Query update
Jan. 22nd, 2009 09:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhienellethSo, I promised back when I started this journey almost two years ago, that I'd post about it as it happened. You've seen me complete the drafts, you've seen me struggle to write queries and synopses, you've seen me post query stats.
Now comes another leg on the road to publication: serious revision.
I mean, sure, I've revised before. But this is different. I debated about whether or not to post about this, but I think it's kosher so long as I'm not too specific, and this is just as much a part of the path to publication as struggling to write a good query.
Last night I talked to the agent - I say "the" because so far, she's the only one to read all of Nemesis and come back with comments for me. Because I've certainly never talked to an agent in an actual conversation before about my work, making this as much (more, in fact!) of a milestone as the first request for a partial, or the first request for a full manuscript. Okay, so I have talked to an agent about my work before - in workshop at a writing Con. But looking at a handful of pages is miles from having a professional in the business tell you what works and what doesn't in your book. Not only that, she didn't do it because I showed up to a Con and she was signed up to give a workshop. She did it because she actually read my entire book, and saw something worthwhile in it, enough to take her valuable time to write up some notes for me, and talk to me for an hour and a half and tell me what she sees.
This is a precious, rare thing, and I value it as much as if someone had handed me a rare gemstone. (And since I make jewelry, I know just how much that rare gemstone is worth!)
Let me preface this with a caveat - whenever someone critiques your work, you should take a step back, look at it, and decide what you agree with and what you might not, decide what you're going to incorporate and what you're not. Whether or not they're your best friend, best beta reader/critique partner, or whether they're a pro editor or agent. It's still your work, and you get to decide what's best for it. HOWEVER, if we're honest with ourselves, there are always parts of a book that we aren't 100% happy with. And sometimes it takes someone not as close to it as you are to see what those things are and point them out.
I can't tell you all how pleased I am with the critique I got from the agent. Will it require a lot of serious revision? Yes! Do I think the book will be better for it? Absolutely! Some of the things she said, I found myself thinking "That's such an obvious flaw/fix, why didn't I think of that when I was writing it??"
I am excited to revise, excited to get rid of those flaws and make the book better. I can already see in my head some of what I'll do differently. I look at Nemesis now and think "Wow, this is not the version I would want people buying and reading."
I'm going to be 100% honest and open about this: to start, just to start, I'm cutting the first five chapters and totally rewriting them. More than 17,000 words. Sure, I might be able to salvage a paragraph here or there, but I'm literally going to open a new doc, name it 'Nemesis2', and start fresh. I'm also going to keep a copy of Nemesis v.1 open for reference and the possible pilfering of lines and/or paragraphs. We shall see. I don't think at this point that the rest of the book will require quite the same wholesale rewriting, but you never know.
I wrote Nemesis over a four month period. I'm hoping to complete the revision in much less time. Expect word counters and updates.
And seriously, I thank that agent so very, very much. That conversation was probably the most invaluable feedback I've ever received. It made me look not just at Nemesis, but at how I structure things as I write in general. I think this will make me a better writer, especially when it comes to novel length fiction.
Now comes another leg on the road to publication: serious revision.
I mean, sure, I've revised before. But this is different. I debated about whether or not to post about this, but I think it's kosher so long as I'm not too specific, and this is just as much a part of the path to publication as struggling to write a good query.
Last night I talked to the agent - I say "the" because so far, she's the only one to read all of Nemesis and come back with comments for me. Because I've certainly never talked to an agent in an actual conversation before about my work, making this as much (more, in fact!) of a milestone as the first request for a partial, or the first request for a full manuscript. Okay, so I have talked to an agent about my work before - in workshop at a writing Con. But looking at a handful of pages is miles from having a professional in the business tell you what works and what doesn't in your book. Not only that, she didn't do it because I showed up to a Con and she was signed up to give a workshop. She did it because she actually read my entire book, and saw something worthwhile in it, enough to take her valuable time to write up some notes for me, and talk to me for an hour and a half and tell me what she sees.
This is a precious, rare thing, and I value it as much as if someone had handed me a rare gemstone. (And since I make jewelry, I know just how much that rare gemstone is worth!)
Let me preface this with a caveat - whenever someone critiques your work, you should take a step back, look at it, and decide what you agree with and what you might not, decide what you're going to incorporate and what you're not. Whether or not they're your best friend, best beta reader/critique partner, or whether they're a pro editor or agent. It's still your work, and you get to decide what's best for it. HOWEVER, if we're honest with ourselves, there are always parts of a book that we aren't 100% happy with. And sometimes it takes someone not as close to it as you are to see what those things are and point them out.
I can't tell you all how pleased I am with the critique I got from the agent. Will it require a lot of serious revision? Yes! Do I think the book will be better for it? Absolutely! Some of the things she said, I found myself thinking "That's such an obvious flaw/fix, why didn't I think of that when I was writing it??"
I am excited to revise, excited to get rid of those flaws and make the book better. I can already see in my head some of what I'll do differently. I look at Nemesis now and think "Wow, this is not the version I would want people buying and reading."
I'm going to be 100% honest and open about this: to start, just to start, I'm cutting the first five chapters and totally rewriting them. More than 17,000 words. Sure, I might be able to salvage a paragraph here or there, but I'm literally going to open a new doc, name it 'Nemesis2', and start fresh. I'm also going to keep a copy of Nemesis v.1 open for reference and the possible pilfering of lines and/or paragraphs. We shall see. I don't think at this point that the rest of the book will require quite the same wholesale rewriting, but you never know.
I wrote Nemesis over a four month period. I'm hoping to complete the revision in much less time. Expect word counters and updates.
And seriously, I thank that agent so very, very much. That conversation was probably the most invaluable feedback I've ever received. It made me look not just at Nemesis, but at how I structure things as I write in general. I think this will make me a better writer, especially when it comes to novel length fiction.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 06:04 pm (UTC)PICK ME! PICK ME!
*ahem*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 07:00 pm (UTC)Well, until you ask to be taken off!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 06:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 07:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 07:22 pm (UTC)Good luck on the revisions!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 07:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 08:23 pm (UTC)-Scott
no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 08:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-23 12:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-23 02:31 am (UTC)Random - did you ever get the dvd's I sent to you? I mailed them on the 26th of December, and since I was broke from Christmas at the time I just sent them surface... I'm not sure how long that should take to get there.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-23 06:28 am (UTC)