Tag Archives: editing

Anatomy of three very similar rejection letters

Posted on December 5, 2016 | Comments Off

Recently, a friend of mine asked for some help after receiving two very similar rejections letters. Up until this point, she had received many stock “No thanks” responces, or the dreaded crickets in the email (as in no response at all.)

Every few months, she edited and sent out a new set of queries. Then, after getting a few manuscript requests, she received something different. Yes, still rejections, but two days in a row she received rejections with FEEDBACK. Score!

I looked over the feedback she was sent by three different agents, and realized the reasons for the rejections were very similar.

Without giving her name, or showing the exact rejections, I am going to cut and paste my analysis of those rejections. Even reading this back to myself after I’d written it, gave me ideas to go back and revise things in my own manuscript.

I hope you find this helpful!

***

Hey you! First of all, YES I believe you read into this correctly. Your writing is so polished that a few people decided you were worthwhile enough to tell you why they decided to pass. So, on that point: CONGRATULATIONS!

All three of these emails confirm that you have an awesome, original concept that they all believe has the power to be a hit. This is the first hurdle everyone needs to overcome. Rock on, girlfriend!

Past this point, you need to prove that the structure and voice are good enough for them to RISK countless hours of their own time to try to sell your work. (Because, hey, if they can’t sell it, they don’t get paid)

So, this is what I see when I read each email…

#1. “I had a hard time connecting…”

#2. “I didn’t connect with the narrative voice.”

#3. “The narrative wasn’t able to keep me as entranced as the plot would suggest.”

These all said pretty much the same thing, which is AWESOME! Now you know what you need to fix.

“Connection” has to do with VOICE and DEEP POV.

VOICE: You need to ask yourself: Is the voice that I am writing in authentic to my main character? If she is 16, does she sound like a 16 year old? (In spoken word, inner thought, and also in the narrative)

DEEP POV: Does the overall narrative flow without any bumps that will draw my reader out of the story and remind them they are reading a book? (look for “gentle” show verses tell issues. Look for words like WAS, LOOK, SEE. Check for passive tense.)

Basically, you want to hook the reader on the first page and draw them so deeply into the POV of your character that they can’t get out. They forget they are reading, and all of the sudden it’s 6 hours later and they flip the last page. [[Not that I am an expert at this, but every draft I do gets me closer]]

Now, on comment number three: “The narrative wasn’t able to keep me as entranced as the plot would suggest.”

This could be one of two things. Because of the first two comments, I would guess that the issue is voice and/or deep point of view. HOWEVER… it is also possible that there is a pacing issue.

PACING: Does the book lag anywhere? Are the slow parts just slow enough to let the reader take a breath, or are they so long that the reader gets bored? Can you concatenate the slower chapters to give the required information quickly so you can get back to the good stuff?

“I had a hard time connecting with the way the mystery unfolds.” This could also be pacing, but also ask yourself if there is a “build” in your mystery as each stone is unturned. Is the reader DYING to know whodunit?

I’d look over the manuscript again, thinking about each of these topics INDIVIDUALLY. I think you should only work on one of them at a time. (At least that’s what I do) It helps to keep focused, and gives you less of a chance of missing the opportunity to make a good paragraph GREAT if you are trying to accomplish too many types of edits at the same time.

This is probably the most exciting edit you will ever do… the one where little bells will go off in your head as you see the manuscript come to life. Have fun!

[BTW – just writing this has me thinking about my own manuscript, and a couple of things that I want to look at again, so THANKS for the push!]

So, there you have it. Rejection isn’t always bad. I remind myself that Fire in the Woods was rejected quite a few times, and I’d revised over and over before I received two rejections with feedback similar to above.

My next edit after that feedback got me a three book deal!

Keep submitting, and don’t be afraid to edit some more.

You can find Fire in the Woods and Ashes in the Sky at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

Comments Off on Anatomy of three very similar rejection letters

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged agent, bad rejection, dealing with rejection, edit, editing, fire in the woods, good rejection, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Manuscript, query, Query letter, rejection, Rejection letter, submission, submit manuscript

Some of the Things I Learned from Editing / Beta Reading Other People’s Books @KathleenLBosman

Posted on July 18, 2016 | 2 comments

I’ve talked several times about beta readers. They are PRICELESS! But what’s even more fun sometimes, is when I get the opportunity to return the favor. There is so much to learn from reading SOMEONE ELSE’S work.

