Re-Writes, Schme-writes: I'M FINALLY DONE!!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 12:00AM 
I am so happy to be able to finally write this post, after all, it's been almost one year in the making! Because late Sunday night / early Monday morning, I finally - and I can't believe I actually get to type this:
I Finished my rewrite on THE LUCKY FEW.
Almost one year ago - July 11th to be exact - I queried Mr. Agent Man...and received a phone call from him the very next day, requesting an exclusive revision. And, well, of course I jumped at the chance!
A few weeks later, he sent me a detailed letter that was single spaced and ten pages long. TEN! 10.
And after reading those pages, I realized exactly the opportunity I was holding in my hands - but what I wasn't prepared for, was the challenge to rethink the entire platform of my book. As in, "what if we looked at it this way?"
To which I went through the following:
Wait, what? You mean my book isn't amazing as-is? Huh. I thought it was pretty good. Wait, now that you mention it, maybe it's just so-so. Okay, NOW I get it, I see what you're thinking!
And voila! An entirely different focus was born...although that in itself, took several months to get to. Lucky for me, there was plenty of back and forth, which included multiple emails and conference calls with he and his fabulous assistant (did I mention the complete and utter state of shock I was in, that this was even happening?).
It was all so exciting - first to be working with someone of his stature, second, to be getting top-notch feedback, and third, to be working with an agent at all.
But man, rewrites are tough. 
And I constantly struggled with what could stay - always analyzing if the writing in question, moved the story forward - but what was worse than that...was what needed to go. It was like watching the series finale of FRIENDS (one of my all-time favorite shows!), or finishing the last sentence in MOCKINGJAY. And I realized it was as if I wanted to put it off, so I wouldn't have to say goodbye.
But then I heeded the advice of one of my fabulous critique partners - Heidi S.:
Just get in there and do it - and stop over-thinking it all!
Or something like that. I'm sure it was much more eloquently written, but none-the-less, it had the same impact. She tends to keep it real like that. And it's for this that I love her so!
So I took Heidi's advice and I got in there and did it. I axed almost 35,000 words *eek*, then rewrote 40,000 more *yay!* The past two weeks have been serious late nights...and I can't remember the last time I was in bed, before 2:30am. Which makes for a very long day at the office, when my alarm goes off at 5am.
But I so want this. I almost ache for it. And knowing I was so close to being done, I knew it was something that I just had to do. Besides, late night writing is my favorite, when all is quiet in the world.
And late last night, after re-reading it again, I was finally able to send it off to my CP's. Now it's in their hands to tear apart. And I look forward to reading all their suggestions, feedback, and seeing a smiley face or two, when they read something they like.
Then once they're done, I'll make my final revisions and off to Mr. Agent Man it goes! And I can't wait.
Until then, I look forward to having Thursday and Friday off this week. And the fact I may be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight. In fact, I may sleep through all the fireworks, once my head hits that pillow.
And that's okay by me. Because I'M FINALLY DONE.
And my fingers are crossed.
Rewrites or revisions - what was this process like for you?
Happy 4th of July (or belated Happy Canada Day, to my friends to the North!) - wishing you all a wonderful week! And I completely forgot - looks like tonight might be a later night than I expected, but for an entirely different reason: my husband and I are going to see Joan Jett! I know, you're jealous. :)
Revisions, Rewrites, THE LUCKY FEW in Personal Writing
Reader Comments (14)
Yay! That must be so exhilarating finishing up your rewrite. I'm currently in revisions, and receiving awesome feedback/suggestions from my CP, so I'm feeling pretty good about how that 's going. Just think: you're one step closer to getting published! Enjoy Joan Jett and have a very Happy July 4th! :)
Congrats on finishing lady! I know how hard rewrites can be. It's like you know they're necessary, but aren't always sure what to keep/get rid of. Then you start to question. Every. Single. Word. LOL. Hope you get some FAB news!
((HUGS))
Yay, Erin! My rewrites and revisions have pretty much gone the way of the Revision Angst cartoon you posted and Rebekah's description. Did you know that the word "angst" is the German word for fear? Everytime I hear it, I think of how acrophobic me climbed to the top of the belltower of Peterskirche in Munich on an extremely narrow, rickety, open staircase - a floor to break your fall over the side of said staircase only every four stories or so. As I stood inside the top, unable to stop shaking, and totally unable to follow my friends outside to the observation deck, two little old ladies came through the door, took one look at me and LAUGHED to each other, "Ha ha. Sie hat angst! Sie hat angst!" (She's afraid! She's afraid!). That full to the core, "What the hell was I thinking?!" feeling is how revisions often feel.
But the end to the story is that after half an hour, I was able to still my heart and walk out, keeping my back fully against the centuries-old brick, to take in Munich spread at my feet. I did it, and it was glorious! Something I keep in mind when the task facing me seems as insurmountable as Peterskirche had been.
So, congratulations again! And I hope I'll see you at PNWA.
Yes, I am jealous - Joan Jett is awesome!
Congrats on finishing the revisions!!!
WOO! Congratulations on finishing your rewrite! What a huge accomplishment! :-D
CONGRATS! Isn't it an amazing feeling! I can't wait to hear the rest of the story as THE LUCKY FEW makes its way to bookshelves!
I love the revision process! It's a bit like polishing a Lake Superior agate - you start with what is surely a beautiful, intricate stone, but dulled by the waves of first draft. After painstakingly brightening every surface, you find that the stone - the story - is even more beautiful in its glossy layers. I've got agates on the brain - part of my WIP. I might have to use that analogy again - not bad for 6:45 am!
