Yesterday I was honored to receive the fully-revised draft of my first novel from my editor, who over the past month painstakingly went through and corrected/standardized not only the spelling and grammar used throughout but also made suggestions for word order, scene breaks, and descriptions that could use more punch. I am simply blown away by the number and quality of revisions she made, and in almost every case I agree with her assessments and recommendations. The question I face now: where do I go from here?
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Here’s an example of the work she put into my draft—adding additional margin notes to raise issues, reordering phrases to make the text flow more naturally, and minimizing my habit for over-explanation (telling, not showing). Some of the edits at first glance seemed almost trite, but after integrating them and rereading the page, I can see why they were made.
My editor (Kelly Cozy) did a fantastic job pointing out where my text could be improved, the nearly 200-page behemoth I hope to release as my first published novel. When I started compiling the story into a cohesive narrative I had envisioned going the self-publishing route, putting the book up on Amazon and trying to get sales by word of mouth. As I continued however I really started enjoying the idea of seeing my printed book on a store’s shelves, particularly as local bookstores are very local-writer-friendly.
In order to have my book appear in a physical marketplace like Copperfield’s or Barnes & Nobles, I have to find an agent and/or a publishing company that’s willing to take a gamble on my story. It stretches out the time to publish, but it also breeds some measure of respectability—in many circles self-published titles still aren’t seen as equivalent to traditional publishing. I suppose, behind everything, it would be a much larger boost to my own ego if a publishing shop were to pick up my novel rather than me flinging it online.
I’ve reached out to a local bookstore manager to ask for his advice in where I should go from here (namely, how to find an agent and where to start approaching a publisher), but I also don’t want to get ahead of myself; after all, I have to actually sit down and make the adjustments and changes that Kelly suggested first.