Yes, Seriously!

It’s a lot easier to see errors in other people’s work, and this helps you to find the errors in your own manuscript.

Here’s author Kathleen Bosman to chat up a few things she’s learned from reading other people’s work. Take it away, Kathleen!

Thanks, Jennifer! Here are four things I learned from reading other people’s books:

1. The writing rules are there for a reason. Only break them if your story is so compelling that someone cannot help but read it. And how will you know that until it’s out there anyway?

Unless you’re a bestselling author already, stick to the rules. And use good grammar! Don’t head hop – please stay in one point of view per scene, don’t overuse adjectives, and keep to active, not passive writing. If you don’t know the basic rules of writing a novel, do some research. There are literally hundreds of blogs or websites out there giving the basic rules.

Sometimes a story is gripping and enjoyable but because the author hops from one POV to the next, I cannot continue. I’ve even discarded one of my favourite author’s popular series because she had too many POV’s in her book. Either stick to one or two POV’s.

If you can’t follow basic grammar rules, then do a grammar course. There is nothing worse than a book that is shoddily written. An editor doesn’t mind the odd problem here and there – it’s their job to fix them. The worst is when an author can’t even keep their tenses consistent or writes many sentences that don’t even make sense. Write like English is your first language!

2. Too many “said’s” make the writing clumsy.

You don’t need to say, “he said” or “she said” after every speech. Use an action next to the speech instead which doesn’t jar the reader out of the conversation.

That said, please make sure the reader knows who is talking when. If you are going to use dialogue tags, and I know you do need them sometimes, “said” is actually the best because it doesn’t take the reader out the story. If you have too many “exclaimed, mumbled, hissed, barked, groused,” you’ll get them thinking more about these words than the actual story.

3. Make your characters real and consistent.

If your characters are stupid or unrealistic or change like a chameleon, you’ve lost your readers from the beginning. If need be, get a fellow writer friend to read your book before you send it off to check that they can sympathise with the characters. I read a book recently about a woman who’d just been diagnosed with breast cancer and found out her husband was having an affair. She basically breezed through the whole situation with a smile on her face, quite keen to get the double mastectomy over with. Totally unrealistic!

4. Don’t introduce too many characters into the story in the first scene.

If you have ten people all talking to each other in a scene or seven characters each going through something different in the first chapter, your reader is going to get exhausted from the mental gymnastics. It’s nice to write a book about friends having fun together but keep it to no more than four. swish swivel squiggle

The Album Series

Each book is a fantasy romance about a magic album that matches up couples. Think of “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants” meets Hollywood Romantic Comedies.

Looking for Love

Blurb:

When Ella Haviland inherits a magic antique photo album that reveals the future of potential couples, she starts a part-time matchmaking business with the help of her three best friends. It’s always been her dream to help people find love. But finding true love herself isn’t in her plans — even when her best guy friend Ross confesses he’s fallen for her. Friendship and love equals recipe for disaster in her mind.

Ross Mitchell is devastated that Ella doesn’t want more from their relationship. He withdraws … but maybe he should play along when Ella tries to matchmake him with a friend, just to make her jealous. He will do anything to make her notice him.

Through a series of adventures and happenings, Ella discovers that maybe The Album brings more than love and magic into the lives of the people it touches; it sprinkles its magic on hers. But can she find true love herself, or is there too much holding her back?

Get Album #1 free here:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Love-Album-Ellas-Story-ebook/dp/B019E23YV6

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/600677

Kobo Books: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/looking-for-love-16

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/looking-for-love-kathy-bosman/1123145781?ean=2940152525007

Author Bio:

Kathy lives in South Africa, where the summers are hot, the winters cool and bugs thrive. She writes romance in many forms, most of the time with women who feel deeply, men who care strongly and characters who learn lessons along the way. Every so often, she sprinkles a little magic in her stories. When she’s not writing, she makes sure her kids work hard as they do school at home, tries not to get too distracted by dust bunnies and cooks up a storm to keep the tummies full. When she’s not hectically busy, she loves reading romance and fantasy novels, watching movies, and dabbling in different crafty things, depending on her mood.

