Thursday, March 20, 2014

Pulling out the old manuscript #WritersLife

I've been wanting to write this post for awhile, but with how stinkin' busy I've been, I just haven't gotten to it. What's had me so busy? Exactly what the title says.

I pulled out an old manuscript.

The very first I ever wrote (not counting Gundi's Great Adventure from the 8th grade). This manuscript was so old, I didn't even have it on my hard drive, and I couldn't even remember if I had saved it on a CD. I knew I had a floppy disc.

o_O  Floppy? Do they even make those any more? 

I decided at the beginning of the year to dive into the first two novel-length stories I wrote over ten years ago. The first, originally titled Anne sat at roughly 130k. A long, boring 130k. After skimming through it and cringing or laughing at my absurdity countless times, I realized its potential. 

On a late-night I-can't-sleep whim, I decided to pitch the two books to Roane Publishing. Their acquisitions editor was intrigued, and I scurried to get the first 100 pages in to them.

In comes the editing AXE.



Why have two novels when I could have three, thought I. Anne got chopped in half and became books #1 and #2 of the newly titled Means of Mercy series. 

Continuing to wield the axe, I started at chapter one and cut out as much of the fluff and passive, telling sentences I could find. Turned out to be quite a few, let me tell you! It's amazing what a person can learn in just a few years of critiquing forums and beta buds.

Once I had those first 100 pages polished to my satisfaction, I sent them along to Roane.

Their response?

"I WANT. Please and thank you."

Ever have a submission acceptance like that?!? Talk about Wahooing & Squeeeeing galore! But then came the sobering truth - book #1 was slotted for an April release. Gulp. I had under two months to edit the first book.

Sweat much?

Needless to say, every spare second my three little yummies offered found me staring at my computer screen. The little man started on this 5:00 am daily wake-up call, and being the morning person that I am, I gulped down my vanilla chai tea & got to work the second he allowed.

So the end result?

Love's Sorrow, Means of Mercy #1) will reveal its cover on Monday (be sure to stop by!!) and will release on April 21st.

Thrilled much? Oh yes.

Want to know more? Sign up to host me on the month-long blog tour, and I'll guest post or answer interview questions.

The moral of my blog post? It's never a waste of time to dust off those old dinosaurs lurking on your floppies, CDs, or hard drives.

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Ever pull out an oldie to make it a newie? Did it work for you? Were you amazed by the total crappola you found, or did your earlier works shine like diamonds in the sun?


4 comments:

  1. That's awesome! Congratulations. Yes, my first published book was from a manuscript I'd written thirty years earlier and rewritten from scratch.

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    1. THIRTY?? Are you even that old? hehe

      Thanks for the congrats, Alex. :)

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  2. I'm so glad you got to dust off something. It's sad to let them sit and collect. Granted I have a few that need work before they'll ever have a chance, I still find it sad that people abandon old work forever.

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    1. It IS sad. I mainly did it because my muse had NOTHING happening at the beginning of the year. :)

      Thanks for stopping by, Michelle.

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