Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Revise & Resubmit


Last week I posted about the sad writerly R. (Rejection L) This post is about the happy one, the Revise & Resubmit Request, known as R&R. J

R&R requests can come from agents, editors, or even critique-partners. For the purpose of this post I will refer to them as Publishing Professionals, or PP for short. Their suggestions can be detailed and clear, (which means specific) or brief and general. They culminate with an invitation to re-submit the revised manuscript.

R&R are happy ‘R’s, because they are another chance to improve. They may turn into a contract, but mostly they are a chance to make the work better, and maybe take a leap in the craft for years to come. A good thing.


I take these seriously, always, no exceptions. I also admit they cause trepidation. Can I manage a revision successfully? Do I understand what the issues are? Is there even a point to try to tackle this thorny thing?
Calm down, now. Take a deeeeep breath. Sleep on it. And then...


...And then I tackle the clearest most manageable suggestions first. I check the issues off as I go, though I will re-examine my checked-off points at the end, again.
One at a time, step by step. The fog clears, and the road is visible.


What if two R&R from two PP come at once, and they are contradictory? I don’t mean somewhat, or generally pointing to different things that need changing. I mean specifically.


Example: PP #1 says the main character’s name is spot-on, and part of why they were immediately drawn to the story and the allusion of the name to a notable cultural phenomenon is brilliant. PP #2 says the main character’s name must be changed, because the allusion to that same specific cultural phenomenon is undesirable.
I give this example, because it has happened to me.


You could choose to make the change and return the manuscript to the one who suggested it. You could choose not to. You could re-submit two different versions to two different PP. You could go and stand on your head for a while until enough blood rushes in and you see more clearly.
My point is these occurrences are reminders that as happy as R&R are, they are not created equally and there is more than one-way to milk a cow.


But please don’t take this as advice about milking, for which I only know one way. For storytelling, there are many ways and then there’s your way. So that’s my final piece of cheese for today: remember the story is yours. Take advice from PP who respect this and treat you as the good writer you are.


12 comments:

  1. Reader is so subjective. Editors will disagree just as much as readers will. It's similar to how an author can intend for a story to have one meaning, while the reader might get something completely different from it.

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    1. So true. Once it leaves your desk, a story is reborn many times.

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  2. You have a good perspective on all this, Mirka. Keep writing. And keep revising when it's the right thing to do.

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    1. Yes, Ma'am. Considering that many of the suggestions have come from a thoughtful reader such as yourself, you bet! I'm so deeply in your debt I doubt I can ever repay it.

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  3. Getting a revise & resubmit request is a big plus for any writer, getting 2 from 2 different publishers says here's a ms that's going to find a home.

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    1. From your typing hands to the powers that be...

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  4. I think you just have to trust your gut instinct about whether a revision will improve a story or make it worse.

    When several people were puzzled by a plot twist that I thought I had foreshadowed adequately, I knew that I had to insert one more foreshadowing scene--without being too obvious and spoiling the surprise.

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    1. These AH-HA moments when you know what to do are the best.

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  5. To make a sale, if I have an R&R, I usually make the change. But I keep all of my versions of the story, so sometimes, my agent can send different versions to different editors if needed. I don't think I've encountered conflicting information yet... Good post, Mirka.

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    1. I have found that when I am uncertain about a revision, I do it anyway and keep the other version(s) as well. The happiest are the suggestions that strike me as so spot-on I never want to go back to an earlier version. Good that you have an agent who is comfortable submitting different versions to different editors.

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  6. I prefer the spot-on suggestions, too. Otherwise it's really just one opinion over another. But, like several of you, I'd probably do it while keeping older versions in mind.

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  7. I've undertaken a few significant rewrites, after two or three readers pointed out the same "flaw." I go with my gut as much as I can.

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