Website and blog: http://www.kathybosman.com/

Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/KathleenBosman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KathleenLBosman

2 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged BETA, beta reader, editing, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, kathleen bosman, Manuscript, readers, writing

Rekindling the Fire Inside an Older Manuscript

Posted on July 11, 2016 | 3 comments

In February, 2016, I handed in first round developmental edits for book three in the FIRE IN THE WOODS series.

I figured I didn’t have much time until I saw the manuscript again, so I picked up and older 52,000 word first draft I’d finished nearly two years before and gave it a read. It was pretty good, but I knew it needed “something”. I just wasn’t sure what. So, out to the beta readers it went.

Within a few reads, I’d learned that it was solid, but I needed a few things:

A new beginning.
A best friend character so my MC wasn’t always alone.
I needed to severely slow down the pacing

With this information in hand, I attacked with reckless abandon. By the time I’d finished the 12^th draft in June, 2016, I had added 46,000 words, nearly doubling the manuscript to 98,000 words of alien-filled goodness.

I just rounded up five more beta readers to look over this draft, and as I read through the manuscript from start to finish, I find myself grinning.

Yup, I’m pretty darn happy with what this story has become.

But, of course, I will wait for five more opinions, and edit the poop out of the story five more times. I hope that the beta readers love it as much as I do. Hopefully, I will be shopping this new novel to publishers in September.

Have you ever picked up an old , dusty story, cleaned it up, and found a little gem?

You can find the Fire in the Woods series at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

3 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged beta reader, critique, draft, editing, fire in the woods, invaded, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Manuscript, partner, revising, what is a beta reader, why do I need a beta reader

How to build an invincible world: Nailing the Setting with @EverlyFrost

Posted on July 5, 2016 | Comments Off

Creating book worlds is exciting and fun but can be a complex process of imagination and discovery. Everly Frost’s debut novel is set in an alternate version of today’s Earth where everyone is invincible. While constantly assessing and reassessing the world, there are three questions Everly used to keep on track. Take it away, Everly!

What is the world?

These are the defining characteristics of the world – the essence of what the world is. Once you have a good handle on these, the foundations of the world will fall into place.

I found it useful to write these down and refer back to them often. In Fear My Mortality, the major characteristic of the world is that people heal at super fast rates to revive and recover if killed. They’ve had this ability since day one (it’s not an evolution).

All other characteristics will stem from these.

What isn’t in the world?

These are consequences of the world that might cause problems for readers because of real world knowledge, expectations, or perceptions.

For example, a problem with a world where people are invincible is overpopulation. As a solution, I decided that the trade-off for super healing is the inability to have children. Many people can’t and others have only one or two children. This keeps the population stable.

Another problem: are they all vegetarians? No steak dinners if animals are immortal too. This ended up being important. Allowing animals to be mortal meant people are familiar with illness, infection, and medicine, even if it only affects their pets. At one point the main character, Ava, likens herself to an animal because they can die and so can she.

Searching for the problems can be time-consuming but can be helpful too.

Is a little bit of info dump okay?

Gasp! I’m a huge believer in showing a scene and allowing the reader to deduce information from actions, dialogue, and active descriptions, not information dump. But I’ve learned that a little bit of straight up information is not only okay but necessary.

Depending on the complexity of the world and its history, readers sometimes need a few informative sentences to know what’s going on. Then they can move on to the important things like … will Ava escape that drone, will she find freedom, and will she forgive Michael for what he did?

I’m still learning and I’m definitely not an expert, but I hope some of these tips and examples are helpful.

About the Author

Everly Frost is the author of FEAR MY MORTALITY. She wrote her first story when she was nine. She grew up in a country town, lived for a while in Japan, and worked for several years in Canberra, Australia’s capital city. Now, Everly lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband and two children.

