Saturday, April 24, 2010
She Likes It, She Like it, Hey Mikey
Well, Andra, called and said that the marked on manuscript is on the way. She says she likes it and that makes me really happy. The package should arrive on Monday. This book is really happening. I have had such mood swings about this book. Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I don't feel like it's "important" enough because it's not engaging some major issue. Leaving Atlanta had the child murders and The Untelling is a critique of the institution of motherhood. This one is just about the human heart. And it's near to mine. And maybe that is enough.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Just an Update
This is just an update. I turned THE SILVER GIRL into my editor, Andra Miller. She and I went out to lunch for our first face to face meeting. I felt like I was sending my kid off to kindergarten. I hop the other children are nice to her, that she likes her teacher, that she didn't forget her lunchbox... Now I am just waiting to hear what Andra things of my changes. My agent wrote me the kindest note after reading the manuscript:
My little heart just sang. It sang opera! It sang Michael Jackson songs. It sang Simon and Garfunkel. It sang old Motown and danced!
The next step is fighting for a good pub date. I am praying for April 2011. That way, I can have the book with me when I go to my twentieth college reunion. Please, please, please.
Meanwhile, I just finished your revised manuscript last night and I think this story is just beautifully told. The characters are so human – with flaws and insecurities – that it’s easy to relate to every one of them. Your descriptions of Atlanta are incredibly vivid, whether you are writing about the late 1960s or the present day. Your historical references (MLK, Al Green) make the book incredibly realistic and compelling.
I think this is really terrific work and you should be very proud of yourself.
My little heart just sang. It sang opera! It sang Michael Jackson songs. It sang Simon and Garfunkel. It sang old Motown and danced!
The next step is fighting for a good pub date. I am praying for April 2011. That way, I can have the book with me when I go to my twentieth college reunion. Please, please, please.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Learning How To Read An Editorial Letter
So, I am working very hard to revise the novel using the guidance of my "editorial letter" which was submitted to me by my editor. The editorial letter is a long documents-- about five pages, single spaced, telling the writer what to do to make the book stronger. Some of it is praise, but most of it is criticism. No matter how much you know that it's necessary to receive criticism, it's never exactly fun. (Girly metaphor: It's like getting your eyebrows waxed. You want it, but it's gonna hurt.)
When I got the letter, I scanned it. I didn't have the nerves to read it closely yet. I just read it really quickly to see what jumped out at me. I saw mostly plot type issues. Then, I put the letter away and started going through the manuscript with my green pen. I made a lot of changes, listening to my own impulses, rather than being guided by the editorial letter's specific concerns.
The next step was finally reading the letter closely. I used my pink pen to write my comments and questions on the letter itself. I really analysed and digested it. Some of the issues I had resolved already, which made me feel sort of happy. Others still needed tending to.
For the last month or so, I have been going through the manuscript AGAIN, chapter by chapter, consulting the letter as I went along. This is MUCH harder.
The biggest challenge is learning to read the letter. Editors are not writers and they don't exactly know how we do what we do. Because of this, it's hard for them to give instruction. It sort of reminds me of when I go visit my dressmaker. Sometimes, the dress hangs funny or is too tight, or gaps somewhere. I will say "The sleeve is too small!" And she will then fix it by doing something with the dart at the bust. Because I don't sew, I can't quite tell her what needs fixing, but I know something's off. Or it's sort of like going to the dentist. Sometimes I am sure that I am having pain in one particular tooth and my doctor eases the pain by treating a whole 'nother tooth. Editors are good and knowing when something is off, but they can't always tell you how to fix it.
It gets tricky because unlike dentists, writers can get prickly when someone tells you what's wrong. Even professionals have feelings. And editors don't mean any harm, they really want you to write a better book. But they can still hurt your little feelings.
My pet hang up is the phrase, "I'm not buying" this or that thing. I always want to snap back, "It's not for sale! You don't have to buy it." Still, I have learned that "I don't buy the mother as a thief," really means, "Can you provide clearer motivation for the mother's stealing." The first sentence gets my ego all riled up and the second makes me want to work.
But here's the thing. A professional writer doesn't have time to be all sensitive like that. You have to do the translation and go forth to improve the book.
Of course, there are going to be some things that you just won't change. (For me, it's the Al Green chapter. I need it.) But I am going to try and make the connection more relevant. But that chapter stays.
