Revising for an Editor or Agent: Part 2

Revising your story for an agent or editor can be a little different than revising for yourself. Today, writer and editor Kate Fall and YA author Christina Farley talk about the revision process and how they handle editorial suggestions. [For perspectives from other MiG writers, see Revising for an Agent or Editor Part 1].

 

Kate says:

When I'm revising for myself, I usually have a mental list of "things that bug me about my manuscript." They may be things that nobody has mentioned. They may be things a critique partner told me that resonated. But I am out for me. These are things that bother me, my pet peeves. For example, I don't like disappearing objects. In one manuscript, my main character has a bracelet her boyfriend gave her, and it's stolen by someone she knows. And for my beta readers, that was enough. That made sense. But I would wake up in the middle of the night wondering where that bracelet was, and eventually I changed the ending so that my main character gets her bracelet back.

When I'm revising for an agent request for revisions, I'm listening to their input. Agents often have input like, "I see this a lot. Is it important?" And you know, maybe it's not. The classic example is the first day of school beginning to a novel. It makes sense from a narrative standpoint. But agents see it so often, they know it's overused. It's not necessarily bad, it's just done to death. And that's the input I like from agents and editors. My critique partners can help me build a story, but industry professionals can tell me what parts of the story are too similar to the competition. And that can force me to think deeper, and get beyond my first ideas.

Kate Fall writes middle grade and young adult fiction and is an editor with Entangled Publishing.

Christina says:

My agent’s suggestions are always interesting because he sees my book as something to SELL rather than merely just a story. And this perspective is very important! My little story is getting ready to go out into the world. It has to be unique, perfect and enticing for an editor to want to buy it.

When I'm revising for my editor, I start seeing my book not just being MY book, but my READER’S book. There are moments I have to let go of a favorite line or favorite word because it just doesn’t make sense to the READERS, even if it makes sense to me.

Christina Farley is the author of the YA novel, GILDED, which will be published by Skyscape in Spring 2014.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on how revising for an agent or editor is different than revising for yourself! You can read what MiG Writers Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Andrea Mack and Carmella Van Vleet think about this in Revising for an Editor or Agent: Part 1.

Revising For an Editor or Agent: Part I

Revising your story for an agent or editor can be a little different than revising for yourself. Between the six of us MiG writers, we've had lots of experience with making big and small changes to strengthen our work and make it more saleable. Today's thoughts are from writer/illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi, MG author Carmella Van Vleet and children's writer Andrea Mack. And stay tuned for what editor Kate Fall and YA author Christina Farley have to say tomorrow [Revising for an Agent or Editor Part 2].

Debbie says:

When I'm revising for an editor (rather than for myself), I have a better overall picture of what needs to be changed. I'm also more confident that the changes are needed. My editor at Simon & Schuster BFYR always emphasizes that his suggestions for changes are always just that...suggestions. I believe there's a lot of trust in a good author-editor relationship.

I think I have a tendency to over-revise when revising for myself, plus I'm too close to the work to get an objective sense of the bigger picture. This is when having trusted writers critique my mss is so valuable…like the MiG Writers! :-) 

Debbie Ridpath Ohi illustrated I'M BORED, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black (Simon & Schuster BFYR). Her illustrations next appear in NAKED! by the same author, coming out from Simon & Schuster next May.

Andrea says:

Having an agent or editor's suggestions to think about while I'm revising gives me a whole different perspective on my writing. I love seeing the "big picture" view that someone else has on my story, especially when they get the essence of what I'm trying to say (even if I don't have the words to express it myself).

Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my desk spending hours revising, I can get lost in the small details. Re-reading an editorial letter reminds me to take a step or two back and look at the overall goals for my characters.

Andrea Mack writes middle grade fiction, picture books and beginning readers.

Carmella says:

Whether I’m revising for my own satisfaction or for an editor, my revision process is typically the same. That’s because the goal is always the same - to tell the best story possible. 

