Manuscript update: Started my new final round of revision yesterday. The last round was the make-every-word-great round, after going through plot and scene revision rounds earlier. So this is the polish, the I-want-to-make-sure-every-word-is-still-great-and-I-didn’t-type-something-weird-last-time round. I’m excited, and plan to be finished in a week or so. Fingers crossed.
With the economy the way it is and all the bad news that has been coming of the publishing industry the last few years, it’s great to see all the deals still being reported by Publisher’s Marketplace. But when it’s a deal for a debut writer, it’s even more wonderful, it’s inspirational.
As I was shutting down my computer last night, I saw fellow blogger Beth Revis had posted the news that her book, Deep Freeze, has been picked up by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin, for a spring 2011 release. According to Publishers Weekly, Razorbill editor Bill Shrank “said he thinks the book will do for popular sci-fi what The Hunger Games did for postapocalyptic fiction.” Wow!
Beth also scored a three-book deal, which shows the confidence Razorbill has in her writing.
This is fantastic news for Beth, and I’m so excited for her. I also can’t wait to read the book, because it sounds wonderful.
But it’s also exciting news for all unpublished writers. It shows us that despite the layoffs and low financial quarters at publishing houses, editors are buying books, and they are buying books from unpublished writers.
Sure, I’ve heard over and over that manuscripts need to be really polished before they’ll even attract an agent nowadays — hence my new polish round — but if you put in the work, the rewards will come.
Go on, dare to dream, then get to work on making that dream a reality. It will take work, a lot of hard work, but it will be worth it in the end.
Write On!
2 Responses
Have you grown tired of your characters yet? I’ve been working and re-working with mine for so long I fear the day will come when I’ll pack up their bags and boot them into the street.
I try not to “hear” the discouraging news coming out of the industry. It’s great to see you’re maintaining a positive, hard labor attitude too. Good luck on the revisions.
Thanks, Monica.
Yes, definitely down let the bad news get you down. Ultimately, book publishers are in the business to make money, and they can’t make money without good books to sell. So, keep working on making yours great. This is my second novel. My first got lots of positive feedback but didn’t land an agent. I’m hoping this will do better, but if not, I’ll write another and make it even better. My writing grows with each one.
I don’t feel like I’m tired of the characters in this book, but I’m definitely looking forward to moving on. As I read through my manuscript again, I’m enjoying it, but when I’m away from it, these characters aren’t playing in my mind like they used to. Instead, I’ve got characters from my other book ideas, so I know I’m getting close to the point when I should be moving on.
Good luck with yours. Keep it up.