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Surviving the Full Force Gale of a Manuscript Critique

Manuscript critiques are difficult to read and absorb. Some time ago, I won a critique of the first chapter from my work in progress, and the truth in those brief edits was painful enough. Today, Vaughn Roycroft talks about living through and working with an editor’s study of a whole novel in progress. His post is one you’ll want to bookmark, print out, and tape to your desk for that day when an editor’s notes grace your inbox.

The Wind In My Sails: Ever feel like your fiction-writing career is adrift? I did. I had a finished manuscript I believed in, a binder full of notes on beta-reader feedback, and only a file full of rejections to show for it. Sometimes you need a guiding hand to get back on course.

A big part of my recent writing journey has involved the mentorship of my editor, Cathy Yardley, which I wrote about over at Writer Unboxed. Hiring a pro and undergoing a developmental edit has been the driving force behind my effort to make my work seaworthy for publication.

Christi saw the WU post and invited me to expand on the actual process of being professionally critiqued and putting the results into beneficial use.

All Hands on Deck: For the sake of the discussion, let’s assume you’ve already found a good match in an editor—a vital component of having a successful critique experience. If you haven’t yet, there are a lot of good articles about finding the right fit in a freelance editor, including here. If your mind still boggles at the idea of choosing, a good first step would be to join the Writer Unboxed facebook group. There are at least a dozen talented freelance editors in the group, and many of them regularly contribute to the conversation. It’s a relaxed forum for getting acquainted.

Red FlagRiding Out the Storm: So you’ve sent out your baby and the day finally comes. The reply email arrives. Trust me, there’s a storm on the horizon. You won’t know how severe it’ll be, but you are bound to be rocked. Any sailor worth his salt knows to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, right? Get to a safe harbor, weigh anchor, and batten down the hatches.

In other words, make sure you are in the right place, with the right amount of time, and in the right frame of mind to open your critique. Don’t excitedly start reading it on your iPhone at a dinner party. Make yourself comfortable. You should probably be alone, preferably with nothing pressing on your schedule. Every editor is different, but in my case, Cathy has provided a critique document as well as notations throughout the accompanying manuscript. Let’s assume you’ll receive the same. When you’re ready, open and slowly read the critique document. Breathe. Cathy’s critiques are broken down into characters, plot, and writing. Once you’ve read the critique doc, open and scan the notes in the manuscript, but don’t dawdle or linger on any certain point. Keep breathing. Just let the storm wash over you.

Taking Stock: If you’re anything like me, you’ve totally focused on the negatives and breezed over the positives. Now that you’ve experienced the full turbulence of the negatives, get up and walk the decks. Seriously, go out and take a long walk. It’s a great way to process what’s happened. You’ve been rattled, sure, but I’m willing to bet you’re still afloat. Nothing that can’t be repaired, right?

Now go back and read it all again. This time force yourself to focus on the positives. Repeat them aloud, jot them down, whatever it takes. Just force yourself to see the calm sea ahead. You’ve survived the storm. You will sail again.

Put It in Dry-dock: Now it’s time to step away. Resist the temptation to act impulsively. You need time to find your way from reactive defensiveness—or worse, overreaction—to proactive analysis. Unless there’s something horribly amiss, no matter how you feel about the experience so far, your only interaction with your editor at this point should be a thank-you note with your payment for services rendered. Go do something totally different. For me, the perfect getaway project is woodworking. Paint something. Strip and refinish a dresser. Replant a garden bed. Anything but obsess about your writing. Focusing your attention elsewhere will take the sting out of the critique. Trust me, your subconscious will still be working on analyzing the problems and seeking solutions. How long you will need may vary, but I need at least two weeks.

I know I’m ready to go back when the stinging problems have become no more than straightforward obstacles to be overcome. Since you’re in dry-dock, go through and make the obvious and easy fixes. No major overhaul, just the simple stuff—clunky sentences, grammatical errors, minor inconsistencies, etcetera.

Take the Voyage as a Passenger: Now it’s time to carefully read your full manuscript with your editor’s notations. But make a concerted effort to read it through her eyes. Take notes regarding the possibilities for changing the crew or plotting a new course, but don’t make those changes now. Just take the voyage of your story with the full knowledge that you can make it better for the next passenger. Get your sea-legs back by walking the decks often. Again, seriously, take a lot of long walks (or runs, or whatever you do) throughout this step. Bring aboard the advice that resonates, regarding the elements your gut tells you need to change. Jettison the rest.

