Revising After Querying

I'm in the middle of a set of revisions after querying. This happens.
Something isn't right.

Either the query letter isn't hooking the readers of the slush pile, or the first pages don't hold up. Something is off.

You can usually tell, if after the first ten to fifteen queries, you only receive form rejections. This isn't a hard and fast rule--it always depends on which agents you query. It might be a fluke that none of them are interested in the exact story you have pitched, but that another agent will be. Nonetheless, if you query ten to fifteen, and are receiving only form rejections or complete radio silence, it may be time to revisit the query, the first page, and the first chapter.

Sometimes, though, you will get requests, but they also result in rejections. Maybe the query is okay, perhaps the first page and first chapter are great, but it falls apart after that. One hint is if you receive a lot of partial requests that result in rejections. Occasionally, if you queried an agent who was hooked by the query but found the subsequent pages lacking and they have the time, they will send you a personalized rejection letter. You should never expect it, but it does happen once in a while.

I'm in the middle of a revision on a manuscript, in which I have known something was off for a while. I knew it slowed down after the first chapter, but didn't quite see how to fix it. Even with some personalized rejections, I wasn't getting much feedback on how to correct this. Then I received one of those coveted detailed letters. I poured over it. I let it sit for a week and reread the letter. Then another week and reread it again.

Then I picked up the manuscript to read it--and was able to see the plot issue and how to fix it. Notice that I didn't go back to the manuscript right away. When I did, I printed the manuscript in its entirety, and did a lot of red pen work:

My number one mistake that I have made with my manuscripts is pushing the "send" button on the query letter too soon. It's not that I don't read and reread my manuscript multiple times, make changes suggested by critique partners and notes from beta readers. It's that I don't let it simmer for a while.

It was a good five months between the last time I read the full manuscript (while I was querying) and when I picked it up again to revise, and time and distance were major factors in being able to see what needed to change. It also helped for a lot of minor issues that I simply never noticed but were there (my major typographical errors are missing words or wrong verb form, which happens when you revise a sentence or a scene but don't carefully reread what you've revised. These are likely to be missed by a Word grammar/spelling check).

Another personal issue in my writing is that I have written nonfiction for so long, I am used to circling back to the original point, which in fiction means I'm saying the same thing again.

Sometimes, when the querying isn't going well, take a break. Work on something else. Write something else. Then, after a few months, come back and reread. Make revision notes and revise again.

Also important: find new readers. Sometimes our great critique partners and beta readers simply miss something that another reader will not. And sometimes our friends are just too nice.

A final word: There's no need to be "brutally" honest. But honesty helps. Leave out the brutality. Keep this advice when you're asked to read. Be constructive, consistent, and make comments that are helpful rather than harmful. Because no one wants to hear, "I stopped reading on page two and I would never buy this book in a million years" (exact words on a previous manuscript from a reader). What did I take from that comment? I reread and rewrote those first pages, but I never asked her to read again.

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Revising

I used to hate revising. Hate. It.

I love writing. For me, it's usually a character that pops into my mind, then a setting, and the plot comes together. Or, like my latest young adult space opera, it all comes to me in a dream (this is the second time that has happened!) I write. I "plants" (see my last post on plantsing) and create my outline, and I write. I write myself into corners. I get frustrated with chapters, and sometimes I will stop and rewrite that chapter. However, most of the time I keep going. If I stop to revise along the way, I will never ever finish a draft (or, like TAIGAN, it will just take me over twenty years!) I will simply make notes as I go, of places I know I need to expand or flesh out, or where I need to make changes.

But once I'm done with the draft, then what?

First, I celebrate. I finished a manuscript! I finished writing a story! If you have done this, CELEBRATE! This is a huge accomplishment!

Secondly, I hand chapters over to my critique partners. I currently have two. They read chapter by chapter and give me feedback about what works, what doesn't, what's confusing, and any typos/grammatical errors I missed. Also, if they see any plot holes or potential issues, they make a note. I like to use Word and Track Changes, and have them send it back to me. I save all of their comments along with that draft in a folder.

After they have finished with their critiques, I look over each chapter and incorporate their suggestions (unless I have a very strong feeling about my original, but 99% of the time they caught something I didn't).

And then... I begin my revision process.

• I reread the whole draft once and make notes in my outline about character arcs, plots, and themes.
• I print the draft in 9 or 10 point font and two columns. Yes, you heard me right. This won't work for everyone, but it works for me. Saves paper, and it also helps me to see blocks of exposition and dialogue. I put them in a three-ring binder.
• I highlight the subplots with different colors, so everything involving subplot A is in one color, subplot B in another, etc. If a subplot is gone for several chapters in a row, I make a note that it needs to come back in, or if it should be deleted.
• I make a note if there is too much exposition and not enough dialogue.

I then rename the file from TITLE__DRAFT to TITLE__MANUSCRIPT, or something like that (I'm not always consistent on how I title my drafts, but I save it as a new file).

I incorporate any changes and read out loud as I go along. Reading out loud is very important. You get the feel for any awkward sentences or dialogue. I also look for any line edits that need to be made.

Once this is finished (and sometimes I will reread more than once!) I will use the Find function on Word to look for my overused words. I will also look up was, have, has, etc. for any passive verbs. Sometimes passive voice is necessary, but often it can be overused.

Note: I do not use Replace for this. I use the Find function so I can look at each one individually. For instance, in my adult space opera NEXT OF KIN, in an original draft I used the word bunk to refer to the beds on the ship. Later, I changed it to rack, which is a term more often used on commercial ships and military ships. But I used Replace for this, and forgot about the fact that in the first chapter the characters end up in a bunker, which ended up being called a racker and my critique partner asked, "What's a racker?" OOPS. Be very, very careful of using Replace All.

