Newbie looking for support, advice and a chance to hone my editorial skills

Lady Fox

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Hi, I'm Lady Fox and I'm a writer - or at least I'm trying to be. I have (almost) finished my first novel. Draft 6 is 50% polished to perfection (my current level of perfection anyway) but I fear I still have much to learn and that the novel could be better. I've done query letters and synopses (both of which I am terrible at) and have committed the cardinal sin of sending out to lit agents before the 100% polish is complete. I've had rejections - 9 so far - and though it stings I'm very much aware it's all part of the process and it's a subjective business blah blah blah - still hurts though. Currently I'm working hard to polish the last half of the book and while I wait for the rest of the rejections to pour in have decided to join this lovely forum and try to improve what little skill I have (do I sound whiny now? Sorry - not feeling sorry for myself - honest!), swap stories, ideas and knowledge, learn all that I can and give back where I can. I'm very much looking forward to meeting you all, reading your lovely stories and soaking up some much needed advice.

LFx
 

Denevius

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Nine rejections isn't bad, honestly, but further narrative and prose polishing is always a good idea.

Nice to have you here, Lady Fox, and welcome to AW!
 

Chase

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Lady,

As Denevius said, you don't have a boatload of rejections yet. While you may have jumped the gun with submissions a tad, it's all an ongoing process, and you can continue polishing until your next submissions.

Not to get bogged down in terms--especially since we write different forms of the same language--but you're revising rather than editing.

When you've revised and polished your manuscript to the best of your ability, you may want to find at least one beta-reader or critique partner and then revise again.

Since you're going the trade publishing route, when a publisher accepts your book, that firm will provide you with an editor at no cost to you.

Looks like you're on the right track. :welcome: and good luck. :greenie
 
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Lady Fox

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Thanks for the welcome guys. My preference is trad pub, but I'm considering self-pub too.

Hi Chase, you're correct, I am revising, but I'm also concentrating on the editing process too - and not only because of the self-pub possibility. I've been reading a lot about the editing process, it fascinates me, and I've been trying to incorporate what I've learned so far into my writing - more so at this stage than earlier versions. It's a work in progress but something I adore doing.

Thanks again, I'm really looking forward to getting involved :)
 

regdog

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:welcome:



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Lady Fox

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I'm new here too. And don't worry, you don't sound whiny. I do hope that you don't get any more rejections. Good luck!

Thanks - but too late - got another one this morning - I'm aiming for 100% rejection !!

Welcome to you too Sayin Quota, I look forward to seeing you around here :)
 

Zan75

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Welcome Lady Fox, good luck with your edits.
 

DarbyC

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Lady Fox:

I don't think it's unusual to accumulate rejections. Use them to spur you on to get that novel polished to a high metallic sheen and then try try again! You will get some good advice in here, I am sure. Welcome, from another newbie!
DarbyC
 

tdederer

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Hello!

I'm also curious about what your novel is about...and what your query letter says. While getting a lot of rejection letters is normal for anyone, the type of rejection is important, too. If you're getting form rejections, then maybe it is just your query letter needs some work to really catch someone's (likely an intern) attention. I used to intern at a lit agency, so I was the one who was reading submissions and deciding whether or not to request pages based on query letters.

Anyway, if you want an extra set of eyes on the query, feel free to PM me with more details!

Best,
Teri
 

Lady Fox

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Thanks guys - feeling the love ;)

tdederer, thanks for the offer, one which I may very well take you up on soon. The rejections have so far all been form rejections, and while the full novel wasn't completely polished, the part that went out was. However, I do think I'm rubbish at queries and even worse at the synopsis. The first half of the novel is still with Betas while I finish the final polish on the last half, but a few have come back to me and the feedback so far is that they love it and can't wait for the rest. One compared it to early Barbara Erskine, which was a huge compliment because I loved her early stuff and while I don't write historical fiction I do aim for a similar atmosphere that her books used to evoke for me - but with a Stephen King-esque twist. It's frustrating to say the least, but I understand it's the nature of today's industry and the competition is phenomenal. At least there's self-pub if all else fails ;)
 

Melody

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Welcome, Lady Fox. The best advice I can give you, as someone who is on their third novel, is to look around the board and see what you can glean from questions others have asked that also pertain to you. Getting in a critique group with either members on this board, or in your local writing community will also help. Good luck and happy writing.
 

tdederer

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No problem--feel free to PM me anytime if you want to send the query letter. And best of luck with all of your revisions, including the revisions of the query letter. I've always found it tricky to "sell" yourself and to find just the right hook for the project.
 

FlameMaster5

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Hi, I'm Lady Fox and I'm a writer - or at least I'm trying to be. I have (almost) finished my first novel. Draft 6 is 50% polished to perfection (my current level of perfection anyway) but I fear I still have much to learn and that the novel could be better. I've done query letters and synopses (both of which I am terrible at) and have committed the cardinal sin of sending out to lit agents before the 100% polish is complete. I've had rejections - 9 so far - and though it stings I'm very much aware it's all part of the process and it's a subjective business blah blah blah - still hurts though. Currently I'm working hard to polish the last half of the book and while I wait for the rest of the rejections to pour in have decided to join this lovely forum and try to improve what little skill I have (do I sound whiny now? Sorry - not feeling sorry for myself - honest!), swap stories, ideas and knowledge, learn all that I can and give back where I can. I'm very much looking forward to meeting you all, reading your lovely stories and soaking up some much needed advice.

LFx

Welcome, Lady Fox! :D
I'm new around here as well.

Sounds like everyone agrees that you're a) not whiny and b) going about all this [mostly] in the right way.
For someone like me who has her story pretty much planned out but needs to actually WRITE IT... <.< I can only say I hope to find myself in your exact position. ^^

The rejections sound harsh, but if it's all a part of the game, then, I say:
GAME ON! ;]

But hopefully they won't last forever.
And looking forward to your company around the forum! :D
 

Lady Fox

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And welcome to you too, FlameMaster5. Tbh, the rejections aren't that bad, but that's mostly because I'm open to self publishing. I was in exactly the same spot as you a couple of years ago, envying those that had completed their book. I thought I'd never see the end result - and now here I am outlining and researching the second - it's a ruddy good feeling let me tell ya :Sun:

Looking forward to seeing you around too and hopefully critiquing some of your work.


Best of luck.