REPLY IN THE SKY
Dude, Kristin wrote back! She’s willing to reconsider THE DISAPPEARED. I am psyched. Totally. Psyched.
Even if she rejects it again, I’ll chalk this up as a huuuge learning experience. Why? Because I made a big mistake the first time around when I queried her.
Back when I sent her the book in August, I thought it was awesome, ready to roll, a finished product, and it wasn’t. There was some heavy lifting left to do with it, and I shirked it off, thinking my book was fa-bu-lous and any agent was a fool not to see it.
That wasn’t the case. And it was a tough lesson to learn. I’ve made a pact with myself, and my bestest writing friend Ellen Baker (author of the forthcoming book KEEPING THE HOUSE published by, you guessed it, Random House) that I will never send out a book again until it’s gone through three (count ‘em, three) major rewrites. That’s a lot, but it’s so worth it.
It’s definitely humbling to sit here and blog about such submission blunders. Or to admit that I thought my book was totally fab when it wasn’t. I guess that’s all part of the learning process. Open mouth. Insert crow.
Ellen recommended a book – and I second her recommendation! – that helped take TD to the next level. It’s called THE PLOT THICKENS: 8 WAYS TO BRING FICTION TO LIFE and the author is Noah Lukeman. Here’s a link.
Oh, and for anyone who’s interested, here’s my second email to Kristin, asking her to reconsider TD:
Dear Kristin,
Thank you for your response to THE DISAPPEARED. I appreciate your willingness to consider the work and, even though it was rejected, I very much respect your opinion and your choice.
There was a note on your blog a few weeks back about receiving manuscripts with great plots, but flat characters and cliché dialogue. You bet that got me thinking about TD. I also realized that after receiving your rejection, I had two paths I could follow, like in the Choose Your Own Adventure series, where one choice leads to deadly scorpions and the other leads out of the dark cave. I chose the latter and considered why TD wasn’t working. I also set out to improve it.
I’m writing you again because I realized I had a great book concept but a main character who wasn’t accessible to readers; I had a kick-butt plot, but little character growth to keep people reading. I had a lot that was right, but a lot that was wrong, too. I have been working on these issues and I’d like to showcase just how much the book has changed for the better, and to ask if you would be willing to read the improved prologue and first chapter, pasted below, as evidence of this. If these words don’t grab you and make you want to read more, fair enough. But I had to ask again. It’s a long, long, long shot but then again so was the notion that Nick and Jessica would stay together, Paris’s album would rock, and the Duff sisters would make blockbuster summer movie. Oh wait … um, well, at least Frodo make it to the top of the mountain, right? Here’s the text, and thank you for the continued consideration.