It’s Time to Rebuild: After all of this, you may have some questions for your editor. Plus you’ve had time to cool your engines, so those questions are more likely to be born of proactive analysis than reactive defensiveness. Although Cathy has happily answered any questions I’ve posed via email, she also offers a paid one hour phone conference I like to utilize. Before I start revising, I set up the call. I have my notebook full of questions, and she lets me prattle on for the first ten minutes. I try to keep my prattling to proactive analysis, but she’s been known to talk me down from overreaction. Then we dissect the issues and hone the proper approaches to solutions.

This is the time to decide on the big stuff. Have you started in the right place? Does your inciting incident engage and entice readers? Do your characters’ motivations line up with their internal and external goals? Is your black moment truly black? Does each of the main characters undergo real change to make their arc satisfying?

Once you’ve worked though the big picture issues, you’ve survived the full force gale. It’s finally time to start your rewrite.

Thanks, Christi, for having me!

Your turn at the Helm: Have you ever been adrift? Have you had a full manuscript critique, or considered it? If you’ve had one, how’s the sailing been since? If not, think you’ll weather the storm?

In the sixth grade, Vaughn’s teacher gave him a copy of The Hobbit, sparking a lifelong passion for reading and history. After college, life intervened, and Vaughn spent twenty years building a successful business. After many milestone achievements, and with the mantra ‘life’s too short,’ he and his wife left their hectic lives in the business world, moved to their getaway cottage near their favorite shore, and Vaughn finally returned to writing. Now he spends his days polishing his epic fantasy trilogy. You can learn more about Vaughn on his website.

* Photo credit: joe_milkman on flickr.com
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Writing Lessons & Pinky MacOinkus: Guest Post by Jan O’Hara

I met Jan O’Hara somewhere along the cyber highway. The when or where doesn’t matter so much as the fact that I liked her immediately. Maybe it’s her red hair or that sassy attitude or the fact that she loves Colin Firth as much (if not more) than me. Any fan of Colin is a friend of mine. I’m thrilled to host Jan today; she offers us great insight into writing and leaves us with a link to a virtual hug any time we want one. Welcome, Jan!

How Introvertus Interruptus Taught Me
Four Simple Writing Lessons

As a self-identified introvert, who generally becomes re-energized in solitude, imagine how surprised I was to find myself rocking a people-filled errand day this past summer.

It didn’t seem to matter where I went, either. Whether I was in the coffee shop, the grocery store, the bottle depot, the library, people were uniformly warm and receptive to my jokes. “Wow,” I remember thinking. “This could be addicting.” For a brief time it almost seemed possible to have a hive-free social life.

Then I caught a woman eyeing my chest.

Now, peeps, you don’t know me, but trust me when I say she wasn’t flirting with me or evaluating me as a sexual competitor. Nor was she a reality show makeover artist who’d found her next hapless victim client. Rather, she was my educator, for as her gaze scanned my boobage and a smile bloomed on her lips, I finally understood what had triggered that morning’s success:

  1. When I’d straggled out of bed and, in an unthinking moment, thrown on my husband’s pumpkin-orange t-shirt – the one with the caption My Mama Thinks I’m Special – I began to project a certain personality.
  2. Presumably thinking I was informal, approachable, and had a healthy sense of humor, strangers engaged me at an atypical level.
  3. We began a positive feedback loop in which pleasant conversation led to more of the same.
  4. The change was so profound I rethought my self-imposed label of “socially awkward.”

Why am I telling you this, and what bearing does this have on the world of writing? Well, I took a few lessons from that experience:

1. When working with people, it’s hard to go wrong if you operate from a place of self-deprecating humor. This is true whether you’re crafting blog posts, tweets, a Facebook status, or simply putting butt in chair to write fiction. People are eager to laugh and connect.

2. If the writing is going well, huzzah! Carry on. But if it isn’t and you’re trying desperately to recreate whatever worked three months or three years ago because that is the way you write best, dang it!, reconsider. Quite simply, we aren’t always the best judge of why things go well or go poorly. All we can do is experiment in a spirit of hope and tenacity until we find the combo that works for right now.

