This is part three in a three-part guest post series on For the Love of Film and Novels where I break down what you need to write a novel and finish. Check out Part I: An Amusement for how to start and Part II: Your Novel as Mistress, Master, and Tyrant for how to get through the editing phase. This week is all about knowing when you are finished, which can be much more
difficult than writing 'The End.' This is a little teaser of Part III: It's Time to Kill the Monster. To read the full post, CLICK HERE!
Click here for Part I: Getting Started - An Amusement.
Click here for Part II: Your Novel as Mistress, Master, and Tyrant.
As Winston Churchill said, “Writing a
book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it
becomes a mistress and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last
phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you
kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.”
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Many writers say, I will know when my book is finished when an
agent or publisher picks me up. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The state
of the industry confuses authors about their finished work. We’ve all heard the
stories of the bestselling author who queried 100 agents before getting one who
would take a chance, so obviously it’s possible to be rejected even if you have
something that is finished and good. You would have to be extremely skilled at self-denial
to not question whether or not your book needs work after 100 rejections.
Still, I know plenty of writers who continue toiling on a wonderful book
because the industry hasn’t recognized their efforts yet.
So how do you know when your work is actually ready?
The Final Edits
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To begin, there shouldn’t be any sections that you personally
consider weak or flawed. Resist the urge to think an editor will ultimately
help you fix it. If you have those types of flaws, you probably won’t get
accepted by an editor and even if you do get an editor, most editors don’t edit
anymore. Check out this book for help with editing, Self-Editing for Publication.
Once you get to a point of satisfaction and a point where you can’t stand to
even look at your novel anymore, it’s time to get reader opinions.
To finish reading the post CLICK HERE! And don't forget to leave a comment and follow the wonderful blog For the Love of Film and Novels!
Click here for Part I: Getting Started - An Amusement. Click here for Part II: Your Novel as Mistress, Master, and Tyrant. |
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