This past weekend, as I dove into the latest round of PPP revisions (and hopefully the final round before I resubmit!), I got to thinking. Writers sure spend a lot of their time revising. In fact, you might argue that we spend just as much time fixing what we've written as we do writing it.
Each of my stories has a folder where I keep the drafts, from the earliest version to the one that I query. I hit "Save As New File" every time I make revisions, so in the PPP folder, I end up having files titled "PUMPKIN PATCH PRINCESS - Version 1" and "PUMPKIN PATCH PRINCESS - Version 2 - CUT 20K, AGENT" and "PUMPKIN PATCH PRINCESS - Version 3 - NO PROLOGUE, ALTERNATE ENDING," etc.
It's fun to compare the first draft to the latest, because sometimes they're so different, it's like reading two different novels! It's also a boost to see how much better the story has gotten over time.
Here's a timeline I put together for PPP, from conception to (nearly) complete and all the revisions in between:
2009
- December: I finished RICE FLOWER MEMOIRS and submitted the unpolished, NaNoWriMo rough draft to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. (Yikes. YIKES. I would never even consider doing this now. How embarrassing.)
- I wanted to work on something else in the meantime and had been toying with the idea of writing a teen book. I had just reread my beloved copy of The Arabian Nights, where many stories dealt with the curse of the genie: no matter how powerful a genie was, he would always be a prisoner to the wishes of others. Coming on the heels of another viewing of Cinderella, one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, I transferred this idea to fairy godmothers. Et voila - PPP was born!
2010
- March:I got distracted by someone taking pity on RICE FLOWER MEMOIRS and making it an ABNA quarterfinalist. MIND BLOWN. I tossed PPP aside to focus on it, especially after my critique partner very gently pointed out that it still needed a LOT of work (and she couldn't have been more right).
- My critique partner and I decided to add some weird guy to our group. Three years later, he's still hanging around and I can't seem to get rid of him. :D
- April: RICE FLOWER MEMOIRS rightfully got axed before it could reach the ABNA semifinals. After a pity party involving lots of wine and chocolate, I put the manuscript on the shelf with a sigh and spotted PPP nestled there under a blanket of dust. I began working on it again... very slowly, since I was preparing to leave my job and move to the city.
- December:PPP still not finished. The new job was keeping me busy, busy, busy, and I was lucky if I could get 3,000 words down in a weekend. Plus, I kept hemming and hawing about where I wanted the story to go, whether I wanted it to be a comedy, and how much Cinderella I wanted to put in there.
2011
- July: Yes. JULY. Earlier in the year, I got a promotion that made my life a lot easier and I came home every day happier and less stressed. This was the perfect time to get back to PPP. I finally discovered how I wanted the book to end, so it was just a matter of connecting the dots to take the story there.
- August: I finished the first draft! I knew that revisions would take no time at all and was pumped to start querying in the fall. (Ha. Ha. Haha. Hahahah. Hahahahahahah. Oh, innocent 2011 Julie, you tickle me.)
- December: Life distracted me, AND I scored a shiny new job offer. I planned it so that I could resign from my old job and enjoy almost three weeks in between to focus on PPP edits. That worked, because it led to the completion of Round 1 of revisions!
2012
- February: I did another readthrough and had Round 2 of revisions, which was mostly copyediting. Then I calmly emailed the manuscript to my critique partners and readers and proceeded to curl up in the fetal position and bite all my nails off while I waited for their feedback. To keep busy (and sane), I started a sparkling new WIP that became what is now ELEGY.
- April: My readers got back to me with good news: they loved PPP! BUT (and there always is a BUT, and always should be, when it comes to writing) there were plenty of changes to be made. They wanted more world-building. They wanted loose ends tied up. They wanted entire scenes and whole chapters chopped. (*Darth Vader voice* Nooooooooooo...) And at least half of them mentioned that the story seemed too young for YA... that was clue #1.
- May: Armed and ready, I dove back in for Round 3 of revisions. In the meantime, I drafted a query letter and made a list of agents I wanted to represent my book. At the very top was one who had indicated interest and had given me some terrific feedback, which led to me killing the prologue and getting into the story more quickly.
