Though my debut historical novel, WALTZ IN SWING TIME, took over a decade to write and publish, I learned a lot along the way - especially about the revision process. When I finished the first draft of the novel at the end of 2016, I spent a couple of months “reviewing” it before shopping it to agents in early 2017. Little did I know, the bulk of my work had yet to begin. After receiving comments back from agents who had read the full manuscript, I realized I had several significant changes to make before the novel was publication-ready.
First, the manuscript needed more immediate action - and higher stakes. This meant eliminating or drastically shortening chapters in which action happened primarily to external characters, separate from the heroine’s immediate family. It also meant tightening the plot so that each chapter led to another inevitable conflict, stake, or decision. But that was just the beginning.
Two and a half years after I finished my first draft, even after I signed with a small publisher, got dropped, and signed with my eventual indie publisher (Black Rose Writing), I continued making changes. This included several rounds of punctuation, quotations, vocabulary choices, typo corrections. But more importantly, it included inserting an even more dramatic stake for the protagonist, Irene Larsen: the choice between leaving her family and farm for good or pursuing a musical career and marriage far away from them. I also changed the ending chapter so it was more “show” than “tell,” via a dialogue between the main character as an old woman and her granddaughter.
After reviewing/revising the manuscript half a dozen or more times, I was finally able to ensure that all the main actions and decisions fit within the novel’s themes. One helpful way I discovered to accomplish this was by condensing the plot to a short “pitch” for prospective agents and publishers. The first part sets up the conflict; the second part hints at the decision or action at stake; and the third part summarizes the novel’s themes, and why readers should care. Any conflicts and stakes described in the pitch must be highlighted in the novel itself to make it a compelling read.
The second time around, as I’ve revised my second historical novel-in-process (set in San Francisco and Yosemite during 1934), I’ve adopted many of these techniques with improved results. I began writing the pitch while I was still working on the first draft of the novel, to ensure the stakes were raised and the protagonist had a critical decision/ turning point. The first draft took only two years to complete (as opposed to ten), and over the past six months, I’ve completed seven or eight revised drafts. Without fail, each time I re-read the novel, I see other areas that can be removed or tightened.
For example, with historical fiction, authors may be tempted to showcase their research by including most of their findings in the book. I made this mistake with the first draft of my second novel, and quickly realized I had to condense or expurgate this information. The trick is finding the balance between including sufficient detail to give readers a solid picture of the time period and place without overwhelming them with too many useless facts. Dialogue that includes that information, in my opinion, should be removed and summarized, because dialogue is best used to inform readers about characters’ emotional conflicts, not to convey facts about plants, birds, historical decisions, labor strikes, etc.
While I believe it’s important for writers to find three to four beta readers to review a manuscript before submitting/pitching it to agents and publishers, I also believe that ultimately, it is the writer’s first and foremost responsibility to be her own toughest critic and editor. By and large, it’s difficult for readers to articulate what does and doesn’t work in a manuscript; and by the time it gets to an agent, who often are more adept at articulating weaknesses, it’s too late. Therefore, it’s up to the writer to pore over her own draft multiple times, looking for different things each time: plot holes, character contradictions, passages with too many useless facts, typos/grammar errors, overly verbose descriptions, stakes in each chapter, a critical decision or turning point for the protagonist, a theme that “hangs together,” and can be summarized/pitched to an agent.
Some writers claim they edit as they go, but I argue this is not enough, and can never truly succeed. You must re-read the manuscript in its entirety - probably multiple times - to make sure you’ve tightened the plot and raised the stakes to fit the novel’s theme. And as they say, don’t be afraid to “kill your darlings.” If you love a particular phrase or description, but it doesn’t contribute to the overall plot or theme, remove it and set it aside for another novel. The joy in doing this, I’ve discovered, is that with every revised draft, as I reduce the word count in my novel, I’m excited the novel is that much better. My ultimate goal is to wait until I’ve achieved the best possible revised draft before pitching to agents and publishers, which should improve the manuscript’s chances of acceptance.
In summary, completing the first draft of a manuscript is an important milestone to celebrate, but it is just the beginning. The revision process is where the bulk of tightening the plot, sharpening the stakes, and drawing out the theme(s) takes place. In turn, writing a compelling pitch to accompany the plot will help entice agents and publishers, and ultimately readers - something every writer wants.