I went to a conference recently and heard Kelly Barnhill, a local MG writer, talk about her revision process. She completes a draft on her pc, then DELETES it and starts over. Then she'll DELETE that draft, and again, until she gets it right. Now THAT is not something I would be able to do!
Enjoy your 4th - hope you had a great time at Joan Jett!
Erin! I'm so proud of you! (And I can't believe a whole year has already gone by!) I can't wait to see what comes of this rewrite with Mr. Agent Man and your writing future. I'm wishing for good news and great success in your future. Oh, and how funny is it that we both finished our tedious, year-spanning rewrites in the same week? :)
Jaime - Words can't even describe how I've been feeling all week! I can't believe the different levels of emotion I've run through over the course of this process - just a tad bit insane, to say the least! And who knows, this rewrite may not be on the very track Mr. Agent Man was looking for, and it might need more work...so I know the journey isn't over yet! But like you said, I'm one step closer!
Rebekah - You couldn't have said it better!!! The constant thought of if I changed it for the better, or maybe I should change it this way or that - I'm always second guessing everything! Seriously, I think I'm missing some hair because of this process! And even though I know there's still so much more to come, I'm so happy this part is at least done!
Cathy - Oh, angst is such a good word indeed! I loved the story you shared - and so glad you were able to pull yourself away from the wall and get out to enjoy the view! Just think of what you would've missed? At least you can use this memory to spur you along, when you're faced with something so difficult again! And unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to do the PNWA conference this year. Since I'm in an exclusive agreement with Mr. Agent Man, I wouldn't be able to talk to any of the agents there - although, I know many of the presentations would be invaluable....so who knows, I might change my mind! Will keep you posted, for sure.
Jennifer - Joan Jett was a pretty fabulous concert! She's such a wee little lady - totally wasn't expecting that! And yes, I'm so happy this part is at least behind me!
Jessica - Thank you SO much!!! Yes, a big accomplishment that I'm so glad I was finally able to complete! For now, I'm just going to enjoy it all...because I know I have all the notes coming in from my CP's that I'll need to conquer next!
Sara - I love your agate analogy - that is SO, SO, TRUE!!! It's just that sometimes it's so hard to see the potential it could have, when you've been staring at it for days, weeks even. And that fact about Kelly Barnhill is INSANE. I could never do that, delete an entire manuscript. I know how it felt when I lost my manuscript when my computer crashed - so to even think of hitting the delete key intentionally? Yeah, you're talking crazy there! :)
Katy - Oh, Katy, thank you so, so, much!!! And I can't believe we both finished the same week, too! I completely missed your post, with being so blinded by getting mine done - a big congrats to you as well! We have completely been on the same track with both of our MS's - we both started it in 2010 and we both finished our re-writes within hours of each other! Great minds! :)
Thank you all for stopping by and for your great words of encouragement, too! It's so wonderful to have such a tight-knit family of writers all around the world, that know exactly what it is I'm going through. Big hugs to you all - and happy 4th of July!
CONGRATS, ERIN!!! (Birthday twin;-)) I haven't been replying on your blog and i'm so sorry - somehow your set-up hates me :=(
CONGRATS on finishing rewrites and revisions! I can't WAIT to hear what Agent Man thinks. *crossing fingers* I'm still working on my revisions (they weren't exclusive- just an R+R)...it's only been a few months but I think my novel is much stronger from the suggestions. No matter what.....I have a stronger, fuller book.
I'm so happy for you! Can't wait to read it!
Rachel - Thank you so much!!! And I'm sorry to hear that my site isn't being nice about you leaving comments - I'm looking into that, as I've heard the same thing from a few others! And I'm so happy to hear that you're cranking through your own revisions! You'll definitely have to keep me posted on how it all unfolds - best of luck to you!
B. - You went from can't wait to read it, to completely done, in two days flat! Thank you SO much for cranking through my MS so fast and for all your amazing comments, at that! You're a fabulous friend and CP, and I'm so grateful to have you!! Big hugs and kisses your way!
Hi Erin, congratulations!
I have a question. I\’m just a new new writer and just freewriting and multiple story/novel ideas in my head. I only have windows, word 2010….i\’ve seen people use \”schrivener\” and \”ywriter\” and all these organizational tools for organising things which seems great, but I can\’t afford anything right now (except for the free download, lol)…anyway, thoughts on this? for freewriting various ideas? for when writing the actual novel? just basic word 2010? complex or simple? this or that? Ugh. I\’m kind of lost!
Thanks.
Hi Jane - thanks for stopping by!
When it comes to writing platforms - I've tended to stick to the basics. Word has always been my preferred platform for writing and Excel for my outline / character synopsis. I'm also a big fan of Sky Drive through Microsoft - where I can upload my saved docs and have access to them wherever I go (in addition to my external hard drive for saving my work - which I HIGHLY recommend you invest in - Sky Drive is also my fail-safe if anything were to happen to my computer) .
I've used Scrivener - back when it was in beta form - and liked it enough. And lately I've been toying with the idea of transitioning over to it full-time, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. It does offer some amazing features - and yes, it would be nice to have everything in one place vs. multiple documents.
But, I think you just need to use what's right for you at the time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Word - it does exactly what it's supposed to. And one of the great things about Scrivener, is that you can import your work at any time, should you decide to upgrade from Word.
Other methods I use: When I'm away from my computer, I use a note app on my phone (ColorNote) to keep track of my different thoughts. I'm also a big fan of softback Moleskine lined journals and have one practically everywhere - car, handbag, office. When I'm traveling, I like to use my iPad - particularly their Pages app.
As you can see, there are a lot of options out there. Best of luck with your writing!
Congratulations!!! I am almost there with mine and I KNOW what you're saying!