Setting Aside A Beloved Manuscript
Monday, August 2, 2010 Question of the day: I have spent five years and three major revisions on my first novel. I belong to two critique groups and I've been querying agents for the last six months and contacted about 30 of them. I've gotten 3 full requests, 3 partial requests, and 1 full request from an editor I met at a Writers Conference in April. The problem I'm facing is that everyone seems to have a different (and contradictory) reason for rejecting the novel. What do you think I should do? Should I continue to query agents or set this novel aside? (I'm already working on my second novel, but I'm having a hard time giving up on the first one.)
I can't tell you what to do in this specific circumstance, but I do think this opens up the much broader question of when is it time to set something aside. In your case, 30 agents isn't that many for a really in-depth agent hunt, and because reading is so subjective, you really are likely to get a wide variety of opinions in your rejections, so ultimately, whether or not you pursue this novel is up to you. Maybe it's your query letter, maybe it's timing, the agents you're contacting, the industry...there are so many different reasons as to why it might not be making its mark.
But yes, sometimes, it is just that the book isn't good enough. Writers, especially first-timers, often have a hard time accepting this, but it's the simple truth: just because a book has been completed, and even when a book has been revised - and revised again - it simply still isn't going to sell. If you've been reading this blog for long enough, you know that I speak from experience, and the reason I call out first-timers is because until you've written something that is a hell of a lot better, you really can't tell when a novel stinks. (Which isn't to say that the reader's manuscript in question stinks, only that it's very, very, very difficult to be objective when you have no basis for comparison.)
So how do you decide if you should set it aside? I think this is a really personal decision, but for me - beyond the fact that I was getting rejections from publishers (hee), I was also getting lukewarm feedback from readers I trusted, readers I was sure would rave about it. When they came back with "eh," I started to wonder if maybe I hadn't created the masterpiece I thought I had. (Yes, opinions are totally just that, but again, these were people whose opinions I valued, so I had to give them some weight.) I think also, sometimes you keep pushing a book because of the sunk costs - namely, how much time and effort you've put into them in the past, NOT because you're really so gung-ho on them for the future. Again, this certainly applied to me. After all of my blood, sweat and tears, I simply couldn't IMAGINE that this book wasn't going to be published. BUT, despite my agony, that didn't mean that it SHOULD be published. There's a big difference, and maybe that's not fair, maybe that's the really crappy part of our industry, but just because you THINK it's worthy doesn't mean that the marketplace will agree. And that's the gamble that you take in writing a manuscript in the first place.
I wish I had more concrete answers for you. I can only say that once you write something new - and better - then you really finally get clarity on why that other book didn't sell. It's nearly impossible to articulate the specifics behind this enlightenment (at least impossible for me to articulate them), but the good news is that you WILL finally get it, even if means that you have to write something else to do so.
Readers - I would LOVE to hear from you: have you ever decided to set a book aside, and if so, how did you reach this conclusion?
Reader Comments (18)
Not yet I haven't, but I'm stubborn and believe in working on it until it *works*
It seems to me (and who knows what that is worth) that you've still got some mileage left with this novel. Query another 30 agents and keep working on your second novel. Reassess in six months. Hopefully, with another novel complete and ready to go.
I've set aside three novels -- each time, after I'd queried every agent I could query, and still didn't land one, that's when I set aside, and then say to myself, "Ok, I'm just going to try ONE more time.. ." Ha! Four times later, I landed my agent. . .
For the writer in question, I'd say keep sending it out -- thirty agents, sadly, isn't enough, and you're not getting consistent feedback in one direction or another. If they all kept saying the same thing, that would be more of a clue about what you'd need to do. At the same time, it would not be unusual if you'd have to set aside the manuscript completely at some point -- most writers, I think, have AT LEAST one manuscript they wind up putting under the bed, never to see the light of day.
BUT, I would also say to stop working on it while you send it out -- you need to send the same manuscript to a bunch of agents at the same time AND it really, really helps to move onto the next manuscript while you're waiting. I'm so engrossed in my current WIP that I'm not thinking much about the one I currently have on submission with publishers.
Anyway, just food for thought. . .Good luck!
I ended up setting aside my first manuscript, Liars' Tango, partly because it was meeting with agent rejections, but partly because I realized that it just wan't good enough. The story, which I liked and was invested in, just wasn't very unique and the writing wasn't strong enough to make up for it. The question that I asked myself was, "Is this really the best you can do?" I decided that it probably wasn't and started afresh with a manuscript that will be published next month from St. Martin's.
I think there was great value in the abandoned manuscript. Writing a full-length novel is a process that it is very hard to prepare for - character arcs, pacing, POV, stamina, etc. In retrospect, it is not surprising that I needed to write one to get the kinks out and understand what I was doing.
I had to write 5 count them 5 novels before I landed a publishing contract--and I'd say this is very good advice. Every book you write is a little piece of your soul spilled onto the page, and walking away is HARD. But every book you write as an aspiring writer is going to be better than the one before it. Writing takes practice, just like any other skill. And even if you have to give up on selling your book for now, don't despair, once you have a book deal, your publisher may well ask whether you have anything else already written, and you can offer them your earlier book. No guarantees that they'll take it, of course, but that does happen all the time.
