Hello to my regulars and to my #AuthorToolbox blog hop friends! Today I’ve decided to share my journey from Book One to my first full manuscript request, which I earned in March or thereabouts. Note: This article has been edited to be more vague than a previous version.
Step One: Get a Stellar Critique Partner
No-brainer, right? Wrong. If your critique partners aren’t making you weep inside, then your CPs aren’t good enough. A good CP will catch things like the following:
- Repetitive Scenes
- Plot Holes
- Unrealistic Dialogue or Character Actions
- Deus Ex Machina
- Confusing/Unclear Settings
- Anything that Takes Buttloads of Time/Re-Plotting to Fix
Basically, a good CP both challenges and hurts you (hopefully with a nice dose of encouragement). There are tons of online articles on finding good CPs, but if you can’t, you can also consider hiring a professional. Finding CPs is often the impasse my own clients face, and so I serve the purpose for them. And yes, I know that a good CP can be truly painful. But you cannot imagine how much better you (and your book) will become with a good critique partner. (I charge $5 per 2000 words if you’re interested.)
FROM MY EXPERIENCE: My first book, The Tower With No Walls, was not at all successful in the query trenches. Turned out it sucked, and I just had to cobble together a few stellar CPs to point out exactly why it sucked, so that I could fix it. As an author, it’s impossible to be objective about your work; so have someone else do it!
Step Two: Set Aside Your First Book
But it’s my baby! you say. And I know it is. But after suffering through the CPs and revisions and general terror of your first book, you have just earned two things:
- A Book One that has suffered so many revisions that it has become a cobbled-together version of your best work.
- The knowledge on how NOT to make about a hundred of those major mistakes next time… if you try again.
I don’t mean to say give up on Book One. I mean set that baby aside (or on relaxed query) and try something new, utilizing your new skills. And if you get an agent in the future with Book Two, they might want to see Book One too!
FROM MY EXPERIENCE: I still haven’t finished revising The Tower With No Walls based on CP comments – because I realized my new book, The Goddess Candidate, had ten times the selling potential. And the only reason it had this is because I learned a metric fudge-ton from the revision process on Tower.
Step Three: Write Within a Structure
(Pantsers, skip a paragraph.) Okay, so you’re ready to write that next book. Hold up a second, and plot that little booger first. Remember all the plot holes, boring parts, character development issues, etc. that your first book had? And all the hours spent correcting those things? Well, if you plan properly, you’ll be able to avoid most of the same issues (at least to the same degree of awfulness). And your first draft of Book Two will be thrice the book the first draft of Book One was. Recommended structure systems:
- The Hero’s Journey/ Monomyth
- The Three Act Structure
- A combination thereof
- (There are more)
If you are a dedicated pantser (as in, you despise outlines), then that’s okay – but be sure you are aware of how these structures work and the expectations behind them. They are proven to create successful books. For example, keep in mind that your inciting incident should happen in the first chapter; that you shouldn’t introduce new characters after the 3/4 mark of the book; that you should have a “shapeshifter” character (not literally); and that your characters should have a clear developmental arc. If all you write is word vomit, your revision is going to take ten times longer. The result will will likely be just another cobbled-up work, like Book One.
FROM MY EXPERIENCE: I set aside Tower, plotted Goddess religiously, and wrote it in one month. Then I revised Goddess once, got a CP, and revised it a second (very light) time somewhere around March. At that point it was Draft 2.5 and had taken me only 3 months to write and revise – and I got agent interest. Now I have it out on submission again with an even better draft, so here’s hoping!
In Conclusion:
Naturally, everyone’s journey is different. But this is what worked for me, and in sharing it, I really do hope to inspire, not brag. Next up on my plate: a final revision on Book One, and a final query run for it. I haven’t given up on my first baby yet!
congrats on the full requests!
Thank you kindly! I’m hoping to get fun results from them! I’m using my list of fantasy agents (http://micascottikole.com/agent-list/) and I’m about halfway down the alphabet and still querying.
Congratulations! That must feel wonderful! 🙂
Thank you, it really is! And you can see by the article the journey it took to get agent attention. It’s been a long ride already. I hope in the end I’m agented 😉
congrats on the requests!
Finding a great CP is the first step to really imporving yoru writing. Thanks for sharing yorut experience.
My pleasure. It’s a very exciting time!
With this advice it’s no wonder you got your requests. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
Haha thank you! It’s just easier to be a writer (or anything!) when you collaborate and share your experiences.