First, I typically read through something looking for “big picture” things that need addressing. For instance, are the characters engaging? Are they goals clear and relatable? Is the plot moving at a decent pace? Is it believable? Am I achieving the emotional tone I want? I’ll take notes and then make a list. Sometimes I’ll address these things one at a time but since I tend to be linear writer, I usually address them as they come up and I move through the manuscript. 

Next, I work on finer details. Things like chapter length or dialogue. I look for places where I can combine chapters or scenes to tighten the pace. Or places to cut dialogue or description that’s not progressing the story. 
Finally, I work on those line edits - overused words, wrong words, confusing or awkward phrasing, spelling errors. 

The only difference in my approach for an editor is that I’m considering someone else’s suggestions. That kind of feedback is incredibly valuable and I always try to keep an open mind. But, ultimately, I listen to my gut. If something an editor (or agent or critique partner) says resonates with me, then I make the change. If not, then I don’t. To keep my writing on track, I write first thing in the morning. Well, okay, maybe not FIRST thing. I do like to check my emails and Facebook. But I find that if I turn on the TV or start a project or running errands, I never really get back to writing. I think my inner critic sleeps in late, too. So working before she's fully awake really helps the creative flow as well.

 Carmella Van Vleet writes MG fiction and "hands-on" non-fiction. Her debut MG novel, ELISA BING IS (NOT) A BIG FAT QUITTER, will be released in Spring 2014 from Holiday House.

Share your thoughts and tips on revising for an editor vs. revising for yourself in the comments and check back tomorrow to see what author Christina Farley and editor Kate Fall have to say!

Revising for Consistency

I’m one of those writers who has to get back into the story by revisiting parts of the book I’ve already written. When I do that, of course I make changes. So I’ve been through the First Half many more times than the Second Half. Somewhere in the middle of my novel there’s a fuzzy, transition zone and then suddenly I’m in the Second Half of the book, which in places seems to bear only a passing resemblance to the First Half. So now my challenge is to strengthen Second Half so that I end up with a seamless novel. At the moment, I'm tackling two different areas:

Story world. In First Half, where I’m still working on setting up the story world, I'm extra careful to include the right details. By the time I get to Second Half, suddenly my main character who's been raised in the wilderness since infancy knows how to read a clock. I don’t think so. To help with keeping the world consistent, I'm drawing sketches of buildings and maps, making lists of technology, foods, power sources, etc.

Voice. In First Half, I've worked hard to eliminate words like "but", "walked" and "looked" and to write from my character's perspective, making those interesting internal observations that she'd make. A Wordle on First Half shows me I’ve used the word “was” 18 times. In Second Half, I’ve used “was” 284 times!

Um...I think a little more work is needed.

-- Andrea

5 Tips for Revising a Novel

Like a rollercoaster ride, the revision process is full of ups and downs. One moment, it feels like everything is going well. The changes you're making are definitely making the story stronger. Then a few minutes later, doubts creep in. Is what I want to do even working? Have I really addressed the doubts of my critique buddies? Is this new plot direction going to work? What if it ruins what I already have?

Some signs you might want to rethink your revisions:

1. It feels like your character is running on a hamster wheel, going around and around and not getting anywhere. Remember, the tension and conflict should be increasing.

2. The scene you just reworked bears a striking ressemblance to another scene earlier in your novel.

3. You fall asleep while you're writing. Maybe there's a little too much of that description or interior dialogue?

4. A never-before-seen character or object appears in your novel just before the climax to help get your protagonist out of a tricky situation. If your setting isn't Hogwarts, you might be in trouble.

5. After reading your latest chapter, the reader has a clear image of how your main character slurps up ice cream, eating out all the chocolate bits first and licking whipping cream off the spoon, but has no idea how your character got away from the evil monster and ended up in the ice cream shop. Oops! Go get a real sundae and then get back to the keyboard to show those key plot events!

Do you have any great revision tips to help get through the process?