Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Revisions Galore

We all would like to turn out a manuscript that's so brilliant it needs no revisions. I have, in fact, had that happen to me just once. And I anticipate that it was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence because, well, let's face it. I'm really not that brilliant. I'm a decent storyteller with acceptable grammar and punctuation expertise, but just as any woman looks better with a bit of makeup on, so to does any story read better with the benefit of some glamor. Give this a bit of a lift, highlight that, tone that down.

Last week I received a revision letter from my editor for Kiss of the Vampire, the first in my Warriors of the Rift series with Grand Central. It was longer than I like but shorter than it could have been. I didn't disagree with any of the changes she suggests, which should make the cuts I have to make a little easier to swallow. But it's going to be a lot of work.

I'm also in process of revising a steampunk proposal for an interested editor. Just as my granddad used to say about women and makeup: Any ol' barn can use a coat of paint. The same can be said for manuscripts.

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