My second novel, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU, is going out to another handful of agents and although I didn't have any takers for beta-reading, I decided to be proactive and read through it one more time before sending my brand spanking new query out into the world.
This is what happened...
I am revising. Again. I realized the entire first chapter was back story. I've saved each segment of that chapter into separate files and will redistribute them throughout the book. They're memories and should be placed accordingly. What was I thinking? Duh! So, as you can see, I'll be busy for the next few weeks. The picture above is just the second page. I'm in for the ride of my life and looking forward to how much better my MS is going to get!
How are your revisions going? Are they simple or a mess like mine?
ugh. Yes, that page is as good as a kick in the gut. I just got out of revision hell and jumped into querying hell. I'm taking a break from writing and revising and am just now catching up on some reading and critiquing.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't have so much on my plate right now, I would beta read for you. Depending on how much time it takes you to revise and for me to get my own revisions under control, I'll beta for you. I'm hoping to be finished with my own edits sometime next week. If that's any good for you.
ReplyDeleteA mess.
ReplyDeleteBut a fun mess for now.
I've decided mine needs some major revisions. Like, I might keep the idea of my first chapter, but the characters my mc interacts with will change. I need more edge in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI have some back story as my introduction. After reading your post I might look into ways to incorporate it elsewhere in the book. So thanks!
Query Girl - Query Hell is so much worse than Revision Hell! I wish you the best of luck :)
ReplyDeleteAnne - You are amazing! I know you're busy, but if you're really willing to beta, I'd love you for life! Just let me know when you're ready. I'm guessing I have a couple more weeks before it'll be ready for you.
Karen - Good luck!
Joy - I'm glad I can help. I'm pretty sure I heard that little piece of advice from my writer's group. Incorporate back story through dialogue. I'm living by that with this revision.
I'm still trying to finish my current WIP, however, I find myself re-reading and editing as I'm going. It's making me take forever. I should just focus on finishing it and then revise the crap out of it!
ReplyDeleteBeta's are so great, if you don't have any let me know. I try to Beta as much as I can because feedback is so important.
Ouch, that looks like it's going to be painful to work through but your MS will be SO much better in the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm still working on the first draft of my novel - hoping to finish it this month with NaNo. But then I'm sure mine will be looking a lot like that and I'll have to slog through the revision process. So far, though, I try NOT to think about it. I mean finishing the book is hard enough and then we have to do so much more work to make it readable and agent-worthy/reader-worthy.
I just found your blog, so I wanted to say nice to meet you and I look forward to hearing more about your journey! Happy Halloween
Hi - First, congrats on finishing 2 manuscripts. That's awesome! Second, it's great to recognize when work needs to be done. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteFound you through Theresa's haunting. Yay. =D
Okay, I actually found you through Melissa, not Theresa. LOL. That's what happens when I bounce through e-mails and not actual blogs. Still, glad to meet you and good luck with your WIP's.
ReplyDeleteYep. I had one I was just about to send out and then asked ONE more person to look through it. It's taking a while but I'm actually having a lot of fun with it!
ReplyDelete