Synopsis done. Two revisions by self, and two after
Beta readers had a go at it. I should be getting into submission mode.
But I’m not submitting, or submitting to the next phase, quite yet.
But I’m not submitting, or submitting to the next phase, quite yet.
No, I don’t have the jitters. Well, maybe I do, but they
mix with excitement of sending my new baby out into the world. I've submitted
plenty before, and it was a good feeling. It freed me to work on something new.
Rather, it’s something else. I reflect on the feedback
I got to my published MG, The Voice of
Thunder, and realize that what readers noted they liked most were sections
added in later revisions, both before and after acquisition.
A bit of distance is golden.
It’s going to sit in a virtual drawer for a bit. Then
I’ll read my WIP as a reader. Experience tells me I will make changes, and they
will be good ones. No matter how twitchy my fingers are to click the key over Send,
(in the old days , only a few months ago, it was the tongue licking the envelope
and the sound of that envelope sliding through the mailbox slot) regardless of
how good it would feel to get it out already, this baby deserves another waltz
with me.
18 comments:
Sounds like the wisdom of experience:) Good luck with your revision!
It's so tempting to get a new work out there, but you've got the right idea about holding onto it a bit longer. Good luck with revisions!
The wisdom of experience. Good for you, Mirka. It's not easy to be patient, even when we know it's for our own (or or manuscript's) good. I've been twitchy over my ms for months now. I'm absolutely dying to send it out, but I'm waiting on one trusted beta reader and I'm sure the wait will be worth it.
The wait factor is very important in my writing, too. Have fun reading as a "reader" and then taking it to the next level.
I am so impressed with your patience! It definitely sounds like you are on the right track! Good luck with your revision!
O yes O yes. You'll know when it's ready to go out. And the way you phrase it -- another waltz -- sounds just perfect. Enjoy the drawer-time.
Good plan. Distance does allow you to read as a reader and not as a writer, and that's important.
It was good for me to read this, b/c I have the fear that I'm going to just get so tired of revising that I'll quit before it's really done. Patience is a virtue!
Good for you. Your book deserves the gift of time and patience so it can be at its best when you submit it.
Drawer time. Waiting. Distance. I know, I know, they're all useful and good, but I just never know how much or how long. That's always the tough part. I wish mss had those pop-up timers like they have on turkeys so you know when they're done cooking!
Let it sit for 6 weeks? Do you think that's a good start? IDK.
It's a bit slippery if you give a number of days/weeks/months, (or, gulp, hours) because this IS art, not science. I know the moment; when I read as a reader, surprised and delighted by the words, interested in what's next, (even though I'm not demented enough to have forgotten the plot)and CAN'T SEE WHAT ELSE NEEDS DOING. That's release time.
It can be a short as a couple of weeks, or as long as many months.
Mirka, I think you're wise in pausing.
Think apple pie just out of the oven. Too hot to eat. In olden times the kitchen window would go up and the pie would cool on the sill.
When I type the last word of the last sentence I get this wonderful feeling of completion, and yet I know, the best part still remains. To wake up in the morning days later with a fresh thought and rush back to it and discover warts and bruises to eliminate. A better word here. Twenty sentences chopped there. So much adventure.
Serve the pie cold. The company will thank you. John
After your comments to a previous post, all about the nuances of coffee, and now this with the aromatic apple pie, I'm wondering if you are writing a cook book, John.
Thank you for the tasty input and hand-holding. Appreciated.
wow! You are on a roll! I just finished another round of revisions and sent the manuscript to one of my crit buddies. And now this weekend it's copyedits. Good luck on the submission!
My wife only allows me in the kitchen to tend to small fires. No cookbooks for me, but WiDo has taken me on for my debut novel about an unusual friendship between a young girl and a hawk. I enjoy reading your thoughts on writing and your followers' comments as well. Have a wonderful day of writing.
Patience, Grasshopper! Great advice!
Good luck with your revision, Mirka! Definitely a good idea to wait awhile before sending it out--I cringe when I think about the early mss I sent out without that "percolating time" when I first started writing...
Mirka, I definitely understand your jitters. I'm having doubts of my own ms even though my critique partner is still reading through it and hasn't sent any feedback yet. I know I need more eyes for critique. As for leaving our manuscripts in the drawer for the moment, it might not be a bad idea. Read with fresh eyes. Never know what might spark, huh? Best of luck with your stories! As you mentioned on my blog, we might be twins in this. :)
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