Hey. Just wondering how long everyone takes to go from first draft completion to something you can submit. As a side question, how many times will you go through it before you feel confident that you're "done"?
How long from First Draft to Submission?
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I finished my first draft of my first book in September, 2002. Didn't begin querying agents until April, 2003, but not because I did a lot of revisions--at first, I was just nervous about sharing it with anyone, and then I had to research the whole agent/query business.
My first drafts are fairly polished. Nowadays I write, look it over, try to get comments from a couple of readers, fix what they think needs fixing (if I agree), send it to my agent. She makes some more comments, I tweak accordingly, she sends it out. Might take a month or two, most of it waiting.
My first drafts are fairly polished. Nowadays I write, look it over, try to get comments from a couple of readers, fix what they think needs fixing (if I agree), send it to my agent. She makes some more comments, I tweak accordingly, she sends it out. Might take a month or two, most of it waiting.
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I do more editing now than a few years ago so I'd say it's at least a year from first draft to submission. The last couple of books have taken me roughly six months; I leave them alone for a month and then get started on the edits.
I suppose this is different for everyone.
I wrote seven drafts of my book before I felt that it was ready for submission, which took many months. As Seun says, leave each draft alone for a while before you go back to it.
I wrote seven drafts of my book before I felt that it was ready for submission, which took many months. As Seun says, leave each draft alone for a while before you go back to it.
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Let's see. I finished my first draft my 13th birthday, so August 2005. It took so long, because my teacher and I worked on revising it during an ECO period. By the end of the year, we had not finished the whole thing. This summer I finished revising it on my own and started submitting queries in July, so a little bit less than a year.
Let's see, it takes about a full three weeks of hard pounding and seven or eight passes over the manuscript before I'm satisfied. I tackle one element for each pass instead of trying to do a complete edit, tackling all aspects. I used to do three passes (revisions) but found out that it wasn't enough, since my agent was throwing it right back at me. I revise word choice, plot holes, grammar, passive, format, sentence structure, characterization, and other elements all seperately, so I can concentrate on each before I make the next pass. I have a terrible comma problem, too, that needs its own pass.
This only works for me since I'm so rotten at revising my own work.
Tri
This only works for me since I'm so rotten at revising my own work.
Tri
time
It depends on what I'm writing, and on any looming deadlines. The fastest a novel has gone from beginning to submission is twenty-one days. I think the fastest a short story has gone from beginning to submitting is two hours. Both sold first time out.
But the usual procedure is a first draft, then some minor changes as a type whatever it is into the computer, and then a clean up draft wherein I start on page one, read through, and fix anything I find wrong along the way, including typos. I tighten, rewrite any clunky sentences or clunky dialogue, look for inconsistencies, etc.
When this draft is done, it's time to submit.
It depends on what I'm writing, and on any looming deadlines. The fastest a novel has gone from beginning to submission is twenty-one days. I think the fastest a short story has gone from beginning to submitting is two hours. Both sold first time out.
But the usual procedure is a first draft, then some minor changes as a type whatever it is into the computer, and then a clean up draft wherein I start on page one, read through, and fix anything I find wrong along the way, including typos. I tighten, rewrite any clunky sentences or clunky dialogue, look for inconsistencies, etc.
When this draft is done, it's time to submit.
Took five years from first word to first full read. Now another six month revision and a partial request on my first three queries. So it's been six years now and still no rep. But I have two more publications, two more books (though both need a rework before I'll submit them anywhere) since then.
2-4 months (barring life circumstances that delay the process). It's impossible to count the number of exact times I go through a manuscript because I have this weird way of going through a manuscript probably hundreds of times to randomly to proof and polish as I'm writing it. I'll hit this chapter or that depending on my (creative) mood. Then I build my agent query list and give the manuscript time to rest. Before sending it out I do a final beginning-to-end read through. It's late and I honestly don't even know if this answer makes any sense.
I would think that varies from writer to writer. I work full time and write after work and on my days off so I am a bit limited for time.
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I tend to edit a lot as I go along. And I submitted my book before it was finished. Though my agent to be did request a lot of editing before she took me on, so from her initial request to actually signing, was about 3 months of editing stuff.
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For the one we're finishing up, some chapters had thirty plus revisions, and it took six years. But we also had a lot of things that we needed to learn in crafting a novel, and that simply took a lot of time (it's a lot easier when you know to do a, b, and c up front than having to go back and fix it).
The next one should be a lot easier with less revisions because we now know what elements need to be in place for the story to work.
The next one should be a lot easier with less revisions because we now know what elements need to be in place for the story to work.
How long from first draft to submission
There is no rule. Six weeks if you are inflamed and inspired and don't care for food or drink. Twenty years if you are careful, have writer's bloc off and on, or if you have to make a living. For me - sitting on five unpublished and one published novel, and having a full-time job to pay the mortgage, the car, and wife, it has been two to five years. It's amazing how quickly the years go by.
There is no rule. Six weeks if you are inflamed and inspired and don't care for food or drink. Twenty years if you are careful, have writer's bloc off and on, or if you have to make a living. For me - sitting on five unpublished and one published novel, and having a full-time job to pay the mortgage, the car, and wife, it has been two to five years. It's amazing how quickly the years go by.
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