Ouch! This edit hurts.
How to survive it...
I’m waiting for feedback and the longer it is taking, the more I am worrying that the feedback is going to be BRUTAL and I’ll need to do a full rewrite. So am I readying myself, practising how I’ll feel, and telling myself these points over and over again …
1. Your Agent/Editor wants your work to be the best it can be
They are not being harsh/brutal/mean. They want this book to succeed. They have skin in this game too.
2. YOU want your work to be the best it can be
Ok, yes it HURTS to have to rewrite, but rewriting is part of the job.
Future You will thank Past You for all your hard work in making this book amazing. You’ll be so pleased you did.
3. Feedback is FREE advice
Your agent/editor is giving you their exclusive industry advice on what is not working with your book. Usually, you would have to pay for that level of expert manuscript critique. They are giving their professional opinion to you for free because…
4. You are respected in the industry
Your agent/editor values you enough to be honest.
They care about your work and about your reputation as an author.
An agent is your first line of protection to stop sub-standard work going out in your name. We need our agents to be honest and to stop us going out with the wrong work. I tend to get so involved with my stories that I find it really hard to judge what works and what doesn’t, even after all this time. So, I DO need the honesty.
5. Try to work out WHY you feel so tense/rubbish
I find it helps to name exactly what a harsh edit makes me feel. This is what goes on in my brain ...
Ugh I cba to rewrite.
Well, I’m afraid you have to get over that feeling cos rewriting is a huge element of the job.
Arghhhh I’ve already spent so much time on this project and all that time was wasted.
It’s not wasted. Work you do on your craft is never wasted. You learn more about your characters and more about your world in every draft.
Time is running out and now I’ve missed the next submission slot and maybe someone else will write my idea and I’ll never get the chance to do it.
How likely is that, really? Your story is yours. It’s unique in terms of voice and content. You have time. You have months, years, to get this right. It’s far better to wait and make something you are really proud of rather than something simply average.
But I haven’t earned anything while I’ve been messing about with a draft that didn’t work.
I sympathise. That’s rotten. It’s tough that our industry works like this. You do need to build in drafting/experimentation time into your income budgeting. I wish that was easier to do. I wish publishers paid you better so you could afford years of drafting time.
I feel really ashamed that I sent my agent/editor something substandard. They’ll think I have no judgement. They’ll think I don’t know how to write. What is writing anyway? I don’t even know! What is a book?? (Does anyone else suffer from that feeling or is it just me??)
EVERYONE needs editing. It’s pretty much impossible to submit a book and not need edits. You are not the exception to this. Other people have felt this pain too. Your feelings are completely normal, and part of the life of a creative person.
And you would be totally freaked out if your agent/editor said ‘Yeah it’s fine. Whatever. We’ll print it as is. This afternoon, in fact.’ That would mean they did not care.
The main thing to remember is
6. You survived a harsh edit before
The second book of my Trapdoor Mystery series needed a total rewrite. It started in the wrong place. It meandered. It was a hot mess. But after a few painful months it was GREAT.
I made it through last time and I will again.
Let the edit sink in. What hurts so much right now might hurt less after a good night’s sleep. You might wake up with brand new ways to fix the problems raised.
Go talk to your writer friends. Do a nice thing for yourself. Look at some practical writing advice to fix the problems with the draft. Then take a deep breath and go back to work.
I want to illustrate your Little Wolf story. This snippet is hilarious!
This is GREAT advice.