My response got so long I turned it into a blog instead, where I relate my own experience with not wanting to let go, and how I finally knew I had to.
There's no hard-and-fast rule for knowing when but I always say this: NO WRITING IS WASTED. Even if it doesn't get published in exactly that form.
http://www.redroom.com/blog/kristina-riggle/building-a-better-table
Hrm... I've definitely been here a few times before, so i"ll give my two cents.
I think every author that finishes their first novel go through a "honeymoon" period, where they are excited about the accomplishment, fantasize about the story and how good it is, and see the fame, success and the big bucks right away. Then, they start querying and realize its different from what they imagined (if they aren't super lucky like some first book home-run authors). I think this sense of the "first book being it" is a little dangerous depending on how a person views finishing a book. For me personally, I wrote my first full length manuscript of 130,000 words in a year, and my second in less than half that time, so the idea of "finishing a book" wasn't very big in my head. This meant that I wasn't so gung-ho about holding on to one project if it didn't feel that strong. If I had spent several years writing a book however, I might have a completely different story. So I think if you've spent a lot of time on a novel... that might create an unusual attachment to your end goal, even if the writing isn't top-notch (not saying it isn't by the way).
What i've found with holding onto a certain project for years and years tends to cramp a writer's development if they aren't writing anything else. Of course, I have no idea what you've written personally, so this is just an observation. But in this context, where you are saying that you haven't really been getting anywhere with the project, and half a decade has passed, I'd say you can give yourself a little break and write your next novel. The good thing is that if your second novel takes off, you already have another one for your publisher ready and waiting. Win-win situation. You improve your writing and do a fresh project and you can move forward with the confidence of an already finished manuscript.
Win win!
I have three "WIP" which a regularly put aside and pick up again -- plus I'm in the process of revising/editing a fourth.
My excuse for my continuing to revise the first novel is that my writing skills have improved over the years. Have even been rewarded for my perseverance. I sold the first prologue-ish three chapters as a novelette. A lot depends on finding the right market.
In the end it is a personal decision. I will say when someone tells me they have been working on the same book for ten plus years I tend to think it's time to put it aside. I'm all for perseverance (God knows you'll need it in publishing), but I believe there is a point of diminishing returns. My advice in those situations is that putting a book aside doesn't mean giving up on it. It means giving it some space. Write something else. I'm not saying you cant go back, but you may discover you don't want to.
This post comes while I stand at my own personal fork in the road with my first novel. I'm having a hard time knowing if it's time to move on from it (requests for partials, but never a full) or if this is a motivational challenge designed to test my stamina for a writing career.
I love my characters and I'm getting good feedback about the story. I've decided to take a novel revision class online to determine if this project is still viable or if it's time to let it go. I figure if the structure and community of class can't create new energy for the project, then my first book has served its purpose as a learning experience and it's time for the next one.
What I want most of all is to just feel like I made the right decision, either way.
Kathryn Stockett, the author of mega successful "The Help," says that manuscript was rejected by 59 (or more) agents. Actually I forget the exact number but I know it was more than 30. You can google it. She said she kept revising and sending it out until somebody said yes. She obviously believed her book (her first novel) was extra special so she kept plugging away. I'm sure a little luck was involved, too.
The book I just sold was written first as chick lit, then women's fiction, and finally romance - that's when it sold. I just couldn't give up on the characters and the story and so I kept working it, and found a publisher for it - sometimes you have to search far and wide and maybe what you find isn't what you thought you would find in the beginning. But then you can move forward with the next book.
My wip now has several characters I took from 3 different wips that were dead in the water. The characters stopped talking to me until I put them in a new story and now they won't shut up. lol!
Wonderful recommendations. I'm in the midst of massively querying and, like some of you, have had requests for some partials but never fulls. I was planning at this point to continue to query but to simultaneously dive into the next project. Sounds like it's in line with your thoughts, which makes me feel better to go ahead and start sooner rather than later.
I knew when I blew up my heroine in a fiery propane explosion and then had the hero put a bullet in his head it was time to put it under the bed. Okay I admit I came up with that scene after I already decided to do it.
When it became clear that no matter what I did there was still no plot, no matter how much funny I put in it.
Then I sent the chapter to critique. It was awesome.
I never thought I'd write fiction. One day, an idea came to me and I was off and writing. That was four years ago, and I've been revising my book and looking for an agent ever since. For the past couple of years, I've been extremely frustrated. That is, until I set my book aside and started a blog. I've gotten great response and I'm loving it. It's an outlet for my writing, which is what I was craving, anyway. At some point, I'll probably go back to the book and make some structural changes in the story and try again to get it published. But, right now I'm having too much fun!
Hey!:D I admire all of you guys above who actually dare to pursue your dreams in publishing a book. Right now, I'm just writing fiction whenever I have the time [which isn't much because I'm still studying] and one day, I really hope it will get published.
Wish all of you luck too!:DD
Some books are good, but hard to sell. Maybe the hook isn't good, or it isn't high concept. I have two books I'm working on, one that's high concept and one that isn't, and I'm going to try to sell the one with the good hook first. Maybe your second book will land a publishing deal and people will trust you enough to read the second book.
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