This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
You can listen to Anna’s podcasted novel over on her website www.annabellwrites.com and follow her on twitter @annabell_writes.
The only novel I’ve subbed is the first one I wrote. I subbed it with such a frantic pace after I’d finished writing it and editing it once (I know I’m wincing too). I guess I was still in that mind set that someone would see the potential.
I put that novel to bed last year, vowing I could do better and that I had so many other ideas for books bouncing around my head that I should start another one. And I did just that. I completed my podcast novel, and I’m currently working on what I think is a promising work in progress. But over the Easter break, I decided to resurrect my original novel.
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Late last year I’d tried to spruce up my opening chapter in the hope of subbing it again. As if rewriting the first half of chapter one would suddenly make the whole book more sellable. When I reread the opening chapter on Sunday it was actually pretty good. The rewrite had helped dramatically. And then of course I got to the end of the chapter and the rest of the book was simply not as good.
I got out a paper copy of the manuscript and a pen and went and set in the garden to edit. The only trouble was it was really difficult to do. I crossed out the odd word and added a few adjectives in here and there, but it wasn’t working. The book was bland. The story, in my humble opinion, is good. But the writing is most definitely bad. By the end of the third chapter I’d found out very little about the characters and despite the fact it was supposed to be set in Thailand, for all the descriptions in it, it could have been set in dreary old UK in the winter.
Whilst at that point I should have maybe abandoned it again, chalked it up to experience, and got on with my new novels that would be better. But you know what, the story is tight. The characters have potential. All I need to do is tease it out. Instead of opening up my work in progress I took the good rewrites from the first chapter, and I started writing the rest of the book.
It isn’t like starting a new book fresh. I know what’s going to happen and I’m following the plot development of the old story and what happens scene by scene. Only this time I’m trying to make my characters sparkle, the backdrop have colour and make it one of those books that seems effortless to read.
When I look back at the novel I’m really proud that I wrote it. I mean when I started it two years ago I hadn’t written anything creative for about 12 years (other than job applications). To have actually finished a book was a feat, but now that I feel my writing has developed its only natural that I’ve got better at it.
Being an unrepresented author can be really tricky. I guess this is where you’re agent would come in telling you if you’re being a completely crazy or advising you what to do. In lieu of having an actual agent, readers will you tell me if I am being completely crazy, am I flogging a dead horse? Should I just move on to a new novel?