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Guest post (and giveaway!) – How and when to revise your manuscript

September 9, 2014 by Nathan Bransford 24 Comments

Nathan here! I’m very pleased to have a guest post today by David Zeltser, whose debut novel LUG is going on sale today!


Better yet, we’re giving away three signed copies of LUG! All you have to do is leave a comment asking to be entered (non-anonymously please!), and we’ll choose three random winners.


Here’s David’s post:

At every stage of your writing life—from newbie egg, to agented caterpillar, to published butterfly—you will be asked to revise your work. In this guest post, I’d like to share a few of the edits I’ve taken, and not taken, and my golden rule for revising.

The Newbie Egg Stage


When you’re first starting out, your friends and family will dutifully read whatever your hand them. Then they’ll come back to you with stiff little smiles and say things like “it’s good,” “nice work,” and “great job!” The temptation is to believe these oh-so-sweet big fat lies.

Don’t.

In fact, at this point, your job is to try to pry the truth from their stiff little grinning lips. It may take some convincing but, ultimately, they will reveal all.

And then, when they let loose, it’s your turn to grin and bear it.

Here’s a lesson I learned the hard way. Let’s call it:

The Newbie Egg’s Golden Rule of Revising

Almost all readers’ suggestions have something of value. The key is not so much to take them verbatim as to find the underlying problems that inspired the suggestions–problems that the readers are often not even consciously aware of. If you can detect those issues, you can choose the best way to revise.

Once you’ve dived in and taken a pass at fixing the deeper problems, show a few other people your respect. Put your manuscript away for a while. Keep repeating until you’re happy and your readers are no longer just politely grinning. Then, I hope you’ll find yourself in. . .

The Agented Caterpillar Stage


If your agent is worth her salt, she too will have revisions. My agent is Catherine Drayton of InkWell Management. With her permission, I’d like to share a few key excerpts from her LUG edit letter to me:

The Environmental message
I think that the coming of the Ice Age and the parallels with our current environmental crisis are a strong selling point for this book. Lug’s talent is that he is extremely observant and the subtle way you handle this at the moment is perfect. I do however think that you could use some more funny observations from Lug and evidence his frustration that no one else around him seems to notice what is happening to the world. Kids have an uncanny way of zoning in on what’s really important and feel powerful when they can see something that adults can’t. 

Characters
I do think that the relationship between Lug and his father is important and could use development especially in the context of choosing the next big man and banishment from the tribe. I want to see more interaction between Lug and his family at the beginning of the book, especially Big Lug. If we see, clearly, what Lug has—we understand better what he is forced to leave.   

Language
In terms of the language I think that I would tone down the ‘cave man’ talk. It is always risky to use dialect as it can fall very flat and draw attention to the author. Lug is speaking in perfectly formed English so I’d consider having the others do so as well – even if it is in very clipped, short bursts. 

Once you and your agent are happy with your chrysalis…ur…manuscript, my hope is that you’ll emerge into . . .

The Published Butterfly Stage

Once you have an editor at a publishing house, you book is in the final revision phase! Although I was excited to steal almost all of my editor’s suggestions for LUG, I thought it might be useful to share a rare example when I chose not to take one. Here’s an excerpt from an email I sent to my editor on that topic:

In a few places you’ve asked for the removal of certain words or concepts because they seemed too sophisticated for the Stone Age. I had thought about doing this quite a bit in my first drafts of LUG, and ultimately decided against it. Basically, I concluded that I would not write this story as hard (or even soft) science fiction, but rather as satirical comic fantasy. 

She quickly took the point, helping me to fine tune the intentionally anachronistic words and concepts I used to satirize our society’s inaction on climate change. I’m grateful to all my editors/readers for their enormous help. I also want to say a big thanks to Nathan Bransford for the opportunity to guest post on a blog I’ve found very useful in my own writing life.

Watch the LUG book trailer and learn more about all the books here.

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: guest blog

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katherine Eion M.S.W. says

    September 9, 2014 at 5:00 pm

    Kate Eion…I would like to be entered to win a copy of Lug.

    Reply
  2. Kathy Ellen Davis says

    September 9, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    Great post 🙂
    I really liked seeing examples of revision suggestions at each stage, and you standing up for something you wanted to keep in!
    Thanks!

    Reply
  3. David Zeltser says

    September 9, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    Thank you! Very excited about being on the blog with all of you.

