ever have shelved one project.
Oh, that is lucky indeed!
Q: How do you balance the demands of writing with other responsibilities?
A: I’m lucky enough to have an extremely variable work-from-home schedule, so balancing everything isn’t too difficult for me.
Deadlines can be the most challenging, but with a supportive family, I can just share what I need to do, and they help me get it done.
I do the vast majority of my writing on-the-go, either waiting in my car or hanging out during kids’ activities, so those tend to be times I wouldn’t get other things done, anyway. Can’t exactly do laundry at ballet class.
I love that your family supports your writing process and that you’ve figured out how to work it around your other responsibilities.
Writing Advice from Rebecca Minelga
Q: What risks have you taken with your writing that have paid off?
A: I haven’t had a lot of luck with either betas or paid editors, so I’ve probably queried too soon on almost every project, but I’ve been incredibly lucky to get really great feedback a few times that has upped my writing game significantly each time.
I know we’re always cautioned about querying too soon, but for me, it has been a worthwhile risk.
We never know what will work for us unless we try it, right?
Q: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
A: You don’t know what you don’t know. I’m still learning new things all the time, and you just have to do the best you can with what you know, then learn the next thing.
Yes! We must be willing to keep learning, especially in this business, where things are constantly changing.
Q: What would you say to an author who wanted to design their own cover?
A: I’ve designed two of my own covers and loved one but hated the other. This isn’t a skill set for me, so my advice would be to hire someone!
Lol. It’s good to know your strengths and to play to them.
Q: What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
A: Individual writing retreats! I go about once a year and spend Friday night to Sunday afternoon in a micro-cabin with no distractions. I turn off my phone, don’t take my Kindle, just write for, like 36 hours straight. This is my best tool for knocking out first drafts!
36 hours! That’s a lot of writing. I’ve heard good things about writing retreats but haven’t gone on one—yet.
Q: What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
A: I do not have a dedicated writing space since I’m always on the go, but I do tend to turn off my phone and internet so I’m not distracted.
The phone can be such a distraction because we use it to do so many things.
Q: If you had to do something different as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
A: Just write. I started as a child, continued all through high school, then stopped during college. It took me another 10 years to get started again. So, just keep writing. Don’t quit. Every word is valuable even if it’s never published.
This is advice I’d give my younger self as well as I had a similar experience. Just think of how much we’d have learned about writing and our process if we hadn’t stopped.
The good news is that, even though we took a break, we’re writing now. The key is to not stop from this point forward.
Q: What are your suggestions for marketing books and getting them into the hands of new readers?
A: If I knew the answer to this one, I’d have sold a lot more books! I’m a big fan of in-person events and face-to-face time, so I tend towards those kinds of interactions.
Since my fiction debut is very different from my previous non-fiction projects, I’m looking forward to doing some signing events at local bookstores, and also leveraging my travel schedule to visit stores I might not be able to otherwise.
Oh, don’t we all? But it seems as if you have a handle on things. You know what you enjoy doing and have a plan for doing more of it.
Q: Do you celebrate milestones? How important do you believe it is for authors to celebrate when they meet their goals or hit milestones?
A: Yes! Full requests with a little celebratory snack/drink; contracts with drinks and dessert out with my husband, and launches with a party! There is so much rejection in publishing, you have to celebrate your wins!
I love this! Too many of us fail to celebrate our wins, focusing instead on areas of opportunity or meeting the next goal.
Q: What is one writing resource that you couldn’t do without?
A: Save the Cat!
This book is definitely one of the top plotting resources for authors.
Just for Fun
Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Why?
A: Flying or breathing underwater! I’m a pilot and a swimmer, so either of these would be the absolutely most amazing thing!
Ooh! This would be a cool superpower…and now I want to read about a character who has it.
Q: What is your favorite book and why?
A: To Kill a Mockingbird – While devastating, I also believe that you fight even if you know you’re going to lose. It is worthwhile to be good and kind even if it’s never repaid.
You can do everything right and still fail, and that’s not a reflection on you. When I was younger, I loved everything Scout learned. As a parent, I appreciate Atticus so much. It’s one of those books that will speak to you differently your whole life.
These are truly powerful lessons each of us needs to learn.
Q: If you were not a writer, what would you want to be and why?
A: I’ve always loved dogs and in middle school, I read a book about a boy who went blind and how a guide dog changed his life. From that moment on, I always wanted to train guide dogs, but as a child, you can’t always do what you want.
As an adult, I thought it was too late until I found out adults raise guide dog puppies, too. Now, 20 years later, I’ve raised 16 guide dog puppies and I run a local puppy-raising chapter for guide dog puppies with 5-10 dogs and about 20 families.
I’m so lucky that I get to do two things I absolutely love!
What? This is an awesome second career!
Q: If your characters hosted a dinner party, who would cause the most chaos and why?
A: Dylan! As a precocious kid, he just wouldn’t understand that he is chaos incarnate, no matter how hard he tried not to be!
“Chaos incarnate!” This cracks me up!🤣
Q: What’s a random fact you learned while researching your book that you can’t stop telling people?
A: Football players often can’t take off their own jerseys at the end of a game because of their pads, the sweat, etc. All I can picture are a bunch of NFL players in the locker room trying to get each other’s jerseys off like me trying to pull my 7yo’s hoody off when he complains he’s too hot!
Lol. This is a funny image and something I’ve wondered about.🤔
Q: If your keyboard could talk, what would it say about your writing habits?
A: “Learn to type correctly! You cannot write 70k word books using three fingers!”
Haha! This is hilarious!
Let’s Connect with Rebecca Minelga
Q: What are you working on next?
A: I’m in the phase of my writing career where I’m juggling several projects at once. I’m finishing final edits on Third and Long and prepping for launch in June; wrapping up querying a Battlebots/STEMinism Women’s Fiction book; diving into a second draft of the sequel to Third and Long; and drafting an original manuscript about an Artistic Swimmer (formerly Synchronized Swimming) that tackles ethical issues with youth athletes.
That’s a mighty to-do list. I’m wishing you all the best in your future endeavors.
About Third and Long
Trauma survivor, Abby Barclay, finds purpose in her life with her therapy dog, Gen, helping terminally ill children and their families deal with pain and loss. When a playground accident brings nine-year-old Dylan into her life, even Abby is surprised at the depth of the bond between the boy and her dog. Her relationship with him––as well as with his divorced father, Scott––soon grows into something beyond professional.
Threatened by Abby and Gen’s close relationship with Dylan, Scott’s ex-wife reopens their custody arrangement, forcing Scott to decide between his son and the woman he loves. To make matters worse, Gen receives a devastating prognosis.
As Abby weighs losing Scott, Dylan, and her beloved dog, she must decide whether loving anyone is worth the risk and whether she can find the courage to go on even if she loses everything.
About Rebecca Minelga
Rebecca Minelga is an author and speaker who uses the power of words to navigate the liminal spaces between who we are and who we are becoming. She raises Guide Dog Puppies and two sons – in that order – with her husband just north of Seattle.
Connect with Rebecca Minelga on her Website | Author Central | Facebook | X | Blue Sky | Instagram
