I’m definitely happy to take editorial suggestions from my agent or editor.
But sometimes I really need time to get adjusted to a new idea.
I handed in a partial manuscript to my agent on Monday and heard back from her Wednesday. She liked the sample, but suggested that the police play a bigger role in my story than the generic mentions I’d given them (I’m using an amateur sleuth in the book.)
I saw her point, but it boggled my brain a little bit. It’s always a tough balance for me in the first few chapters—I’ve got the sleuth, the victim, and 5-6 suspects (one of whom is the killer) to introduce. I try not to make things too complicated…and including the police after the victim is discovered means more named characters.
But whenever I’ve gotten an editorial suggestion and found a way to incorporate it, my story has improved.
I started looking at the sample. My sleuth’s sidekick was single. What if the police chief were her husband? I’d already established this character as a blabbermouth—if she were married to the policeman than she could provide my sleuth with really useful information that she couldn’t get anywhere else.
Taking my agent’s suggestion gave my plot more possibilities.
I know with first readers and writing critique groups, you can sometimes get a mixed bag of suggestions—and sometimes the advice you receive is conflicting.
But I think it’s a good idea to always hear the suggestions out. It could lead to some major improvements in our stories.
Have you ever gotten a revision suggestion that ended up making a big difference to your story?
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Elizabeth – I admire you for being so open to suggestions, and I love your solution of having the police chief be your sleuth’s husband. What a neat stroke!
Yes, I’ve gotten suggestions more than once that have changed my work completely and made it better – even as far as having a different person be the murderer than I’d thought at first (that’s what happened with my WIP). I admit that I think through suggestions before I take them because, as you say, they can be a very mixed bag. But I always try to listen.
Quite a few of the suggestions I received from my editor while working on Death’s Daughter were absolutely brilliant. One of them was something I had initially considered and then just hadn’t gotten around to but receiving that feedback made me re-evaluate my decision and made the story much better.
I always try to listen to suggestions and carefully think through their implications. Sometimes I won’t follow through on something when it is suggested because after careful thought I honestly don’t think it will work, but sometimes you get some really great inspiration from listening.
Thanks for sharing this.
not yet…can’t wait!
I listen to the suggestions, retreat, lick my wounds and then put the suggestions to use.
My latest issue was when I wrote first person, which I don’t normally do. The beginning paragraphs were confusing in my short story. THE BEGINNING PARAGRAPH! Well that won’t do, so I am working on it.
For When Danger Calls, my editor wanted me to show a scene I’d avoided putting on the page because it was a combat scene, and I’m not too comfortable with those. I’d done one of those ‘time management’ transitions (topic of my blog today). While her suggestion didn’t change the story, it did make it stronger.
I’m the same way with suggestions… I need to let them ferment for a while and usually I figure out a way to use them or a really great reason to reject them…
Yea for you… Your new launch is just around the corner. Congrats!
Haven’t reached this point. When I do I hope I remember this post!
Mary
Giggles and Guns
The suggestions from my test readers meant altering a few scenes I really liked. That’s always difficult. But it really improved the flow when I made the changes, which were often a blend of the reader’s suggestion and what was already present.
yes, and that is why I’m on the path I’m on. This was rather a huge suggestion though – it was when I was sending my first finished novel ‘Feckless’ on its merry rounds of agents. One agent took several partials – she liked the concept, she liked the characters but my writing was just plain not good enough. So, instead of despairing I wrote the first part of ‘True’ stopped because I didn’t know how to do plot, wrote ‘The Rockwalker’ a mystery, to teach myself how to write plot and structure and now I’m on my revision of True. When I’ve done it and it is out in the world I am going back to that first novel and have at it again. I am so thankful that I had someone who cared enough to tell me what I needed.
The last suggestion resulted in a complete rewrite of the ending of Book V, but I’m really glad I did it now.
My critique partners recommended I shift from 3rd to 1st person in one of my short stories, in order to highlight the sensory experiences of my MC and add a bit of immediacy to my story so readers would have something to distract them from some of the less than plausible elements of the plot.
I was really happy with my story until our roundtable, but although it will take work, the shift in POV will make it better. Now, I just need to deliver….
Best of luck introducing the police chief hubby!
It’s so true, isn’t it? It can take me some time to incorporate the good suggestions (usually these are power walk assisted efforts–frequently I need a few days of thought) and it can be REALLY hard to sort the things that will, versus things that won’t work. Like the wife of the police chief as side-kick…
I think people who’ve participated in some writing GAMES (given words or themes to include in a story they they write quickly) might have an advantage–makes people nimble. Sadly, I’ve only done a little of that, as I have trouble with short stuff already.
