A couple weeks ago, my 5 year old gave herself a new haircut. It was an hour before we were due to attend a dinner party, and forty-eight hours before her first day of kindergarden. Needless to say, I was taken aback. Not because the fine, short bob she'd worn since she was 2 looked like something out of a science fiction flick, but because she'd played with very sharp hair-cutting scissors...near her face! After extracting her promise to never, never touch Mommy's Sharp Scissors again (except to take them away from the baby, if the baby happened to get her hands on them), I considered what to do about the hair.
It all started because she was annoyed with the bangs. So she "revised" them -- cut off a chunk close to the scalp. Part of the bangs hung down to her eyebrows and part...did not. Then she started on the sides, giving herself a lopsided mini-mullet it still pains me to recall. Luckily I caught her before she started on the back. I made an appointment with my hairdresser as soon as possible, wondering what in the world she could do to blend the slices and dices my daughter had begun. Could this haircut be saved, I wondered, or were we going to have to chop it off and start over, a possibility my daughter protested with loud and piercing vigor?
I have a book right now that's received some conflicting revision advice from various people who've seen it. My editor says one thing, my agent another, and previous editors and agents said third, fourth and fifth things. My critique partners (who must be insane) think it's decent as-is. In a lovely bit of publishing evil, no two pieces of advice have been the same. Not one to fear drastic changes of appearance, I have enacted slices and dices on this manuscript in the past, but it doesn't seem to have that certain charm that transforms it from mere hair into a truly stylin' haircut.
As with my kid's stubby bangs and mini-mullet, there seem to be several routes I can take to remedy this. Several things I can try, but none of them certain. I know I need to do something. Unlike hair, books don't "grow out". I'm a beautician of books, but this crazed hack job by a 5 year old is baffling my mad skillz.
What do you do in situations like this? Let's complicate matters -- assume you have limited time for the next couple years, so your efforts toward career sustenance need to be effective, efficient and powerful. Tinkering with possibilities "just to see how it turns out" take up space you could otherwise use to monitor children with scissors. Do you go for the shortest and sassiest possible style (the biggest and most challenging revisions)? Do you choose the easiest route and hope it covers the flaws? Do you put on a hat and direct your energies into a new and possibly better book??
On one hand, my writer's ego protests shelving manuscripts that elicited editorial interest, albeit with caveats, with loud and piercing vigor. (Yes, my daughter takes after me.)
On the other hand -- I like hats.
Jody W.
So many hats, so little time!
http://www.jodywallace.com/ * http://meankittybox.blogspot.com/
It all started because she was annoyed with the bangs. So she "revised" them -- cut off a chunk close to the scalp. Part of the bangs hung down to her eyebrows and part...did not. Then she started on the sides, giving herself a lopsided mini-mullet it still pains me to recall. Luckily I caught her before she started on the back. I made an appointment with my hairdresser as soon as possible, wondering what in the world she could do to blend the slices and dices my daughter had begun. Could this haircut be saved, I wondered, or were we going to have to chop it off and start over, a possibility my daughter protested with loud and piercing vigor?
I have a book right now that's received some conflicting revision advice from various people who've seen it. My editor says one thing, my agent another, and previous editors and agents said third, fourth and fifth things. My critique partners (who must be insane) think it's decent as-is. In a lovely bit of publishing evil, no two pieces of advice have been the same. Not one to fear drastic changes of appearance, I have enacted slices and dices on this manuscript in the past, but it doesn't seem to have that certain charm that transforms it from mere hair into a truly stylin' haircut.
As with my kid's stubby bangs and mini-mullet, there seem to be several routes I can take to remedy this. Several things I can try, but none of them certain. I know I need to do something. Unlike hair, books don't "grow out". I'm a beautician of books, but this crazed hack job by a 5 year old is baffling my mad skillz.
What do you do in situations like this? Let's complicate matters -- assume you have limited time for the next couple years, so your efforts toward career sustenance need to be effective, efficient and powerful. Tinkering with possibilities "just to see how it turns out" take up space you could otherwise use to monitor children with scissors. Do you go for the shortest and sassiest possible style (the biggest and most challenging revisions)? Do you choose the easiest route and hope it covers the flaws? Do you put on a hat and direct your energies into a new and possibly better book??
On one hand, my writer's ego protests shelving manuscripts that elicited editorial interest, albeit with caveats, with loud and piercing vigor. (Yes, my daughter takes after me.)
On the other hand -- I like hats.
