Round One

A few people get to read my manuscripts before they’re published. The first round includes my fiancée, my brother, my parents, my agent, and occasionally a trusted friend or two. The novel will be re-edited based on the feedback I get from these people.

The second round includes my publisher and her team of editors. The book is emailed back and forth, and re-edited two or three more times. In the third round, it goes out to reviewers and sample readers, whose feedback is mostly used to generate publicity and to encourage booksellers to pre-order it. It’s too late to change anything at this point.

I’m now at the first round with my crime novel, currently titled Irredeemable. It usually takes everybody a couple of weeks to get back to me; so far the only person who’s finished reading the manuscript is my fiancée. She said that it’s not gruesome enough, that two of the characters are paper thin, and that the twist at the end is wildly implausible.

I wasn’t too discouraged by this. The Lab and Money Run both had scenes described by my editors as “ludicrous,” “impossible,” and “preposterous,” and they’re scenes that I left in. I’ve found that the trick is to change not the event, but its context. You can make a reader believe almost anything if you include enough clues in the leadup to it. I won’t change the twist at the end of Irredeemable, but I will foreshadow it more thoroughly. I will also flesh out the cardboard characters and make the violence more explicit – but not until I’ve heard back from some more of my first-round readers. I wouldn’t want them to be giving me feedback on an outdated draft.

My fiancée also said she what she liked: the plot overall, the philosophical epilogue, and “the sexy bit.” It’s more important to know what a reader enjoyed than what they didn’t – they’ll recommend a book based on its strengths, not its lack of flaws. I’ve resolved to make the book more philosophical, and more sexy – but again, not until I’ve heard back from my other readers. (My parents, for example, might want it to be less sexy.)

In the meantime, I’ve started writing another manuscript. I usually start the next book on the same day as finishing the last one; over the past twelve years, I can’t have spent more than ten hours “between books.” This is a crucial part of the process. I need to forget all about Irredeemable so as when I come back to it, I’ll be able to see the big picture, and I’ve found the best way to do this is to get working on something else. Also, every book teaches me to be a better writer. Maybe I’ll learn something from this one that I can use to improve Irredeemable - when it’s time to start round two.

MITIFOTIT: (Most Interesting Thing I Found On The Internet Today)

Speaking of philosophy, I love this:

http://www.make-everything-ok.com/