By: Joelle Charbonneau
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again – I love
revising. The process of taking
something and making it better. Writing
the story is enjoyable. Since I don’t
write with an outline, I learn where the story is going along side the
characters. Writing the first draft is
like riding a roller coaster. Sometimes
the story turns out the way I think it’s headed. More often than not it takes a turn for the
unexpected and I am both entertained and panicked as I hope it all makes sense
in the end. There are lots of
loop-da-loops and sharp dives along the way.
Some make me scream with joy others…um…not so much.
But once the book is finished I get to rewrite and tweak and
polish. To me, that is where the real
fun begins. I examine my characters’
story arcs, the plot points and the word choices I’ve made. Then, when I’m done, I say a small prayer
that the book isn’t crap and send it off to my agent. Once the manuscript hits her inbox, I try to
pretend I’m not nervous as I wait to hear her verdict.
Some authors don’t want their agent to weigh in on the
quality of a book that has already sold.
They are more than happy to ship it directly to their editor and wait to
see what the editor thinks. Not me. I want my agent’s feedback. In fact, I can’t imagine doing without
it. Each person that reads the book with
a fresh, knowledgeable eye is instrumental in making the story stronger. And I want to make the story as strong as
possible. Will it be the best book I’ll
ever write? Who knows. But if I really consider each point my early
readers and editors make and look at the story in new ways, I ‘m doing my utmost
to make it the best book that I can write at that moment.
Last week, I received editorial notes from my agent on
Independent Study. My gut instinct is
always to dive right into the comments and begin to make changes. However, I have learned that, for me, it is best to read all the comments in
the manuscript, reread the editorial letter, then let the commentary bop around
in my head for a few days. Giving the
comments time to simmer means giving me a chance to really think about the way
the story pieces need to fit together to strengthen the elements that are
working and eliminate those that are not.
Today, I embark on that process. I always think it will take me a few
days. Sometimes I’m right. Other times it takes far longer. I always have to tell myself that the process
can’t be rushed. I mean, the book took
more than a couple days to write. Cutting
corners now is just silly.
When I’m done layering in more depth and tweaking some
scenes, I’ll reread the whole book then send it off to my fabulous agent again
in the hope I’ve done the right work.
Trust me, she’ll let me know if I went astray. If so, we’ll do another round of revisions
until we agree it is as strong as we can make it. When that moment comes, we’ll ship it off to
my editor who will pick and prod and poke at the story some more all the while
pushing me to make it better.
I can’t wait.
Am I crazy?
Maybe. But I wouldn’t change this
part of the process for anything.
Revisions, here I come!
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