Jody W.
So many hats, so little time!
http://www.jodywallace.com/ * http://meankittybox.blogspot.com/
10 comments:
Never take the easy way out. Readers won't thank you for it! (Trust me, I've tried. LOL)
Which person's advice feels right to you? You may have to set the work aside for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. Most of the time the best advice isn't the easiest to implement. :)
Insane crit partners??? Goodness, I'm glad I don't have that problem ; )
Only you can decide what works for the book. Sure, you want the sale, and there's a certain amount/type of changes you should be willing to make to achieve that, but if it kills the story for you, is it worth it? Writing a story you love is hard enough sometimes, trying to rework it into something that doesn't resonate with you would be painful.
I'm not saying ditch the story altogether. Set it aside, like Carolan suggests, and come back to it later. And DON'T obsess over it in the meantime!
I noticed you mentioned your editor said one thing about the changes. That's the advice I'd work with if she/he is the one who bought the book. However, I've been pretty blessed in that most of my editors have said...the changes are only suggestions. But very rarely have I not changed something they suggested. Ultimately, it is your name on the book, though, so you have to be able to be happy and live with whatever you decide.
-Kat
As a reader, I agrre with Carolan. Dont take the easy way out. The readers will know
What a toughie!
Man, isn't this business a lot harder than it was "supposed" to be?
I have to agree with with carolan and cathy, even though you feel like time is a wasting. Every word you write gets you closer to your goal even if that particular word never is published.
Take a deep breath, refocus on a new story for a week or a month - whichever feels right - and then look at the story with fresh eyes. Pick out what YOU want to change and then check with the comments from editors and agents. Choose the one whose vision for the story matches yours the closest and go for it.
Good Luck. I've got two rejected stories like that in my work pile. They are both from this spring, but I'm not ready for them yet :)
~Margo
Jody, my son did the same thing when he was four or five. I have the pictures to prove it. I hope you took lots of pics too. When she's older, you can use them to mock her.
I'm with the others who said to go with the advice that resonated with you. And if you're too close to the story, then taking time off, as suggested, is a good idea.
Would it be terrible of me to admit the advice neither resonated nor failed to resonate? I'm neutral about the whole thing, to be frank. I don't mind experimenting like a mad word scientist. I do mind pouring a lot of effort into an old manuscript when a new manuscript might make me more money :).
Why did you take the direction you did with the book?
Weigh the reasons for your current choice against the advice from your editor and your agent.
Find out if your critique partners think it's good as is for the same reasons or if they list different things.
If your reasons match your critique partners, don't change it.
If your critique partners list different things, decide whether your editor's advice or your agent's advice back up what your critique partners love about the manuscript.
All edits should tighten the story and bring out more in it even when reducing the overall word count. If you can't see where the suggested changes do that, then don't edit for edit's sake.
With so many opinions going on, at least two of them are likely saying the same thing in different ways. If so, that's the valid directon. Find the common thread, or the threads that look similiar enough to be related and take that direction.
If it doesn't work out, set the project aside and let it rest until you have more distance and perspective.
~X
Jody, I took out an old MS just last night. It got some editorial input and I dismissed that out of hand when I got it. Now, however, I'm ready to take that on board, and tweak. But I hear you loud and clear on moving forward versus going back. Even tweaking this ms is going to feel like going back to me, though, so I'm going to do it in my 'spare' time, LOL.
It's so hard to go back and revise older manuscripts, because through the years, your voice as an author has changed, gotten stronger, tighter. Therefore, when you open the manuscript of yesteryear, it can be overwhelming at the work that will go into it.
I had a similar situation myself, however, I opted to do the work for the book to shine because I loved it that much. If it's not a book you can LOVE with your heart and soul, one you won't get sick and tired of, then go for it. Otherwise, you might be spinning your wheels.
An alternative for it would be to offer it on your website as a free read. I've used a few of my shorter stories for promotion this way and it's worked wonders for me. I know the *point* of being an author is to get paid for it (aside from the joy of writing itself), however, Sometimes sacrifices must be made.
Make it a serial on your newsletter. Download one of those free PDF makers and offer it up as a free gift to any and all author days you attend. I've done this as well with my free reads, and I truly believe it helped my books over all, especially because the book that was free was the prequel to my fantasy series. :D So it sucked them in! haha
Something to think about if you're not in it "for the money"... If you want to share the book but don't have the heart for deep edits, use it for promotion.
~~Becka
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