Handling editorial feedback.
Reflection.
Taking a pause did wonders. I work to a constant schedule in my personal life and job, so it’s taken some effort to dig deep and tell myself it’s ok to do nothing. That I don’t always have to be ‘on’ in life, especially with my book and on this journey. Putting some distance between my expectations and the feedback I received felt good.
Like any first-time writer the first time I cast my eyes over the feedback, all I saw were the comments telling me what was wrong with it. Now I’ve read it again with space in-between, I am understanding that handling editorial feedback is a skill. That there is no such thing as bad feedback if it’s constructive because it’s the space where we can learn and get better.
My process for handling editorial feedback was to first actively look for the good comments, of which there were a few. I’m listing them here, simply as a reminder to myself when this process gets tough and I feel like an imposter that I can write. This list also balances against the things I need to work on, which is a lot and I think is helpful for any first-time writer especially of memoir to think about.
The good;
I have a meaningful story worth telling with the makings of something that can both enlighten and move readers
From my writing style, she can see I have the ability to paint scenes that will capture and engage readers and some of the in-the-moment scenes are beautifully done.
I have a clear sense of my life trajectory and what shaped it which is invaluable when it comes to shaping the narrative arc of a memoir
I have a strong story structure in place which shows a natural instinct for storytelling (yay!)
As a first draft I should be proud of myself because I’ve bought together the story I want to tell.
What I need to work on;
Manuscript
I have not yet written my story with the reader in mind. Right now I’m directing and telling them what to think and feel. Essentially the lines between the author Kavita and the character ‘Kavita’ are blurred because I have written my story from the hindsight of being a much older and wiser Kavita who has done a lot of work on myself. But little ‘Kavita’ doesn’t know any of the things I know now but yet I’m forcing my insights into the narrative all the way through. This is boring for the reader because they want to work it out for themselves, they don’t want to be told!
In her feedback Penny, also a published author, educated me in great detail on the constructs of storytelling down to the basics of what an ‘external content genre driving plot arc’ is as opposed to ‘internal content genre driving character arcs’ and so much more. This made me realise I didn’t have a clue how to be a storyteller and that I have so much to learn.
I need to focus on tension and pacing. Especially as a first-time writer, there are going to be elements that we are really proud of and attached too, but that doesn’t meant it should be included if you want to make a manuscript tighter and more engaging.
Book proposal
A book proposal is essentially a business document. Literary agents need to see that the author understands what type of book they have written, where it sits in the market, is there an audience for it, who are they and why will they care about this story. In a highly competitive market where agents and publishers have a budget of X to spend on X number of books per year, why should they invest in my book and will it make them money?
The proposal is normally around 10,000 words and is broken down into;
Synopsis
Author bio
Market research and audience
Chapter outlines
Inclusion of sample chapters
I had no idea how to write a proposal, then I got to work and it became something I was proud of. Fast forward to the feedback, turns out that again that I hadn’t thought about the audience, in this case the agent. In my words not Penny’s, my proposal was too fluffy and woolly and my synopsis (something I was particularly proud of) not written for a literary agent but could be the blurb inside of the book and one look at it, they’d know I didn’t have a clue. Finally, my chapter outlines were too generic. So basically I need to start the 10,000 book proposal again from scratch.
Next steps
I was advised to work on the proposal first because it will focus my mind on the exact story I want to tell, what needs to stay and what needs to go. By pinning down the key controlling idea and synopsis, taking on board all her guidance and advise on how to restructure my story, once the proposal is in the right place, I can then use that as a ‘control’ against my manuscript when it comes to redrafting it.
Handling editorial feedback is all about learning and getting better and for that I’m excited to get going. Below are some helpful links below for first-time writers like me, who need help to tell their best story. I also want to recommend a brilliant, sharply observed and insightful pocket-sized book called ‘Show Your work’ by Austin Kleon. For all artists, creators and entrepreneurs Austin gives clear and actionable tips and advice for how we can share our creativity and get discovered. It’s the reason at 48, I’ve just put my first blog out. Give it a read, it really is brilliant.
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https://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28915986-the-emotional-craft-of-fiction