Once this is done, I will usually reread one more time, and then the draft goes to beta readers. These readers read the whole thing through and give me feedback on anything that was missed in earlier drafts, what works, what doesn't, etc. With NEXT OF KIN, I had several beta readers. Most of them gave me consistent feedback on plot, grammar, etc. One gave me very different feedback (and also seemed to miss some plot points, as they had a lot of questions that were answered in the manuscript) and I ended up discounting most of their advice. This happens. You learn from it, and learn who to ask next time.

Once that is all done, I consider myself ready for querying. However, in my limited experience, I find that at times I still need to revise after querying. When there are no requests, or an agent gives feedback on what didn't work, I revise the draft. After twenty or so rejections, I take it out and re-read. Sometimes time away from the manuscript also helps me to see things I may have missed before.

I used to hate revisions, because I just wanted to be done. I didn't want to do the hard work. Now I know that's where the manuscript begins to shine. That's where crafting the description, the dialogue, choosing the perfect word comes into play. Sure, I do some of that writing the first draft, but often I get caught up in the plot and want to write the next scene, and the next, and the next after that. And I end up repeating a word through a sentence or a paragraph, or missing details, like someone was sitting inside in one scene, and now suddenly is standing outside.

Revision helps me to flesh out the scene, to ground it in the senses, to make the scene come to life in your head as it resides in mine.

Plotting, Pantsing, or Plantsing

When you're a writer among other writers, you'll get asked this question: "Are you a plotter or a pantser?"

The term "plantser" is used as a hybrid of plotter and pantser (described as such here). This is me to a T.

My writing style for three of my four manuscripts (the exception being the one that was a retelling) is this: I start writing. I get in a page or two or ten--maybe a first chapter. In that time, I've introduced my main character, the situation, the genre, and hinted at the major plot with the inciting incident.

Then I stop, and write a rough outline. Because I need some sort of guide to keep me on track. If I don't, what ends up happening is fourteen or fifteen versions of the story going in various directions. That was the story of my second complete manuscript, which was actually the first manuscript I ever started--in high school--and continued through college and have worked on for twenty years. I never outlined. I kept restarting and going a different direction, taking bits from previous manuscripts. I finally finished a complete draft once I wrote a detailed outline for all three books for that series.

So I write a few pages, then write a rough outline. A rough outline for me can be one word or one sentence of what will happen in that chapter. It's a guide, and just like my story, can be revised on the way. I'm about 2/3 of the way through my current manuscript and have recognized that a character arc is going a different direction, so I need to change what happens in the next few chapters. Also, things have happened that cause me to add to it. Since it is YA, I tend to write shorter chapters than in my adult manuscripts, so my original outline had twelve chapters, and now I'm up to twenty-three. I'll probably make it twenty-four for a nice even number.

I'll also use the outline to make notes as I go, especially if I introduce a character or plot point that needs some foreshadowing, I'll go back to an earlier chapter in the outline and make myself a note to mention it there. My problem in that second manuscript is I would go back and revise at that point, and it took forever to complete a draft. I did the same in my first manuscript. Now, I make notes but keep writing where I am at so as not to lose momentum. I complete first drafts much faster now, and then take more time revising based on notes.

This is what plantsing looks like for me--a rough guide of where I am heading, but plenty of creative wiggle room to let the muse take over.

Critique Partners

What is a critique partner?

A CP reads your manuscript and critiques, offering feedback on what works and what doesn't, some suggestions for changes, or places to expand, and may ask questions to help clarify what you are trying to write. As someone who worldbuilds in her head (and has since an early age when I had four imaginary friends in kindergarten) it's easy to think that the reader sees what I'm seeing, when I may not have conveyed that as clearly. A CP can also do line edits (correcting grammar/punctuation).

The way my CP and I work is that we often trade off a chapter or two. I read and critique hers, she reads and critiques mine. We use Microsoft Word and track changes.

I did not have a CP for my first manuscript, but I did hire an editor. The editor helped me to see my common grammatical errors and overused metaphors, along with tightening my sentence structure and working on passive voice. Nonetheless, that manuscript is on a shelf right now, but it was a good learning experience.

Currently, I have three CP's reading through my latest manuscript, but I entered the first chapter into the critique portion of Cascade Writers, where I had six others looking at my manuscript. It was incredibly helpful to have that may eyes on my first pages, to make sure I was starting in the right place, and using the right voice for that age group and genre. The problem with my first manuscript (among many, but this was the chief one) is that I didn't start in the right place, and I didn't have a critique partner helping me to understand that.

So if you don't have a critique partner, find one! The Twitter community #ontheporch is a great place to find other readers and critique partners for your age group and genre. It is also a supportive community who offer tips and encouragement, and sometimes have had agents or authors host tweetchats for you to ask your questions and seek advice.

Cascade Writers

Last weekend, I attended the Cascade Writers Conference in Tacoma. I went to the conference last year and attended two of their day-long workshops.

I love this conference because they are small, and they make an effort for us to get to know each other. We often try to have meals together, not just as writers, but with agents and editors. At larger conferences, agents and editors are often separated out, available only for pitch sessions and panels. At Cascade Writers, they hang out with us during meals and at the bar.

I met both of my current critique partners through Cascade Writers, and found a great new group of beta readers in this year's critique session. Some of our class teachers are new authors themselves who were once like us a few years ago as attendees. There is a lot of encouragement and support, and recognition that we are all human beings who love writing and books.

I enjoyed my time at Cascade Writers very much and have made new friendships through them. I encourage other writers to attend writing conferences, but be on the lookout for smaller conferences, where you might have the opportunity to find critique partners and beta readers, and have smaller sessions with authors and agents and editors. For me, Cascade Writers has provided the support, encouragement, and critical feedback that I have needed as an author.  Visit www.cascadewriters.com for more information.