As Good as It Can Be
Time to write. That’s what I wish for you this holiday season. Long stretches of calm, quiet time to think about your story and come up with ideas. I wish you still moments of peaceful reflection.
That is certainly my wish for myself. My current book sits complete, waiting for another draft, another edit. Yet I keep putting my book off. I keep saying ‘I don’t have time.’ My own book is centimetres away from being as ‘good as it can be.’ But you only get one shot with publishers. My manuscript must be as good as it can be before an Acquisitions Editor sees it.
Pride, fear, ego – all those things make it hard for us to feel as though our work is finally done. Because when our books are finished, we must release them. Show them. Then we must be open to rejection and criticism. It’s not easy. That fear of a negative response makes us frightened to let our work go. But I also know my manuscript must be as good as it can possibly be before I cut it loose.
I mention this because I’ve seen a lot of work over the last few months that is not ready to show. But I understand that stage. There is a period so many writers go through when they are super excited because they realise they are onto something. Their idea has taken shape, the first scenes are down. The characters are becoming real people and the entire story is gelling beautifully. It’s a thrilling moment. But it’s also a dangerous moment because it’s usually when we show our work. We ask a friend to do a first read. We show our agent because we think they’ll be able to see where we want to take it. But I would seriously caution you against showing your work too early.
Just because you can see where your story will ultimately go, doesn’t mean your first readers can. So take a deep breath, work on your words some more and then some more again. I’ve been given some seriously ‘not ready’ manuscripts recently. Spelling mistakes, bad grammar, no paragraphs, long and clunky sentences, with too clever vocabulary when simpler words would have been far better.
These holidays I wish you time. Fearless, egoless, humble time to wrangle your work into better shape. Only send your manuscript off to an agent when it’s ‘as good as it can be.’ Only, and I mean only, show it to a publisher when there is nothing more you can change. Only release it to the world when you or your editor cannot improve it any more.
I know too many writers who have learnt this the hard way. If it means paying an editor, then pay an editor. But work like a trojan yourself before you let it leave your desk.
Much love, laughter, and light to you this Christmas and New Year.
I wish you time to write.
Art of Writing dates next year?
Thursday, February 9th to Sunday, February 12th, 2023, Brisbane, Australia
Sunday, May 7th to Thursday, May 11th, 2023, Florence
Sunday, June 4th to Thursday, June 8th, 2023, Florence
Sunday, June 25th to Thursday, June 29th The Next Draft, for finished manuscripts.
Sunday July 9th to Thursday, July 13th, 2023, Florence
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If you’d like to share any comments or thoughts, I’d be happy to hear from you. Email me directly at lisacliffordwriter@gmail.com.