- June-September: After nudging a few queries out the door (and getting feedback saying that the story seemed more appropriate for a younger audience... Clue #2), I began to seriously consider turning PPP into a middle-grade novel. In the meantime, I participated in WriteOnCon to beef up my query letter and first pages, where an editor from Entangled Publishing complimented my pitch (eeeee!) and suggested that PPP might be better suited for younger readers (Clue #3). I re-queried the interested agent, who kindly agreed to read my partial.
- November: I received an R&R from the agent, who suggested changing the book from YA to upper MG (...Clue #4). Folks, when almost all of your readers, an editor, and three agents suggest the same thing, LISTEN TO THEM. I embarked on Round 4 of revisions and sent the upper MG version of PPP back out into the hands of my readers.
- December: My readers and CPs unanimously agreed that the story read a lot more genuinely as an upper MG. However (surprise, surprise) it turned out that more revisions were needed since the word count was too high. 77K is right in the sweet spot for YA... not so much for MG. Which meant at least 10-15K had to go. *muffled sob*
So that's where I am right now. Pruning down the word count has been much easier than I anticipated. I try to remember that this story was once 110,000 words. (Yeah. I know.) And I brought that sucker down to 80,000, then to 77,000. Bringing it down to the 60Ks should (hopefully) be a breeze. Wishful thinking, anyway...
What about you? How many rounds of revision has your story been through and how many more before you query/submit?
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25 comments:
Haha, I do that with my WIP labels, too. Congrats on all the good progess!
I take four to five months to plan outline, two or so to write first draft, and four to five to edit. (And I'm a really slow writer, so I haven't figure that out.)
Yes, when everyone tells you something, then that is a big clue.
And I don't think DL is weird...
It's always nice to see other people's process.
Best of luck and great post :)
Look how far you've come! Wishing you lots of luck as you continue moving forward with PPP!!
Wow, that's quite a journey your book has taken!! Good luck, Julie! you know I can't wait to read - and I adore upper MG :)
Also, i think my current project might need to switch from YA to upper MG, too - but that wordcount chop is daunting!!
Cutting is never easy - especially when it's so much! I know you'll land it eventually though! It's a great story :)
Oh wow! It's amazing to see the journey so far.
I will be crossing my fingers for you so you can hopefully add an offer of rep to your timeline.
Personally my writing is again at a stand still. *sigh*
~Akoss
I definitely spent much more time revising and rewriting than I did writing Iron Thirst. I wrote it in about 4 months back in 2008(I skipped sleeping), but it has been in some state of revision ever since. Now, I'm working on something new, but I know I will tacklet it again at some point. Haven't given up on it yet. :-)
Oh, I can really relate to this story! :D And it will all be worth it in the end when you have produced a shiny diamond from a hunk of coal.
(Not that I'm calling your first draft a hunk of coal -- but mine usually are.)
I also had a story that I wrote as YA that turned out to really be MG. Funny how that works out, huh? For me, revisions are more fun than writing the first draft -- and it's a good thing!
It's exciting to see how far you've come with PPP--I can't wait for what I'm sure is going to be very good news once you're finished.
BTW,I'm so glad that I'm not the only one with scads of files for each novel. Phew!
Thank you for sharing your journey. It's great to see how far you've come, isn't it? Revising and editing can be a chore, but it's also part of the process. I suppose you can imagine yourself as a hair stylist who needs to snip and trim until the masterpiece is just right.
Ooh, thanks for sharing this! It's fascinating to see your writing/revising process. Congrats on how far you've come and best of luck for what's coming next! :)
Oh boy, do I relate to trimming down a MS before querying. Sometimes I think I'm actually incapable of writing anything that ISN'T too long originally. This is the first time I've gone below my target word count for a project -- and yes, I did have a little dance party when it happened. ;-)
Best of luck with the next step in your revising journey. It's amazing to see how far PPP has come. Can't wait to see where it goes next!
I also have a folder in which I keep every revision of my WIP (using the software version numbering system: 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 2.0...). I'm glad things are going so well for you with PPP! After the long road it's been on, I hope you'll see it published soon. When can I pre-order? :)
That's amazing progress and so encouraging. I've found that editing has definitely taken a little longer than writing. On the bright side, that's also when the story truly begins to shine!