My original manuscript for my memoir was a self-help book. The first editor I hired told me I just needed to tell my story. It completed transformed the experience and the book. And she was right.
Karen
With my first novel, one of the suggestions of my editor had me in a panic. Once I calmed down and actually started to start work on it, I found it was a great idea and not as hard to implement as I thought. I was much happier with my finished product.
Absolutely. Sometimes I agree with the suggestions I receive, sometimes I really don’t. And then after I while I often find that I have changed my mind and agree after all. So I welcome and listen to any kind of feedback, even the parts I don’t like.
Yes. My first time my editor made suggestions on what I thought was my ‘perfect’ manuscript, I felt a bit taken aback. But, I swallowed my pride and made the changes she suggested. When I showed my critique group the changes, the consensus was clear, much better!
So, I learned to listen… but, it’s hard.
CD
Margot–I’ve gotten to the point where I really view the writing process as pretty collaborative. I’m never so sold on one of my ideas that I won’t give it up if I’m asked to by my editor or agent. Seems to work out better for the book in the end. :) I love that someone suggested you change the murderer’s identity! Wow. But if we lay out all the red herrings through the book, we can change them into actual clues if we’re changing the culprit.
Kristi–Good luck with it!
Cassandra–True…sometimes there’s a kernel there in the advice that we can work with to make the manuscript better.
Journaling Woman–Ha! I know what you mean…it is sort of a licking wounds time, isn’t it? Sometimes the revision requests are harsher than others, for sure.
Lou–That’s one reason why I like getting corrections in email form–gives me some time to absorb it all.
And thanks!
Mary–Thanks!
Alex–It’s hard when we have those type of pet scenes. I usually end up saving the cut scene in a Word file to see if I can use it some other time. It just pains me to delete them!
Jan–That’s a very good point. If someone has given us some constructive criticism, it means that they care enough about the work or the writer to make a suggestion…that may or may not be greeted with enthusiasm by the writer!
Terry–Yeah, that’s not a strength of mine, either. Fortunately, combat isn’t needed too often with cozies. :) I’d have tried to pull a transition for that scene, too. Sounds like you did a good job with it, though.
Diane–A lot of rewriting, but it sounds like it was worth it!
Bluestocking–Thank goodness it was a short story! Wow…can you imagine doing a POV shift over the span of a novel? Ack! That sounds like a really sound suggestion by your group–that’s great you’re getting such useful crits!
Hart–I don’t think quickly at all when it comes to my manuscript…or…well, I’m not actually a quick thinker in any circumstance! But after playing around with the suggestion and the manuscript a little, I can come up with a workable solution. I like the way you exercise and write at the same time!
Jane–It’s a panicky moment, isn’t it, when you first open up the email to find out what the changes are? Usually they’re not so bad. God forbid there’s ever something like they want us to change to 1st person POV or add a few/subtract a few characters!
Clarissa–I think I’ve gotten to the point now where I just expect changes. I just keep my fingers crossed they’re not too time-consuming! But you’re so right…when we figure out how to successfully integrate a *good* suggestion, it really can make a difference.
Karen–That’s amazing! I didn’t realize that, Karen. And it made such a difference to move from self-help to memoir format.
I love your attitude, Elizabeth. It’s often a knee-jerk reaction to reject suggestions. For you, a suggestion is a window to possibilities.
Straight From Hel
Cruella–I think we all have our moments where we’re like, “WHAT?” But then, with some mulling over, there’s usually some bit of the idea (or, in my case, the whole suggestion) that we can fit in and make the story better.
Helen–I think if I got the suggestions in a face to face environment, it would be harder for me. Email is the perfect medium for me to leisurely tell my editor or agent, “What a great idea! Let me try to work that in.”
I mentioned some of them just a few days ago. http://authorguy.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/what-do-you-think/
I now have an ex-cop in my critique group, so when I started adding in more police procedure to my suspense novel, he gave me a lot of helpful feedback, most of it something like, “It wouldn’t happen that way” or “A rookie cop wouldn’t do that.” And then he’d tell me how it would really happen. Of course, now I’m lots more critical of the cop stuff I see on TV…I keep thinking, “It wouldn’t happen that way.” :)
I love that the sidekick is married to the police chief. Plenty of fodder for conflict there!
Suggestion on a WIP always throw me off. I’m going to wait for any more feedback until I finish a couple drafts. But yes, suggestions DEFINITELY improve my work and inspire thinking. :-)
– Corra
The Victorian Heroine