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

Comments Off on How to build an invincible world: Nailing the Setting with @EverlyFrost

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged creating a setting, editing, Everly Frost, Fear my mortality, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, outlining, planning, setting, writing

Is writing really a solitary endeavor? It doesn’t have to be. Maybe it shouldn’t be.

Posted on June 6, 2016 | 7 comments

I am running across more and more articles that talk about writing being a solitary endeavor. I see how it CAN be lonely… but really, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Yes, to an extent you need to write on your own (Unless two or more authors write a book together, but I’m not talking about that.)

Anyway, you write on your own, but if you find yourself a great group of writing friends, they are always there to bounce ideas off of, or to rant with when the words aren’t flowing, and to celebrate with when those worlds are flying like dandelion seeds in the spring breeze.

Also – and this is the most important and fun part for me – when you are done writing your fourth or fifth draft… after you have taken the story as far as it can possibly go… you get to hand your baby over to these trusted friends and they can tell you all the wonderful things wrong with it!

And yes, they will be wonderful things, because every comment is an opportunity to make your great manuscript even better! And then you revise, and send it to someone else, and if you are lucky enough, they find even more wrong with it.

Plot hole? Really? Bring it!

Police in rural North Carolina don’t ride on horses? I did not know that!

You can’t see the Aurora Borealis in Florida? Wow! Good catch!

Okay, I made some of that up, but my beta readers find tiny little things like that all the time. Silly little things that read perfectly fine to me, but shout “No way” to someone else. Different life experiences bring something new to the read. It’s those little tweaks that excite me!

So yes, in the end my name is on the cover of the book, but it is really a team effort.

I am nothing without my beta readers. They way I look at it, the more eyes the better.

Don’t write in a little box all by yourself.

Find yourself a team.

It’s fun!

hello out there!

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

7 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Beta Readers, editing, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, writing

Five Ways to Keep Your Characters Feeling Real in a Fantasy Setting

Posted on May 23, 2016 | 3 comments

First of all, I wanted to thank Jennifer for having me on her blog today to talk about how to keep your characters feeling real in a fantasy setting.

Even though my series, The Watcher Saga, is about angels and fallen angels, can honestly say I didn’t specifically approach this series as a fantasy. I had a story in my head that I had to get out.

As I wrote, however, I discovered that it can be challenging to make mythical or supernatural characters feel real to people, especially when they don’t live in the same world we do. Here are a few of the things I learned to do to keep it real.

1. Do a Character Questionnaire

The first thing I do with characters in a fantasy setting is ask questions of the character, the same as I would for any story. I start with a name, and where they live, but there are so many great resources for character questionnaires out there. Here’s one of them: https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/character-questionnaire/gotham.

2. Consider Special Qualities or Abilities

As I ask questions of my characters, I take into account what kind of species the character is and what special qualities they would have. For instance, if you’re working with angels, or fallen ones, there are certain traits they all have. They have wings and can fly. They are also immortal and may serve a higher being (or not. In some cases, they may do the opposite). How would that affect their world view? If they are immortal, were they born? How would it feel to live for thousands of years? How would flying affect their view of traffic? That sort of thing.

3. Incorporate Your World Building

All characters exist within a setting of some sort. As you ask questions about your character, you start to get ideas of how their direct surroundings have affected them.

If they have been to war, it would have an impact on them. If they are of the Fey, they would have a culture, a history.

Perhaps they live in a woodland setting. Perhaps another dimension. All these things come into play when I’m creating a character. Even if they do not have a place in the story.

4. Include Social Setting

Once I have a character in a world, I consider who the characters friends are. They have friends, family, a social hierarchy, or social order of some kind, that they exist within. Do they have natural enemies? Do they act differently with some people than they do with others? Who do they care about the most? That relationship can be used to fuel their motivation.

5. Give Them Flaws and Challenges

In order for a character to seem real, they need emotions, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. In a fantasy world, these weaknesses can be almost anything. What would challenge them? In The Watcher Saga, the angels have a risk of being infected with sin. Michael was once infected with lust and is recovering. He’s recovered from a terrible past but it still affects him. He’s also half-human, so he’s subject to human emotions more than his angelic colleagues. So he reacts to things more like a person would, which isn’t always ideal.