    UPDATE: Al Gore has tweeted about the book today!

    https://twitter.com/davidzeltser

    Reply
  4. Maya Prasad says

    September 9, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    Fantastic post!

    Reply
  5. Hywela Lyn says

    September 9, 2014 at 10:37 pm

    Very useful advice here. I'd love to be considered for a copy of Lug.
    Thanks, Lyn

    Lyn@hywelalyn.co.uk

    Reply
  6. Joanne R. Fritz says

    September 9, 2014 at 11:07 pm

    Happy Book Birthday to David! Enjoyed this fascinating glimpse into your revisions and edits. Not entering your giveaway, since I'm also on the blog tour and already read (and loved!) the book.

    Reply
  7. Leanne Ross says

    September 9, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    LUG sounds great. Please enter my name in the drawing.

    Leanne Ross

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    September 9, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    Love the analogy of a Butterfly's li8fe cycle to encourage writer's growth and change. Please enter me for a free signed copy!

    Reply
  9. Robin Connelly says

    September 9, 2014 at 11:56 pm

    Lug sounds cute. Enter me in the drawing, please.

    Reply
  10. Bruce Bonafede says

    September 10, 2014 at 12:00 am

    Excellent post. I especially appreciated explaining the instance where you did NOT take a suggestion.

    Reply
  11. GSMarlene says

    September 10, 2014 at 12:25 am

    Lug sounds like fun – please enter me!

    I love revising and can hardly wait until I get to revise from an agents feedback!

    Reply
  12. eswheeler1992 says

    September 10, 2014 at 1:08 am

    I would like to be entered

    Reply
  13. Ernie J. Zelinski says

    September 10, 2014 at 1:58 am

    "Who am I to tamper with a masterpiece?"
    — Oscar Wilde (when asked to revise one of his plays)

    Reply
  14. Laura Martone says

    September 10, 2014 at 3:21 am

    Your book sounds intriguing, David – and I appreciate your editing advice. That said, please enter me for a chance to win a copy of your debut. And of course, congrats!

    Reply
  15. wendy says

    September 10, 2014 at 3:51 am

    I agree whole-heartedly with your golden rule, David, from personal experience. There were times when I felt something wasn't working in someone's work, so thought I should suggest something although wasn't sure that this was the solution.

    Lug sounds very intriguing and engaging. Please consider me an entrant to win a signed copy. And congratulations for receiving a mention from Al Gore!

    Reply
  16. K. L. Romo says

    September 10, 2014 at 1:07 pm

    Thanks David and Nathan. Great post! I agree – hard to decide when to stop editing, but eventually…

    Reply
  17. Bryan Russell says

    September 10, 2014 at 2:17 pm

    This is great.

    I've always said that the key aspect is not the critique you receive, but what you do with that critique. A great critique doesn't mean anything if you can't apply it and make your book better. And a bad critique, if you listen to it, can do immeasurable damage. The key is to evaluate the criticism and find the truth in it that resonates with you: find the right problem and then find the right solution.

    Reply
  18. Neil Larkins says

    September 10, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    I especially liked the advice you gave about seeking family input. To my regret I once did that. Not again, even when they ask and they have. Book sounds fun, David. Good luck!

    Reply
  19. jackie-tn says

    September 11, 2014 at 2:39 am

    Please enter my name Jackie Watson.
    Thank you!

    Reply
  20. Calorie Bombshell says

    September 11, 2014 at 3:22 am

    Great post, David. I'd love to be entered into the drawing! Cynthia Ivers.

    Reply
  21. Kristie says

    September 11, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    This book sounds wonderful! I would love to win a copy so my son and I can read it together 🙂

    Reply
  22. patience mason says

    September 11, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    I would like to enter the contest. The books ounds very funny and fun.

    Reply
  23. Ravens says

    September 16, 2014 at 5:01 am

    Please enter me in the giveaway, if I'm not too late. Sounds like a neat book.

    Reply
  24. Claudia DiSalvo says

    October 4, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    I am knee deep in revising my story. It is a very 'tedious and difficult' process. I also sent copies to family members and their comments ranged from 'wonderful' to one niece who had some difficulty with the characters relationships. I have to try to embrace all comments ensuring that I reflected and revised. I focused on being more proactive than reactive. Your blog was enlightening. It was short but powerful. Thank you.And I would be honored to be entered and actually win a copy of "LUG". Thank you and I look forward to following your work.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors achieve their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

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