3. Be mindful of the stories you tell yourself about your struggles as a writer, because to some degree, we get what we expect. Optimists label setbacks as temporary, external, and specific to particular circumstances. So for instance, it’s healthier to say, “I haven’t mastered the art of scene transition yet,” than to say, “I suck as a writer.” (And it’s healthier to say “I tend to be an introvert” rather than “I’m a socially-awkward hermit.”)

4. Take the time to view your writing environment with fresh eyes. What does it tell the world about the importance writing plays in your life? What does it tell you? Within the resources available to you right now, are you making it as easy as possible to slip into a productive writing mode?

For instance, I work better without clutter. If my office gets away from me and I don’t have time to tidy it, I’ll head to the coffee shop or library to write, then come back to establish order.

I also work better when I don’t take myself too seriously, so I’ve tried to extrapolate that Forrest-Gump-shirt ethos to my office, using free or reasonably-priced props that require little maintenance. Once set up, they act on a subliminal level to relax me and buoy my spirits.

This is why my office walls feature Betty Boop tin art and I’ve been known to wear Mr. Bean t-shirts. My mechanical timer, which I use to motivate myself for less-pleasant tasks, is a pig named Pinky MacOinkus.

On days where I’m feeling a touch of loneliness, I switch Pinky out for a timer my brother made specifically for me. The latter displays a customized picture and sound, so every time I use it, it’s almost like getting a hug. (If you have a PC and would like to try it, you are welcome to download the TartAlarm with this link).

What about you folks? Are you an introvert who’s discovered untapped depths of extroversion? Have you worked to change your internal dialogue about your writerly struggles? If you could make one modest improvement to your writing space, what would it be? Conversely, what feature of your office brings you the most pleasure?

Jan O’Hara left her writing dreams behind for years to practice family medicine, but has found her way back to the world of fiction. Currently the voice of the Unpublished Writer on Writer Unboxed, she’s hard at work on her contemporary romances, hoping one day soon to become unqualified for the position. She lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband and two children, and welcomes visitors to her citrus-infused blog, Tartitude. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.
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Sunday Discoveries

Found, in the freezer at our local grocery store:

Packer Country

Kemps Touchdown Sundae. Vanilla ice cream with a hint of fudge swirl and small treasures of chocolate footballs (complete with a caramel filling). It’s egg-free, nut-free, but not sugar-free, and it’s perfect for a rambunctious about-to-be-a-fourth-grader boy who’s trying to “beef up” for the school year.

Found, in my local library:

A Memoir after my own heart. Because reading food labels, on everything from ice cream to bread, is more about bypassing a trip to the ER than counting calories for me.

If you stand in the middle of the grocery aisle and study ingredients, or if the mention of a “pot luck dinner” makes you break out into a cold sweat, read this book. Sandra Beasley’s memoir touches on every aspect of food allergies, from the perspective of the allergic, those who care for someone with allergies, and even the research and science behind allergies.  I can’t say enough about how much I love, LOVE, this book. I have it on loan right now, but I want a copy for myself. I want to slip it onto my son’s nightstand in a few more years, when he’s too big for me to check his pockets for his Epi-Pen.

Found, in my schedule for fall:

Not enough time (27/365)Time. I was glad (ever-so-slightly) last Monday when my day job kicked in, and not just because my mornings and evenings became more predictable. As I considered my start and end times and my work schedule unfolded, my day planner revealed a secret: little pockets of time to myself each day. The impossibility of it all was matched with a dose of guilt, so I closed my calendar quick. Afraid to breathe. Maybe that sounds dramatic, but if you’re a mother and a writer, you know the value of any uninterrupted time (and the power in a second of guilt).

Free time is there, though. I’ve double checked.

Found, on Writer Unboxed:

Twitter Bird SketchTwo great posts by Nina Badzin on the Art and Science of Twitter, Part 1 and Part 2.

If you’re new to Twitter, and even if you’re not new, these posts are a must-read. Because when you suddenly discover a pocket of time, you don’t want to waste it on Social Networking. Nina Badzin explains how to make Twitter work for you, so that you can get back to work, doing what you love best.

What’s new in your kitchen, on your shelves, or in your reader?