I get this question a lot. How long did it take you to write your first ms? How long and how many times did you revise? How long did it take to find and agent? I usually laugh and toss out me standard, non-committal answer: It Depends.
I am currently in the thick of revisions for my YA contemporary Inside Out and now it is my turn to throw that question back at you. I have given myself 2 months to do a complete overhaul of the book. (Mind you I have specific guidelines and suggestions to employ, so the task is a tad-bit easier). That is roughly 3-4 chapters a week. That gives my amazing critique partners time to read and catch any glaring inconsistencies before I start tearing up the next chuck of chapters.
Are any of you in neck-deep in the revision process? If so, do you have specific target dates you set for yourself and is there a process you follow?
I've started out the New Year cleaning up a list of smaller writing tasks before settling in with a manuscript revision. No time line for it, but it helps me to have the smaller things done first so as not to distract. I clicked over from Lindsay's today, enjoyed my visit!
ReplyDeleteYes! I would like to start querying by Valentine's Day. Saw It Coming is undergoing its fifth revision. WAHOOO!!!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I've been in revisions for like ever. I really need to move along but I keep laboring over the first five chapters. I go back all the time. I wonder if I'll ever be totally happy with it. I'm glad you posted this because this has given me the push to just move on and I'll let a beta reader tell me whats wrong. I think we get to a point where we're just blind after spending too much time on our story. At least that's how I feel right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm learning not to set deadlines but my goal is to revise one full chapter (line editing and such) every two days.
ReplyDeleteI'm still hammering out my new WIP but I've already thought about the editing process because I really love editing! (I know, I'm weird...)
ReplyDeleteI plan to give myself a month and a half to do edits, but I may need to bump up my timeline depending on how things are going. Plus, I'm such a tinkerer! I have a propensity for tweaking and tweaking my books until it drives me batty. Haha.
I just decided my MS needs a major rewrite. I haven't plotted out a working time frame, but I've been working on this MS for well over a year now.
ReplyDeleteWell, as you know, you're pretty much doing my revisions for me on my latest WIP. LOL As far as Inside Out, I know for a fact it'll be stellar. Writing my first MS, I pumped it out in about four months. Then revisions took me another year! My latest is taking me longer to pump out, but I'm hoping revisions will be a lot smoother. So here's to drinkin' wine, editing and great beta partners!
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard for me to ever feel done. My answer would have to be even more non-commital than yours because of my "tinkering" problem. Hey, the first step to getting better is admitting the proble, right?
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