Some of my regulars will know that I have been working for a long time on a story called The Ultimate Evil, a high fantasy young adult novel. Several of you know that I was planning on revamping it.
Well, this is where the planning stops and the action begins!
I have begun my revamp of The Ultimate Evil. I'm super excited! It doesn't even begin the same way anymore. The original beginning paragraphs were kinda boring and now I'm going to change all that. The story is going to be longer, more dramatic, more desperate, and a MUCH more exciting read! I have no plans for how long it will get. Right now it's sitting pretty at 55,000 words and I gather it will exceed that now, but I don't know by how much. I have learned not to stress over length. If your story is good, then length doesn't matter.
Literary Update: The Ultimate Evil was completely rejected by all 17 agents I sent it to. Are you surprised? I'm not. Also, I just recieved another rejection letter for Khaladin. Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space! has still not been submitted to any agencies. Still focused on Khaladin.
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2 comments:
Revamps are… difficult.
I had to take a 17,000-word first draft and expand it, fixing the plot in the meantime. It became 72,000 words. (I write YA/Adult, so that's on the short end, especially for high-ish fantasy like this one.)
I'm looking another revamp in the eye, right now. We're only at the hissing and fang-bearing stage, right now, so hopefully he won't be too bad.
Ally Carter has admitted that she edits her novels 20+ times before they're published. That's something I find a bit discouraging—I'm only on my third?!—even as I find it heartening—see, good authors have to work at it, too.
All that to say, I feel your pain. You have a good attitude about it.
But… um… If I may speak my mind…
If you know something needs a revamp, it's probably in your best interests to not query it.
(Says the girl who submitted her first finished novel draft for publication when she was 17. Which was thankfully rejected.)
Wow. I first subbed when I was 15. I was rejected as well, and again, rightfully so. :)
But to clarify, when I queried The Ultimate Evil I was unaware that it needed revamping. A friend read it and pointed out several parts that needed to be changed and the queries were already out. Needless to say, there wasn't anything I could do except wait for the rejections and finish my other two novels (Khaladin and Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space!) before I could start on this revamp. It's gonna be fun!
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