How do I know when my work is ready to submit

Are You Too Close?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , Leave a comment

make-text-largerI think I’m ready to present my book to literary agents again. I’ve made numerous revisions and had it reviewed one last time by a beta reader- to make sure it flows and there are no plot holes. I have to admit I’m a little anxious, but this time around I know I am presenting a well written, publishable piece of work.

After my first round of rejections, I had my  manuscript critiqued by other aspiring authors on Scribophile. I know I’ve already promoted the site, but let me say it one more time. If you have started a novel, or want to start a novel, sign up. It’s free. They do offer extras for a $65 dollar a year fee, but you don’t need to bother with that. You can post work and do critiques without the membership. Your cost is time. You critique other people’s work and they critique yours.

At any rate, I developed a relationship with one of the members who far surpassed my writing skills, I might add, and we critiqued each others work.  I messaged her when I posted a new segment and  apologized in advance.

I was always amazed at the number of errors I missed. I would wonder if I was getting any better. Truthfully yes, but my work still looked like a Christmas tree when she finished marking it up. The bad part is, the mistakes were so obvious when she pointed them out.  I’m a pretty smart lady. Why couldn’t I see them? The only thing I could come up with, is I was too close to the story.

Are you too close to your story? I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having others review your work. I’m not talking about family and friends, I’m talking about people who will be honest and know what they are looking for.

I push scribophile because I’ve used the site and know it works. There are other groups out there that provide the same service. Just sign up with one, or join a group in your community. Get another set of eyes on your work.

-Jan R

Are You Too Close?

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know!

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , 4 Comments

CO2wAusWIAAc7Uc.pngEnough already! At least that’s how I feel sometimes. I’ve been through my book more times than I can count. In my own defense, no one taught me how to write. I had a great story idea and decided to give it a whirl.

I thought it was ready, and then real life happened.  My wonderful work was rejected by the five agents I sent it to. One of the them must of seen something promising, she took it upon herself to provide me feedback about what I was doing wrong (there was a long list), and what I needed to do to improve my work.

I was totally humiliated. Grammatical and Structural errors are kindergarten stuff and completely unacceptable. Even I should have gotten those right. I could understand  my issues with head hopping and on-the-nose-writing. Those terms were totally foreign to me.  I wasn’t a professional novelist. I thought all you had to do was put words on paper and create a wonderful story that everyone wanted to read. How was I to know there were rules?

And what was the deal with dragging dialogue? My people were talking. How was I suppose to know dialogue moved the story forward, or had to have some significance?  I couldn’t believe I sent an agent such inferior work!

When you’re a newby, you don’t know how bad your work is, because you lack the knowledge and skills necessary to produce publishable work. While there may be a few prodigies out there, chances are, you aren’t one of them. Sorry!
Like myself and many others, you’re going to have to pay your dues and learn the craft. Then you will be ready to write that New York Times best seller.

One of my favorite saying is, you don’t know what you don’t know. I’m not sure were I picked that up from, but it’s true. I wasn’t intentionally sending out bad work. I just didn’t know.

-Jan R

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know!