Skip to main content

Exactly what I needed to hear.

The last year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, triumph and self-doubt.  I have screamed and cried and actually vomited from the overwhelming emotions that have come from this journey to publication. Today brought more tears, but this time a whole different kind.

After participating in #PitchSlam and not making it to the agent round, I decided to get together my submission package and query agents directly.  So I started looking for editors to help me polish up my query and first 10 pages. With my past experience with freelance editing, I was weary about paying someone to look at my stuff.  Luckily, nearly every editor I found this time offered free sample editing.  After trying out a few, I settled on one that fit my style and needs.

For a VERY reasonable fee, she looked over my stuff and VERY quickly sent me back so of the most helpful feedback I've ever received. I have to admit, I was frightened by the amount of notes she had after I'd already been through three full edits. My fear was that since so much had been missed in the first 10 pages, that a LOT more had been missed in the rest of the manuscript.

So I asked Kimberly (that is the new editor I used) if she thought I needed a full critique. Understand, if she says I need one that means a payday for her. Other editors (less scrupulous editors) would have said yes just for the money. But not Kimberly.  Kimberly told me that she could not in good conscience charge me for something she knew I had the skill and drive to do myself. She gave me some amazing notes and suggestions.  She said that she believed I was almost there. 3/4 of the way to the agent stage. She said that after a couple of months of intense revisions she really thought I could get there.  And she offered to take a look at my first 10 pages again once I've finished my revisions.

So I won't be querying this year, but that is not at all a bad thing.  I will be using the tools and suggestions I have now to make this book the absolute best it can be and THEN I will query.

I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have a complete stranger be so supportive. Kimberly didn't have to do that. She could have just given me straightforward notes, with no encouragement at all. She could have let me hire her, taken my money, and lead me to stuff I could have found on my own. But she didn't. She took the time to let me know that I could do this and show me how.  Her exact words to me were "Whatever you choose to do, know I'll be cheering you on!"

Wow! Just Wow!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Kimberly VanderhorstNovember 14, 2015 at 11:51 AM

    I just realized I forgot to comment on this and I feel like a complete dork. Thank you so, so much! It's always such a relief when someone takes my feedback exactly how I hope they will. This blog post is a gift to me and I'm so grateful. <3

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Ab ovo" versus "In medias res"

"From the beginning" versus "In the midst of things" I have heard two very different schools of thought on where to start a story.  It is such a contested subject that there are words for both methods. Ab ovo: From the beginning.  Followers of this method argue that a reader cannot car about a story if they do not first care about the character.  In this method the story starts with the main characters day to day life and gives you an opportunity to get to know them and care about them.  This does not necessarily mean you see the them from birth, you just see their normal life before the inciting incident (the event that happens to the protagonist to change their life from the norm and sparks the action of the story). For example: We see Dorothy in Kansas before she goes to OZ.  We see Katniss in District 12 before the reaping.  We see Harry with the Dursleys before the owls start to show up.  There are many who start their stories in the most lo...
2 comments
Read more

Emails, and freak outs, and swords! Oh my!

So I was supposed to send my manuscript to the editor April 11th.  Today I received a surprise email, she had finished a project and could take my MS early. Yep, I totally freaked out.  You can ask my co-workers.  "Is my face red?  I feel like my face is red.  Oh god, I'm not supposed to be this scared am I?  That can't be normal.  Oh god." I was so excited, so scared, so nervous, all at once.  It is amazing that one person can feel some many emotions together.  I don't know anything to compare it to. So, I came home, gave it a once over, made sure the format was correct to Taryn's specifications, and then I did the scariest thing I've done in my writing career.  I sent my MS, my 10 year journey, my 4 month old baby, to an almost complete stranger. Taryn said she should be done by this weekend, but life happens so it may be longer.  Until then I am supposed to stay occupied.  Shouldn't be hard as I have a stac...
1 comment
Read more

Rejection

Rejection is part of the creative process, any author/artist/creator will tell you that. Does its commonality make it easier? No. Many great people faced rejection before success. 12 publishers rejected JK Rowling. Stephen King's Carrie was rejected 30 times. Beatrix Potter had to self publish. Do these facts make rejection easier? Nope. Today I officially received my first rejection. I will admit, I cried and was sick. Its hard to hear that someone isn't interested in your work. Its not just something you whipped together in a matter of hours and plopped down for the world to see. Its years of hard work, scarified free time and social life, and deep soul searching. Its not an easy to thing to let someone see it. Its the most vulnerable I've ever been in my life. All that being said, I have to say that my first rejection was probably one of the most kind rejections anyone has ever received.  The agent didn't say it wasn't good, or even that it was flawed. She si...
Post a Comment
Read more