In fantasy fiction, as in any type of fiction, it’s the challenges the character must face that makes them compelling and relatable. In any case, the fantasy element should add to the story and not replace character development. The more flawed a character is, the more real they seem. Their flaws make them relatable. If the reader relates to the characters and the characters grow and evolve as the story progresses, then they will feel real to the reader.

Thank you Lisa! Check out Lisa’s books below, and a giveaway too. Woohoo!

Purchase Links:

BAM | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

Giveaway! Contest ends June 10, 2016

One (1) winner will receive at $25 Amazon Gift Card (INT) CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

About the Author!

A Canadian-born author, Lisa Voisin spent her childhood daydreaming and making up stories, but it was her love of reading and writing in her teens that drew her to Young Adult fiction.

Lisa is also a technical writer, a meditation teacher with the Training in Power Academy, and the leader of the Young Writer’s Club, a local writing group for teens in her home town. A self-proclaimed coffee lover, she can usually be found writing in a local café. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her meditating or hiking in the mountains to counteract the side effects of drinking too much caffeine!

Though she’s lived in several cities across Canada, she currently lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her fiancé and their two cats.

More about Lisa can be found on her web site: http://www.lisavoisin.com or blog: http://lisavoisin.wordpress.com

Website | Twitter | Facebook |Pinterest | Goodreads

3 Comments

Posted in Author Interview

Tagged Characters, editing, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Lisa Voisin, the angel killer, the warrior prophet, the watcher, world building

Bringing the joy back into writing

Posted on February 15, 2016 | 4 comments

I am an author. I create stories. It is part of who I am. Sometimes I think there is nothing that gives me more joy than sculpting words into a work of art.

But over the past few years, some of that joy has been missing. Did I not want to write books?

No. Of course not.

The problem was, the pressure of writing under a contract.

Don’t get me wrong … having a publisher contract two additional novels from you sight unseen is an amazing feeling. But actually making good on those contracts was a little harder than I thought it would be.

Whereas the characters and the story were mine, and I loved them, knowing that I NEEDED to write those stories, and they had to be written at break-neck speed (at least for me) — I don’t know … for some reason that ruined the “experience” for me. I sat down each day thinking “I need to write 1000 words or I’ll fall behind.” Or “I can’t summarize this scene and come back to it later. I have to write it out now to avoid editing time on the back end.”

It felt more like a race than an enjoyable walk in the park. More like a job than something that has always given me the ultimate joy.

This week, I handed in edits for the third book in my series. I have 30 days until they come back to me. A big part of me wanted to pick up my WIP and get back to it. Problem was that I would need to re-read the 80,000 words I’d already written to get back into this world, and get back into those character’s heads. By the time I’d have that done, my edits would be back again and I’d have to switch focus.

So instead of grabbing my WIP I opened up the file of a novel that I’d completed June second of 2014 (just a few weeks before getting the contract for FIRE IN THE WOODS.)

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. It was 56,000 words I’d written and edited in only a two month time period. Imagine my surprise when I was instantly transported into a world and into the minds of characters that I’d almost forgotten about.

I finished reading (with light edits) in two days (unheard of for me) I couldn’t put it down!

But I knew there were a few things wrong.

Instinctively, I felt like the story moved too quickly. (But I wasn’t sure where. I just knew something wasn’t right) I also felt like I had missed an opportunity by not including more side characters. But the story, in itself. Seemed solid. REALLY solid.

Rather than wasting too much time “thinking” about what was wrong, I decided to throw it out to the “wolves” (As in my most trusted pool of beta readers) Imagine my excitement when seven of them waved their hands in welcome.

I jumped up and down with glee, seeing their reactions to the first 50 pages. Apparently I had something really special! But, they told me, I needed side characters, and the story moved too fast in the beginning. (And I’m sure they will tell me it is moving too fast later as well.)

The funny thing is, I KNEW this, but there is something about listening to beta comments that jack-hammers my brain into overdrive. Yes! Of course they are right. And now I know how to fix it!

I delved into the manuscript with reckless abandon, all the while smiling.