My editor doesn't like a technique I applied at the end. I dug it bu I can see how it might now be working. I am going to try to apply her suggestion because nothing is lost by trying. I think that's the thing to remember. You don't lose a thing by taking advice. Remember, you always have your original.
When I got the letter, I scanned it. I didn't have the nerves to read it closely yet. I just read it really quickly to see what jumped out at me. I saw mostly plot type issues. Then, I put the letter away and started going through the manuscript with my green pen. I made a lot of changes, listening to my own impulses, rather than being guided by the editorial letter's specific concerns.
The next step was finally reading the letter closely. I used my pink pen to write my comments and questions on the letter itself. I really analysed and digested it. Some of the issues I had resolved already, which made me feel sort of happy. Others still needed tending to.
For the last month or so, I have been going through the manuscript AGAIN, chapter by chapter, consulting the letter as I went along. This is MUCH harder.
The biggest challenge is learning to read the letter. Editors are not writers and they don't exactly know how we do what we do. Because of this, it's hard for them to give instruction. It sort of reminds me of when I go visit my dressmaker. Sometimes, the dress hangs funny or is too tight, or gaps somewhere. I will say "The sleeve is too small!" And she will then fix it by doing something with the dart at the bust. Because I don't sew, I can't quite tell her what needs fixing, but I know something's off. Or it's sort of like going to the dentist. Sometimes I am sure that I am having pain in one particular tooth and my doctor eases the pain by treating a whole 'nother tooth. Editors are good and knowing when something is off, but they can't always tell you how to fix it.
It gets tricky because unlike dentists, writers can get prickly when someone tells you what's wrong. Even professionals have feelings. And editors don't mean any harm, they really want you to write a better book. But they can still hurt your little feelings.
My pet hang up is the phrase, "I'm not buying" this or that thing. I always want to snap back, "It's not for sale! You don't have to buy it." Still, I have learned that "I don't buy the mother as a thief," really means, "Can you provide clearer motivation for the mother's stealing." The first sentence gets my ego all riled up and the second makes me want to work.
But here's the thing. A professional writer doesn't have time to be all sensitive like that. You have to do the translation and go forth to improve the book.
Of course, there are going to be some things that you just won't change. (For me, it's the Al Green chapter. I need it.) But I am going to try and make the connection more relevant. But that chapter stays.
My editor doesn't like a technique I applied at the end. I dug it bu I can see how it might now be working. I am going to try to apply her suggestion because nothing is lost by trying. I think that's the thing to remember. You don't lose a thing by taking advice. Remember, you always have your original.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Revision, Revision, Revision
It's been a long time since I have posted here, because it has been a long time since I have worked on The Silver Girl. I have a new book percolating in my mind and it has sort of stolen the energy that I usually dedicated to Dana, Chaurisse, and the rest of the folks involved in TSG. I have one month to get a sort of spiffied up version in to my editor, so the deadline is getting me back in the swing of things.
Most of the revisions that have to be made are on the end. I agree that it's not all that satisfying, so I am trying to work on pacing and just trying to figure out what the heck really happens. I think my initial idea of status quo plus salt and pepper isn't going to cut it.
I also have the issue that I draw out the climax into three chapters. My editor wants it into one chapter, but I really can't see how I could acheive that. To compromise, I have mercilessly cut the chapters down, so now it's three short chapters. I hope that will fix the pacing problem.
I cut about 1600 words-- ten pages-- out of a section that was only 37 pages to start with. I really think it makes things go faster. Of course, I lost one of my favorite lines in the whole book, but maybe I will find a place to put it organically later.
Most of the revisions that have to be made are on the end. I agree that it's not all that satisfying, so I am trying to work on pacing and just trying to figure out what the heck really happens. I think my initial idea of status quo plus salt and pepper isn't going to cut it.
I also have the issue that I draw out the climax into three chapters. My editor wants it into one chapter, but I really can't see how I could acheive that. To compromise, I have mercilessly cut the chapters down, so now it's three short chapters. I hope that will fix the pacing problem.
I cut about 1600 words-- ten pages-- out of a section that was only 37 pages to start with. I really think it makes things go faster. Of course, I lost one of my favorite lines in the whole book, but maybe I will find a place to put it organically later.
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