Very good read, I still haven’t given up on my first book. It is crippling, but by book 3 I knew what it would take. That being said, going back to book one, it is still impossible to see the errors I’ve made, that’s why having “you” a good CP is soooooooooooooooo important, because some ppl are just to polite
That’s exactly the truth! And I didn’t give up on my first book either – I don’t believe in giving up on a book! But coming back to it after you’ve learned a lot (and with a good CP) is what makes all the difference.
Great advice. I wrote three novels before I attempted to get an agent. It took me that long to figure out what I was doing.
There you go! I know how hard it can be for some people to let that first book go, but it can be really freeing to just keep moving forward.
Congratulations! Great to see your hard work paying off.
Thank you! It’s really blowing my mind. Of course, being a writer, I don’t think I deserve it!
Congratulations on the full requests and good luck!
Great advice. A good critique partner is critical to helping you see through your blind spots as a writer. Awesome job improving your process too!
Thank you! And yes, I owe at LEAST half my success to my critique partners. The best and most painful lessons were learned from them!
Hey there! This was so much fun to read. So often we hear about all the rejections. It’s nice to read a post about successes. Yes, everyone has a different journey. But, it sounds as though you have figured it all out. Good for you!
I hope you get a great agent.
BTW, can you be a CP for a non fantasy book? I’d love to talk more joan@joancurtis.com
Ciao!
I feel like I’ve figured quite a lot of things out (for my own path anyway), but I’m sure there is tons left to learn! Thank you for the well wishes. I will email you 🙂
First of all, congrats on the full requests. Second, thank you for your blog post, it’s really very motivating and inspiring, I feel like finishing my manuscripts right away 😉
Thank you! People keep thanking me and I’m starting to feel like I tooted my own horn or something! So that makes it really nice to hear that the post inspired you. That’s really what writers should do for each other. Best of luck as you write and revise!
Wow. Our journeys are strikingly similar. I set aside my first book baby last year and plotted the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of a second book baby, and I just signed with an agent this month. Sounds like your agent contract is right around the corner. I’m rooting for you! 🙂
Awesome! Congratulations! Maybe it will be a lucky month for both of us. I feel like I’m living in another universe right now – one where agents WANT to see my stuff!
P.S. I can’t remember if I’ve asked you yet this. Do you have an author Facebook page? If so, can you pretty please email it to me, so I can tag you when I post your blogs? Merci!
Set book one aside?! Oh no! I’m working on revisions now, and I’m hoping to do better with each novel I write. Great advice!
Oh for sure! Revise that baby up. Just be willing to let it take a long break if it isn’t as successful as you’d hoped. It’s definitely going to serve as a learning experience!
That’s amazing! Thanks for sharing your journey. Sometimes it’s just what we need to read to feel inspired again.
I agree, having great CPs are the cornerstone of great writing. Without mine, I don’t think my short story would’ve been as amazing as it is and accepted to be published in an anthology (found out this week!).
Good luck!
Congratulations! It’s so important we all share our successes as well as failures. To know it really is possible!
Congrats on the requests, that’s awesome news 🙂
Thanks for sharing the videos on structure. I’m a pantser, but I’m experimenting with planning for November’s NaNoWriMo. They will be useful when I start to plan!
Everyone has their process! But it’s helpful for anyone to arm themselves with the structures, how they work, their composition and rules – even if it’s just in the back of your mind as you word-vomit 50,000 words 🙂 plus the Hero’s Journey video is so fun!
Interesting article, but this is probably going to turn off any of those agents who requested if they see this–posting publically about requests and rejections is one of the biggest no-nos while querying!!!
I have never heard of that. I know that it’s a no-no to say WHO requested your work, but I wasn’t aware that sharing that you HAVE been requested is any issue. I see people post about their requests all the time. I’ll have to plead ignorance here and look into it a bit more. Thank you for the warning! I’ll alter the article to be less specific.
Yes, talking about requests or rejections is one of the quieter rules, but definitely a firm one! I’ve seen agents talking plenty on Twitter about rejecting MSes after a writer’s vocal about getting them (even without mentioning names). I hate to be the one to break it to you, but I don’t want you to get buried under rejections over this!
Hello, Mica! This is my first time here. I’ll follow your blog and connect with you online.
You’ve got excellent info here for writers. Bravo to you on your manuscript requests. All the luck with your WIP. There are many, many layers to crafting a story. I’m a plotter, too!
http://victoriamarielees.blogspot.com
Thank you! I’m very glad you like the blog. Always good to meet another plotter!
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This is so true. My CP really helped me identify the problem areas in my manuscript. I also found that going through her manuscript also helped me improve my self-editing skills. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
A good CP changes everything! Thanks for reading 🙂