Because I had the time to do so. There was no deadline looming over my head. I didn’t need to worry about there being flaws, because I had the time to fix them. The flaws are exciting. They are an opportunity to make a good story great.

It is really hard to explain this, but I am actually ENJOYING this edit. It is fun! I sit down every day excited for this world I created. I add a scene, and I sit back with a smile, subliminally high-fiving myself.

Yup. I still enjoy writing. Creating a world is still the greatest thing EVER. I can’t imagine NOT doing this.

Alien invasion? Bring it.

It’s so great to be having fun again!

Find Fire in the Woods at your favorite Bookseller

Find Ashes in the Sky at your favorite Bookseller

Catch up with me on social media!

4 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged editing, fire in the woods, fun, jenifer m. eaton, jennifer eaton, joy, writing

Omigosh! This book stinks! [Gasp] But I’m the author who wrote it!

Posted on February 2, 2016 | 3 comments

The last two months have been eye opening. I remembered THIS POST and had to come to terms with what really made me write the words: For the first time in my life, typing “The End” felt like a huge relief rather than an epic accomplishment.

Now that I’ve worked with a professional developmental editor, and had a face-to-face chat with my publisher’s managing editor, I had to come to terms with how nicely they were telling me that my book wasn’t quite up to expectations.

And as I read over the editors comments, and read the manuscript again after a several month hiatus, I had to agree. What I thought I’d written, and what was actually on the pages, were two excruciatingly different things.

Luckily though, it was not the story that was a problem. It was the execution in some sections, and a missing link that made the crux of the story confusing. (Among other smaller mistakes)

Several times I’ve explained that my writing process is this:

Write/finish book.
Write/edit/finish something else to “cleanse my pallet” from book #1
Then go back and edit book number one.

The reason behind this is simple… I need time to get away from a story so I can look at it objectively. I did not have this precious time for this novel. I wrote it in two months, and then immediately edited it and submitted it in order to make the tight deadline.

Even at that time, I was a little unsure about the novel. Something seemed wrong, but I was unable to step away and give myself the needed time to think it over … and it was glaringly obvious.

Getting ready for the overhaul

Knowing I was walking into a TON of editing work, I immediately asked for a one month extension (two months of editing time rather than only one—the same amount of time it took me to write the first draft!) This gave me the breathing room to go over all the suggestions and make easy changes in the first read through; make wider, more sweeping changes and rewrites in the second read-through; and then take a third read through to tweak scenes to make them more engaging.

After that third read, I must admit, I was smiling.

Don’t ever discount the value of a good developmental editor who is not afraid to tell you that there are problems… also, don’t beat yourself up over those problems … just look at them as an opportunity.

Looking back, I still wish that I’d submitted a much better manuscript to begin with, but now I know that with enough time, I can make sure that the words on the page actually relay the story that I intended to tell, and not just the story that I thought I’d told.

Finishing this edit did not feel like a “huge relief” as it did when I first submitted the novel. I feel accomplished and extremely excited by the FIRE IN THE WOODS series again.

And guess what? There are a couple of teenagers hiding inside me waiting to save the world at least one more time. And now I can say with a smile that I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble they get into next time.

hello out there!

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

3 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged bad first draft, bad writing, copy edit, developmental edit, editing, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, line edit, writing

How the heck do you write all this stuff?

Posted on January 18, 2016 | 7 comments

Last week I shared my writerly “To Do” list, which included:

1 novel about to release
One in developmental (publisher) edits
Two completed novels just sitting in my computer
Four first drafts
One 95% complete work in progress
Five 5000-10000 word outlines of soon to be written novels

I discussed a little about how I ended up having so many “almost complete” books, and I wanted to discuss the madness of my writing process a little.

My MO used to be:

Write a first draft
Leave #1 to simmer while I write a first draft of something else or edit something else
If I edited, send completed piece out to query. If I wrote, let that one simmer.
Go back to draft in #1 and start editing
Rinse, repeat.

Basically, I liked to distance myself from something before I started editing. It worked well for me for quite a few years, until I suddenly found myself with three contracted novels to write, edit, submit (on time) and publish/promote an all that good stuff.

