The backstory in brief: queried agents last autumn, most asked for a partial, none asked for a full. Got grant, sent MS to The Literary Consultancy. Their critique arrived this morning. I read it and felt miserable. Then I had to go and do a funeral, which cheered me up, but then I'm funny like that.
I can't quote the critique because TLC hold the copyright, but I can tell you the basics. Essentially, their reader's view is that the premise of my book has commercial potential, and my writing shows promise, but if the book is to be marketable it needs a complete rewrite, with major changes to style, plot, characters, and structure. Also, in the process, I need to pick a genre to work within - or, at the very least, a well-known author to emulate - so I can describe myself as, say, 'a chick lit writer' or 'the new J K Rowling' (yeah, right!). Agents, publishers and booksellers all, apparently, demand this. (I had described it as 'contemporary women's fiction', which sometimes counts as a genre, but evidently not in the view of TLC.) (Also, for any of you considering using TLC, the reader of my novel is not one of the readers listed on their website, which is interesting as they give the impression that the readers make up their 'team'; I can't find anything on their site that says a novel could be read by someone from outside that group.)
Looks like ChrisH's recent experience, about needing to raise the stakes if any of us aspiring novelists are ever going to get published - see post below if you haven't caught up with that - is not an isolated event. TLC's critique offers a lot of helpful, specific, practical advice on how I could approach such a rewrite. But the question it raises is, can I be arsed? Yes, it's enough to make a Zinnia swear!
I've been working on the book in its current version for over three years. None of this has been wasted time; I've learned a huge amount. At this point, I think my choices are:
1. Do the rewrite as suggested by TLC
2. Go back to plan A, which was to write a non-fiction book about doing funerals (except then I might have to leave the Novel Racers...)
3. Start a completely new novel (not that I have any ideas - but I'm sure I could generate some)
4. Work on a different non-fiction idea (er, actually I've already started on this one - well, I needed something to do while I waited to hear from TLC)
5. Two of the above - one fiction, one non-fiction
6. All of the above (oh don't be ridiculous, Zinnia)
7. Something else I haven't thought of yet
I'd be very grateful for any thoughts, suggestions, wisdom, advice you may have. Hugs, chocolate and big glasses of wine would also be welcome. Thank goodness for the Novel Racers!
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Saturday, 19 July 2008
The Bad News Post
Many congratulations to Clare, Caroline and Lucy on their productions, how lovely to hear some good news. My week has not been quite so good...
1. Last Sunday I trashed my laptop when I stupidly downloaded a virus.
2. Last Thursday night I was in a small boat that was foundering off a rocky headland on the Welsh coast. We finally made it into Fishguard harbour with a boat full of water and a failing engine.
3. Yesterday I caught a bus home to have a shower and collect the car so that we could get everything off the boat. I stopped to check my emails and there was a message I'd been waiting for since resubmitting my novel to the agent who had made suggestions for a rewrite. She described my book as 'good' and 'fun' but had ultimately concluded that she didn't think she could find a publisher for it in today's 'very difficult climate'.
Other than having a good whine, I think what I'm trying to say is that I guess you really have to raise the stakes to get published at the moment. I'm going back to the drawing board to think about what to do next and in the meantime would just like to repeat my congratulations to all of you who are getting published. Well done.
1. Last Sunday I trashed my laptop when I stupidly downloaded a virus.
2. Last Thursday night I was in a small boat that was foundering off a rocky headland on the Welsh coast. We finally made it into Fishguard harbour with a boat full of water and a failing engine.
3. Yesterday I caught a bus home to have a shower and collect the car so that we could get everything off the boat. I stopped to check my emails and there was a message I'd been waiting for since resubmitting my novel to the agent who had made suggestions for a rewrite. She described my book as 'good' and 'fun' but had ultimately concluded that she didn't think she could find a publisher for it in today's 'very difficult climate'.
Other than having a good whine, I think what I'm trying to say is that I guess you really have to raise the stakes to get published at the moment. I'm going back to the drawing board to think about what to do next and in the meantime would just like to repeat my congratulations to all of you who are getting published. Well done.
Friday, 18 July 2008
Coffee Morning - Getting Started
You’ve taken the dog to school, put the kids in the garden, loaded the dirty dishes into the microwave, hoovered the lawn, and otherwise cleared the decks. Your favourite beverage is brewing. Chocolate is low-fat granose bars and pieces of fruit are lined up within easy reach. Pencils are sharpened, lucky mascots dusted, kissed and otherwise subjected to whatever rituals you have. Your chair is in just the right position. Your writing day begins.
In front of you is a blank screen/sheet of paper. The keyboard/pencil gleams accusingly from the tenth polishing of the morning. The blank screen/sheet of paper is still there, still just as blank.
At this point, one of two things happens:
1 - You wake in a cold sweat from the nightmare.
2 - You resort to Plan B.
Plan B is the thing that gets you writing, even if it isn’t the project you are meant to be working on. For some it involves dashing off a haiku, for others it is freewriting until your subconscious mind (or, in my case, my unconscious mind) picks up the thread and you find yourself back on track.
My Plan B tends to be one of my other writing projects or the odds and ends of editorial work I have on the go. I often find that if I start sorting one of those and begin to get interested, something wakes up inside my head and lurches about a bit, worrying at me until I find I get back to what I really want to be doing.
What is your Plan B?
In front of you is a blank screen/sheet of paper. The keyboard/pencil gleams accusingly from the tenth polishing of the morning. The blank screen/sheet of paper is still there, still just as blank.
At this point, one of two things happens:
1 - You wake in a cold sweat from the nightmare.
2 - You resort to Plan B.
Plan B is the thing that gets you writing, even if it isn’t the project you are meant to be working on. For some it involves dashing off a haiku, for others it is freewriting until your subconscious mind (or, in my case, my unconscious mind) picks up the thread and you find yourself back on track.
My Plan B tends to be one of my other writing projects or the odds and ends of editorial work I have on the go. I often find that if I start sorting one of those and begin to get interested, something wakes up inside my head and lurches about a bit, worrying at me until I find I get back to what I really want to be doing.
What is your Plan B?
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Whoopee!
Yesssssss! I have just finished my third novel. Oh, it was so fabulous to type those magical words 'THE END'! It comes in at just under 91,000 words which is a bit shorter than the first two, but I am sure to add bits and pieces when I do my first edit in a few weeks.
Oh, I'm so chuffed and excited - will definitely be cracking open the bubbly tonight!
Oh, I'm so chuffed and excited - will definitely be cracking open the bubbly tonight!
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