The next book I wrote, AMAZONS, was much better - so
good in fact that when I submitted it to several agents, ten asked me to see a full
manuscript. That is a pretty big
deal. Agents don’t ask to see a full
unless there is something in the writing or in the story that makes them think
it has potential. I was over the moon,
but I didn’t sign with anyone for AMAZONS.
After AMAZONS, I wrote SO PRETTY, and almost
immediately signed with my agent, Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary
Agency. I was sort of relieved at this
point that I hadn’t found an agent with AMAZONS because Marlene was so perfect
for me. I put AMAZONS away, and focused
on other things.
A few months ago, I attended the Pennwriters annual
conference in Pittsburgh, PA. I decided
to submit AMAZONS and another book I had just finished working on, TIGER LILY,
for a Novel Beginnings contest. TIGER
LILY won third place, and AMAZONS actually made it past the first round. I was sort of surprised.
I knew in my heart of hearts that there was
something wrong with AMAZONS. It was
clunky. It didn’t flow. It was so much better than my first book, but
not nearly as good as my fourth. The
good news was I had improved as a writer.
The bad news was I still didn’t know how to fix AMAZONS.
Looking at your book honestly is sort of like
looking at your child honestly. I’ve
never heard anyone say they have a really ugly or stupid baby. As parents, our children are all beautiful
and perfect, but as writers, we sometimes need to realize it when we have given
birth to something bad. We need to face
it and fix it, as much as it hurts to admit it.
AMAZONS wasn’t exactly ugly, but it wasn’t perfect
either. The good news is others were
able to see what I couldn’t. Part of the
contest at Pennwriters is feedback given by the judges. Those judges saw what I, as a proud parent,
could not. They saw the flaws in the
beginning of my book, and they offered suggestions about how to fix them.
I just rewrote AMAZONS. I changed the title to THE AMAZON (huge
difference, I know). I added chapters and
polished up the dialogue. I worked on
the ending, and even added an unexpected plot twist. Time, distance, and experience helped me with
most of it, but the advice of the judges from Pennwriters was invaluable.
My advice to other writers is this – don’t do what I
did. I knew something was wrong, but I
didn’t seek out help. I’ve never been in
a critique group (mostly because my life is a non-stop roller coaster ride of
soccer practices, play dates, and after school activities at the moment), but I
can see the value of joining one.
If you don’t have time, or if you can’t find a group you trust and feel
comfortable working with, seek out a writer friend who would be willing to
help.
Don’t feel embarrassed by your writing failures of
the past; the fact that you can see that your first attempt at a book was awful
means that you have learned something and you are a better writer now. Instead of dwelling on it, find a way to make
it better.
Who knows?
There may even be hope for KALYPSO.