This timeline is such a great post because it reminds me we writers are all in the same boat - I am not alone in all my revisions!
Might steal this idea and do my own timeline one of these days. But my YA went through 5 revisions before I signed with an agent. It has since gone through 3 more. One more revision to go before we send it back out again! :)
At least you finally got the hint that the book is MG. :)
My one WIP has gone quite a few rewrites and I recently scrapped it to rewrite it to NA. But I'm writing it from scratch since so much has changed about it. Even the title. lol
I'm nowhere near as disciplined as you are, so I have no idea what my revision times/cycles are like, haha. But I love this post! It's always fascinating to see other people's process. Looks like PPP is doing well. Go Julie! Chop those words! :)
I think things are different for every book and every writer. My second book went so smoothly compared to the first--I'm currently revising the first for my editor, and I'm pretty sure that makes about 22 full revisions.
*twitches*
But the story is finally where it needs to be and that's all that matters!
That book just wouldn't go away! I feel sure there's going to be a happy ending to this journey. :)
By the way, I would consider 3000 words in a weekend amazing going!!
Congratulations on all the progress!
Nas
It's amazing how much time goes into a project. And it's necessary time. Thanks for walking us through your journey. Best of luck with resubmitting! :)
Mine usually go through 3 major revisions before I put it aside and work on something else. Thankfully, my latest WiP is working out with the CPs well enough that it'll only need a touch up when it's finished, I think. :)
Nicole: Ha! Nice to know other writers keep all of their files :)
Alex: I'm a slow writer too, but I think we have a good excuse b/c we have day jobs! And I was joking about DL being weird :)
Mark: Thank you very much!
Laura: Thank you and the same to you!!
Marisa: Is this the Sleeping Beauty story that I read the query for?! That's exciting. And don't worry, the word count chop is a lot easier when you dive in. Don't ever hesitate to contact me if you need another eye!!!
Tiana: Thank you! The cutting is tough but refreshing somehow :D
Akoss: My fingers are crossed as well. Thank you, friend!!
A.J.: Good for you!! It's nice to have another project to give our brains a little break from revisions. Good luck with both stories!
Dianne: Oh my WIP was definitely a hunk of coal, but it gets shinier every day (I hope!). You definitely have a diamond and inspire me. I'm gonna work at it til I have one!
Connie: HA! My computer is bursting with files. I'm glad we live in the digital age so I don't have to kill trees every time I do a story over-haul!
Cynthia: Love that metaphor! My story needs a trim and a dye job, but I think it'll be camera-ready very shortly!
Linda: Thanks, lovely! I'm excited to see what else I can add to the timeline this year!
workofheart: Preach it, sister! My first drafts are ALWAYS 100,000+ words. I can't seem to write one shorter than that. I like the challenge of chopping it down, but it can be pretty scary at first!
Colin: You're so sweet! Thank you for the encouragement. It'll get there one day, I hope!
Saumya: Great attitude! I agree that revisions are when the story really begins to come out. I love how it evolves from a kernel to a rough sketch to something that may become an actual book!
Daisy: Yes, please! I would love to read your timeline and get inspired!
Stina: HA! It was about time, no? :D Very cool that you're also switching genres... this has happened to so many writers that it makes me feel better!
Krispy: Thanks sweet friend. I'm scared and excited by what lies ahead for PPP, but it's so great to have my blog buds behind me.
Stephanie: *jaw drop* 22 revisions!??! Damn, girl! But you now have a gorgeous stunning book so obviously it was completely worth it. WOW!! Can't wait to order my copy. I actually forgot to add it to my Amazon shopping list so this is a good reminder...
Nick: You are so sweet to say so!! One way or another, I will get this book out to the world... whether through traditional means or self-publication. Never say never! Thank you for your encouraging words :)
Nas: Thank you so much!
lbdiamond: Isn't it, though!? But it will be worth it in the end, I'm sure of it! Thank you so much for your kind words!
David: 3 major revisions is a good number! Hopefully you'll hear some great things on your latest WIP!
I decided to add some weird guy to our group
You have no idea!!!! :)
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