by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth
I’m in the middle of editing one of my novels. And, honestly, I feel totally lost. After I finished the manuscript a few years ago and sent it out to agents with several rejections, I decided to give it another look. I’ve edited it and other books, but this is the first time I’ve returned to a story after a couple of years. To say my memory of it is a little fuzzy is an understatement. I really thought it was ready, but now I can see I have a lot of work ahead of me.
My first step after the last rejection was to send it to a developmental editor. When her comments came back, I realized I had a roaring dumpster fire on my hands. There were entire scenes that had to be tossed and character motivations that needed to be made clearer. How did I send this out with my name on it, thinking it was complete?
Let’s look at some lessons I’m learning about getting your work ready, so you won’t make the same mistakes.
1. Before you send out the baby you’ve worked so hard on, and put so much time into, get another writing professional to look at it. (I was going to say get professional help, but that’s another post.) Critique groups are wonderful, but they can only help you so much. When you’re trying to get published, or self-published, you need to find someone who knows what the finished product should look like in the genre you are writing.
Nonfiction and fiction books have different expectations (not rules) and standards. And readers of fiction are looking for a specific experience according to the genre. You may get away with a 125,000-word fantasy, but not in a cozy mystery or Young Adult. (Unless you’re J. K. Rowling. You’re not. And this is your first book.) Find someone knowledgeable about your readers’ and publishers’ expectations.
I sent my story to a freelance editor/author/teacher I’d met at a mystery writers’ conference. I’d sat in some of her classes and learned who she’d worked with. When I got her edits (after storming out of the house and stomping around the neighborhood), I could look back through them with confidence in knowing that she knew what I needed to do make my story better
2. Whatever you put into your story has to be WRITTEN DOWN onto the page. Just having a picture in your head of the French divan that your main character is lounging upon doesn’t mean that your reader won’t think they are slouching in an armchair unless you write it in explicit detail. The editor kept asking why characters were acting certain ways. She said it seemed like I knew why, but it wasn’t on paper.
That’s a part of your story that is so hard to self-edit. You know that your character is older and doesn’t like to drive at night because it’s hard for her to see. You have the video running in your head. But if you have her refusing to pick up her grandson and you haven’t mentioned her fear, your reader is left asking why your character doesn’t care for her family.
What’s in your head isn’t the story your reader is slogging through, I mean, embracing with joy and has them enthralled. The story they’re experiencing is only what’s on paper. Not in your head. And it’s our job to make these two as close to each other as possible.
3. Fixing the book will not be a quick job. My poor manuscript, which is a wonderful story with terrific characters, I think, is laying in my laptop like a disassembled chevy in the backyard of a car enthusiast. I’m still picking the carcass apart before I’ll tenderly piece it back together, adding additional parts and getting rid of those that no longer work.
Is it worth it? Did I tell you what a wonderful plot it is and what a terrific cast of characters it has? And I know you’ll love the heroine.
4. You may have to cut out some scenes and dialog you think is so witty, but that doesn’t contribute to your story. And it’s this story that is most important. They call it killing your darlings. Some writer-of-old said that when you’re reading along and you find a piece of writing of your own that you really like, you should take it out.
I think that’s harsh. They are my darlings for a reason. I’m hoping my readers will enjoy them as much as I do.
When I do cut a part out of the story that I liked, it’s not so sad. They are still whirling around inside my little brain. And I wonder if, sometime in the future, they might pop up in another story.
You often hear that writing is rewriting. That the first draft gives you the building blocks you will need to build with. It’s in the subsequent drafts that the true story takes shape.
The problem I’m now having is that I don’t know how many additional drafts it’s going to take. I mean, it is my baby, but I feel like it’s getting about time it left the coop. But I know it will take at least one more draft. My story deserves that.
Do you have any editing tips to share with me? I need help to get my masterpiece reassembled and polished.
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