Manuscript rewrite nearly complete

It’s been nearly two months since I decided to rewrite my novel, The Seers: Dark Inheritance, and I have to say it’s been an eye-opening experience. In fact, now that I’m almost finished with the new version, I look back on the original and completely understand where I went wrong. The story was too long, and while the characters were well-developed, the hook lacked much to be desired, and the action lulled and dragged on far too often. In other words, I was as long-winded as a southern Baptist preacher.

You see, East Tennessee is not exactly the Mecca of the literary or publishing world, and while no one really cares to hear excuses, I really must plead complete ignorance. Basically, living in a rural area, I am isolated from a lot of resources that many writers have at their fingertips. In fact, the closest large cities are Johnson City and Knoxville, and they aren’t exactly known for their many agents, writing workshops, or publishing companies. So from the start, I’ve been on my own, relying only on what I learned in college and what I had read on the Internet. So I kept sending query after query, and even though I had some interest, I continued to get rejection after rejection.

And just when I’m thinking it’s a complete waste of time and postage, I get contacted by an agent who read a review on this very site. And he asked for my manuscript, so of course,  I sent it, thinking it was ready when it really wasn’t. For three weeks I’m on pins and needles, just waiting for the call that will launch my career. But instead, I get the dreaded email from the agent, detailing the reasons for his rejection. As far as rejections go, it was very nice, heartfelt, and informative, and after realizing my mistakes, I can’t believe the email was so polite.  So I decide to take the agent’s advice and rewrite my manuscript. And I’m so glad I did.

I have been working on the rewrite for about two months. First, I took the advice of author Alyson Noel and read Story by Robert McKee, which  honestly changed the way I look at fiction and helped me with every aspect of my novel. From there,  I started talking with some authors on Twitter, who answered my questions and gave me advice. Then, I tackled the problems in my novel, brainstormed and generated ideas until I came up with a better hook, and sat down to make my outline. I also decided to change the tense from past to present to bring the reader right into the action, to live the story along with the protagonist.

And for the past month, I have worked no less than four hours a day on this project, sometimes up to eight, and I have written and rewritten and revised and edited until I dream the scenes in my sleep. But now that I am nearly finished, I have a novel that is half the size of the old one and filled with non-stop action that keeps me turning the pages–which of course, means it’s time to hand it over to my beta readers, which I hope to do by Friday or Monday. I have selected people I believe will be brutally honest and will add new perspective to the struggles of my characters.

My goal of course is to have a final product that is both entertaining and marketable so that I can find an agent who believes in this story as much as I do.  Once I have my feedback and take all the suggestions and critiques into consideration, I will make even more needed changes before I start the entire query process all over again. Honestly, the thought is exciting, daunting, and horrifying all at the same time, but I am determined to succeed, and I know now that nothing short of my greatest writing, my most diligent work, and the majority of my heart and soul will accomplish this goal.