While writing the series has been a blast, it’s given me WAAAAY to much “simmering” time on all the other projects that I have. And when I had some “down time” from FIRE IN THE WOODS, all I wanted to do was start something new in a completely different world. THAT’S why I am 95% through with a novel that I just love the stinking alien pants off of. (Does that even make sense? Aww, who cares?)

So, will I ever get back to all those first drafts?

I sure hope so, since each of them adds up to a significant hunk of writing time, and a story that meant a lot to me.

But another thing that I am very aware of, is that I learn something every time I write a book. Also, my style changes exponentially.

I am a hugely different author now than I was just a few years ago. Part of me is AFRAID to go back to those works, because I know I will not be as happy with them as I was when I wrote them.

So what is really on tap after I finish book three?

My #1 goal is to finish and submit the novel that is currently 95% done. I think the timing is perfect for that one, and I know Fire in the Woods fans will just love it.

I have one more publisher project that I will probably have to work on soon after that is done.

Then the next project after that will be the Adult Science Fiction Horror that is in first draft form.

Why that one?

Well, for one thing, it is one of the later things I’ve written, so I hope it is in the best shape. Also, I think it is wildly original. The idea still makes me want to read it.

After that is done, yes, I will probably start something new, because I don’t like to do that much editing back to back. I prefer to switch things off once in a while.

The best-plans are meant to be broken

I’m smiling as I write this. Plans are made to be broken. Especially in publishing. Because all that would have to happen to completely blow this plan out of the water would be for one more title to get published. (Which, of course, would be great.)

Come to think of it, I really HOPE that my plans get ruined again this year.

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!

Catch up with me on social media!

7 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged developmental edits, editing, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Publishing, time management, writing

Why aren’t you querying those finished novels?

Posted on January 11, 2016 | 7 comments

A few days ago I shared a list of all my upcoming projects on social media. It looked something like this:

Here’s what’s coming down the pike:

Ashes in the Sky {Fire in the Woods #2} (In production Release date March 1)
Fire in the Woods #3 (Contracted: In developmental edits. Release date TBD)
YA Science Fiction (95% complete Work in Progress)
Adult Contemporary Science Fiction (Aliens) Mystery/Horror (First draft complete)
Adult Paranormal (Shifters) novel written in serial (Uncontracted: Number one complete)
YA Dystopian Romance (Uncontracted, Complete)
YA Space Opera – 8 book series (First draft complete)
Middle Grade Contemporary Adventure (First draft complete)
Hard Sci Fi Space Opera three book series (First Draft of all three books complete)

Outlined concepts prepped, outlined, and ready to be written:

Adult/New Adult Fantasy-Medieval setting
YA Contemporary Science Fiction (Aliens)
Adult/YA Shifter (Dragons) First chapter written
YA Time Travel (Aliens) First chapter written
YA/New Adult Contemporary Science Fiction (Aliens)

A few people have asked why I have two complete novels, and four “First Draft complete” while it looks like I am currently working on something completely new.

Well, to be honest, I didn’t realize how many things I had partially finished until I created this list. For me, the fun of creating a story is the best part. I love starting a story, and torturing my heroes to the very end of the tale. So much fun!

Usually, by the time I finish a first draft, I’ve already outlined several new ideas that I came up with along the way. Some of these I take a few notes on, and then never go back to. But many, like the five above, get 7000-10000 word outlines, because I love the premise so much that I don’t want to lose even a single spec of the idea.

Unfortunately, I cannot type anywhere near as fast as my brain works, and that list of stories to write keeps getting longer.

Basically, when the time comes to write a new book, I just pick one from the list. Sounds easy. But sometimes there are several stories screaming at me, and even after I choose, a different story keeps me awake at night.

It all comes down to my writing process, which I love… but the business of publishing usually gets in the way of the fun part. That’s why I have so many first drafts right now.

When I finished this post, it was over 800 words long. I was going to talk about my writing process, but I’m going to leave that for my next post. I think this will explain some of the insanity of my current “too many almost-finished books” situation.

See you next time!

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!