In My Words: Me and My Revision Letter (Part 2)

When confronted with a revision letter, a writer's first reaction might be "No, thanks." We've given our work-in-progress (WIP) months--sometimes years--of attention. Isn't it good enough?

Well, yes, your story is good enough. Good enough to warrant your agent's or editor's attention. Good enough for them to invest their expertise to help make your story better.

Here are 4 steps to work through your revision letter:

1. Mull over the big picture. As I mentioned in Me and My Revision Letter (Part 1), read through your letter once to get the big picture. And then, let the letter sit for a day or two. Let your agent know you're mulling, not sulking. I sent my agent Rachelle Gardner a "got it and I'm so excited" e-mail after I received my revision letter that got lost in cyberspace. Rachelle sent me a "You okay?" e-mail and I assured her that she didn't need to talk me down off a ledge. I'd taken the letter with me on the regularly scheduled date night with my husband. Yes, he's used to living with a writer.
2. Do one revision at a time. Rachelle advised me to tackle revisions one at a time. I handled the smaller changes first and then dealt with the more challenging rewrites. Rachelle suggested cutting down on the use of nicknames. Using nicknames was fine--but she felt I'd overdone it. Easy fix with Search and Remove. 
3. Pray about the process. I also prayed as I revised. Truth be told, I'd prayed through the whole process of writing Wish You Were Here. Why stop now? I needed to strengthen was the spiritual thread, so I prayed: If Allison and Daniel and Seth were real people, what would God have to say to them? 
4. Be open to major changes. Be willing to do something drastic. By the time revisions were done, a third POV showed up in my book. This character was in the story all along--he just hadn't said much. Adding his POV deepened the story and also heightened the tension. I don't know why I hadn't seen the need for this before--but I'm thankful Rachelle suggested it.

What helped you work through your revision letter? Setting a timer? Eating chocolate? How do you think you'll tackle a revision letter?

photo by fugue/stockxchng.com

In My Words: Me and My Revision Letter (Part 1)

I loved getting a revision letter from my agent, Rachelle Gardner.

Really.

My enthusiasm prompted me to print off all eight pages and dance around my office, singing a silly little "I got my revision letter" song. I'm sorry to say there are no photos or video recordings of this event. Then again, maybe I'm not sorry. Some things are best left to your imagination.

Why would an author dance and sing with eight pages of suggested edits?

I'll give you three reasons:

1. I'd attended a local ACFW workshop where romantic suspense author Colleen Coble advocated embracing revision letters. She acknowledged you might be surprised by suggested changes. That you might disagree with some of the recommendations. But Colleen still called for a "let-me-have-it-I-can-take-it" approach to revision letters. And I decided to approach those eight pages the Colleen Coble way: with a positive attitude.
2. Rachelle told me she had faith in me as a novelist--so much so, she recommended I set aside the nonfiction book we both believed in. Rachelle was on my team, so any suggested changes were for my benefit and the betterment of my novel.
3. The revision letter started off positively. Rachelle began by listing what she loved about Wish You Were Here. And then, rather than saying, "Here's what I don't like," she said, "Here are suggestions for making your book even stronger." How could I not listen to feedback like that?

So, after my little song and dance, and after I read the fun love-this-and-this-and-this section of the letter, it was time to read the rest of the letter.

And I did. Several times.

And then I put my revision letter on my desk and walked away from it.

I wasn't angry or upset. But I wanted to give myself time to mull over Rachelle's suggestions before I started making any changes. And make changes I did.

But that's another blog post.

See you Thursday for the rest of the story.

Until then, anybody else have a revision story to share? Did you love your revision letter? Twirl it around the room a few times? Or was the revision letter one more rough patch along the writing road?

Burnout & Hearing Voices: Why This is a Good Thing

Me and my agent, Rachelle Gardner, savoring the moment.

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road ... unless you fail to make the turn."

~Unknown

Burnout can be a good thing.
Really.
Two days ago I sat with my agent Rachelle Gardner and signed a contract for a two-book deal with Howard Books. And yes, I made sure my husband Rob took pictures to record the moment. My debut novel, a contemporary romance with the working title Wish You Were Here, will be published May 2012.

Yeah, I'm still smiling.
Me--an avowed I'm-not-a-fiction-writer writer--landing a two-book deal?
How did I cross from the black and white world of nonfiction to the "Can you hear the voices?" world of fiction?
Burnout.
Three years ago, I felt as creative as, well, an old, dried up ink pen. I told Rob I would never write another word. Never, ever, ever. He came home several days later and found me typing away.
Rob: "What are you doing?"
Me: "Writing."
Rob: "But you said you were never going to write another word. Never, ever, ever."
Me: "This doesn't count. I'm writing a novel. Just for fun. No one will ever see this."
And for a while, that's all the story was. Fun. No pressure. I ignored all but the most necessary nonfiction deadlines--I do edit a magazine, after all--and created characters. Chose names. Careers. Plotted crises.
One day as I ran errands, my hero and heroine started talking to me at the same time. Instead of driving to the nearest pharmacy and requesting meds, I listened. I also asked Daniel and Allison, my hero and heroine, to take turns talking to me, instead of talking over one another.
You see what happened? I heard Voices. And talked back to them.
Burnout--supposedly a very bad thing--had turned into a bend in the writing road. And around that bend lurked the Dark Side, aka the unexpected opportunity to write fiction.
Over time, my perspective, my passion, my commitment to fiction changed. Other writers helped me get where I was last Saturday--signing on that oh-so-unexpected dotted line. To hear about them, check back Wednesday.
(Ah, a cliffhanger blog post. See, I've learned a few things these past three years!)

Yep, that's me. Signing on the oh-so-unexpected dotted line.