From the Beginning

I've started work on revising Chapter 1 in order to bring it into line, stylistically with the later chapters. Most of the first third of the book will end up undergoing such a revision. To give you an idea of how much it is changing, take a look at this screen shot of the work done so far:




In other words, the work is significant. And necessary. When the manuscript was most recently rejected, I had to face the nagging concern that had been eating at me for quite some time. I was afraid, and now think it was true, that there was too much of the parody left in the early chapters, too many self-consciously bright lines. I had gone through and taken out a load of jokes a couple of years ago, but I hadn't done what really needed to be done, which was thoroughly rewriting that part.

The end result of this process should be a much stronger manuscript.

The Latest but Not Greatest

I heard back from the independent publisher last evening, and Michael Drayton, Detective Guy was rejected yet again. that's life, although they could have chosen another day besides my anniversary to tell me.

Anyway, I am considering at this point the self-publishing option. ("The self-publishing option." Doesn't that sound important and almost dangerous? "mr. President, what shall we do?" "We have no choice. This time it's the self-publishing option.") I've never been very good at playing the game or being a cog in the machine, and maybe now is no time to start. It's worth some investigation, anyway.

If there are any better ideas, I'm open to them.

The Next One

Ever since I finished Michael Drayton, Detective Guy, I've been thinking about what sort of follow-up that book should have. It's not that I lack for ideas for stories--I have several of those--it's that Drayton doesn't seem to lend himself easily to the longer form of the novel. And his adventures are too complicated for short stories. He's a novella kind of guy. And I hate the idea of padding something out just to make it a more publishable length.

So, this morning, I had the thought that I might try pitching a follow-up that was a collection of three novellas rather than one novel. That way, I can just tell the three stories I have in mind and let them each spin out as they will without having to worry about reaching somebody else's idea of a publishable length. Had I had this idea a couple of years ago, I probably would have just written a Drayton omnibus that would tell all the stories I have to relay for him in one fat volume. Maybe some day I will.

No word yet from the independent publisher. Ten months today. That's fine. I'd rather that they took their time and accepted it than rushed and rejected it. I'm just fine with being patient.

For Their Consideration

Well, I went and done it. I have submitted the entire manuscript of Michael Drayton, Detective Guy to an independent publisher. Since they wisely give no guidelines on how long it takes them to get through the slush pile, I have no true idea how long I'll have to wait to hear back. And that's fine.

Now I can put it aside in my mind and let the Fates take up the load.

In the meantime, I will be concentrating on my non-Drayton novel, Such Is Life. And I've started seriously thinking about the second Drayton tome. As pertinent thoughts occur to me about that, I'll post them here.

And now we wait.

Retrenching

I wrote yesterday's post in the midst of many strains, including work on a chapter of Drayton that, while working well in some regards, didn't have the right feel. What bothered me about the revised Chapter One wasn't that the work was bad as much as that it wasn't fitting in with the existing book as well as I had hoped. It was becoming apparent that, in order to make this one chapter work, the whole book would have to be revised extensively, and I was not yet comfortable with that notion.

It's not that the book as a whole doesn't needed revision. I'm sure it does. It's just that, whatever its value, whatever its weaknesses and strengths, it does not, I think, need to become an entirely different book. Any revisions should further explore the thing that it is, should iron out as many of the bumps and creases as my talent will allow, should shine light in the corners that are now dark.

And so, mostly on instinct, I have put that revision on hold.

However, I do have a new plan in place. I will continue to market the manuscript as it is, only I will stop sending it to agents and start sending it to independent publishers. The aspects of Drayton that turn off agents--the mixture of literary with genre fiction, the length, the humor--might actually turn out to be strengths when being read by an editor. The only way to find out for sure is to try.

And it is not the end of the fragment recently written. It strikes me that, with a few amendations, it would work as part of the second Drayton novel. That story will intertwine investigations that Drayton performs for a wealthy, reclusive eccentric, a certain C.F. Dudley, with work he performs for a local TV news vixen who is concerned about a stalker.

I think these are the right moves to make, although I have been wrong many times in the past, may be now, and most certainly will be again in the future. All you can do is stumble forward as best you can.

Blocked

I've gotten stuck in the rewriting of Drayton, and I find myself lost. I have no idea what I'm doing or why. I suspect that I should hold off again, step back, and reconsider. Put it aside for a year or more and let it fester. See how it comes out once I've forgotten it.

I think I should almost certainly start over and rethink and refine every aspect of the book, every page, every paragraph, every sentence, every word.

But we'll see. Currently, I'm feeling pretty low and frustrated generally. that's not the proper time to make these sorts of decisions. However, I think I will put the project on hold while I sort myself out. That's only fair to the work. It's better to do nothing than to do it an injury.

The Beginning Is Begun

For the first four days, the new version dragged. I had a couple of hundred words that I was fiddling with, but little real progress. And then, yesterday, the sluice opened. words started coming out in groups. You never know how long a good period like this will last, but I don't feel dry this morning. In fact, I've already added a couple of more word groups.

My current goal is to get through about 50 pages, which is the sample length most often requested by agents. I don't have a deadline in mind, other than getting it done as quickly as I can while doing a decent job of it. Once I have a big enough chunk to market the manuscript with, I can resume my sales effort. But we'll see what happens between now and when I get there.