I am so excited about the words I was able to draft on my work-in-progress last month. It was extremely satisfying to see my characters and plot coming together so nicely. I know I have a lot of revision coming up, but to me, that’s the really fun part, polishing it up before submission.
Unfortunately, some writers seem to want to skip the revision part and go straight to submission after NaNoWriMo. Some of the editors I know, and the agents I’m acquainted with, were talking last week about the deluge of submissions they get in December and how they know that it went straight from the drafting stage of NanoWriMo to their inbox and it’s sad because a lot of potentially wonderful, sellable stories were prematurely submitted and lost out on a great opportunity to impress.
So, this is my writing tip for you. Do not submit the manuscript you drafted during Nano. Take December and use it to revise and polish your novel, and when you are done, take a break from it. Send it out to readers, or let it rest over the holidays, while you enjoy the holiday season. Come back to it in January and revise and polish it again, and then maybe, just maybe, it will be ready for submission and will be the impressive story it was always meant to be.
I'm an award-winning romantic suspense novelist, but in my free time I love to review books and my fave TV shows, as well as pass along great book deals, and eat Canadian chocolate---not necessarily in that order.
6 comments:
Great advice. But you know, telling us to send it out to readers is sooo much easier said than done. Every time I think I have a true "reader" here and ask if they would read a manuscript for me, I find out they're dyed-in-the-wool when they say "I'd love to, but I don't have the time right now." Sheesh, it makes me wonder if a regular person (as in a non-writer) even reads any more. I mean it. Does anyone else but another writer (or spouses thereof) even buy books? There are times when that pesky blackhearted emotion of discouragement creeps into my head and I'm tempted to reach for that chocolate candy kiss to beat it back. ...sigh...
Debra, it's true, readers can be hard to find. I use trusted friends and colleagues, and I've met people at writer's conferences that have ended up being a critique partner or reader for me. It's hard, but not impossible, so don't give up. Eat the candy and send your manuscript to me. I'll be your reader! :)
Oh, Julie, you're too sweet. But I know how extremely busy you are. See what I mean? You are a writer--an author, and mother of two dozen. Who in this world will read a ms who isn't? Gasp . . . get me off my little soap box before I twist an ankle and get amnesia. Wait! That could be my answer . . .
I'm putting off submitting my completed book because I don't want it to get lost in the flood of Nano projects. I'll probably wait until Feb. Maybe Ms. Shreditor will have the first chapter critique finished by then?
Debra - I have the opposite problem. My readers read my book and give me great comments but don't have anything for me to critique in return. I hate to ask them to read another when I haven't done anything for them.
That is good advice.
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