Some authors love the revision process, but I have to think they love it like people love exercise or spinach—they have to do it, so why not make the best of it? I’ll admit right up front, I HATE revisions.
I’m in the middle of that process right now with a short novella. I don’t often get to the end of a novella unsatisfied with what I’ve done, but this time I attempted to write something a little more hardcore erotica than my usual fare. Okay, so some of you will be asking how the hell can she do that? Do you remember the scene in Saddled?!
Well, this one is more hardcore (even if the sex is still my smutty brand of unrepentent porn) because it’s more heavily invested in BDSM. While I slammed away pages of what my main couple were doing, I failed to show their growth as people and their growing affection for each other. I may write some raunchy stuff, but I don’t ever forget that these characters have to feel real and most real people have emotions that complicate their individual journeys.
I’m trying to go about this methodically so that I don’t get overwhelmed or discouraged by the work needed to spank this puppy into shape.
1) I handed the story off to Beta Readers (test readers) who know how I flow. These readers knew I needed them to be very honest about whether they liked it or not, and the fact that I knew there was a problem. I asked for them to tell me if they could put their finger on what was missing because at that point I was too close to the work and couldn’t see it .
2) I took their comments, ruminated on them for a while, then passed the story to my crit partner for her thoughts. She came back with “a Dom wouldn’t do this” and “this was too much narrative” along with some very clever suggestions for rewrites.
3) I opened a fresh document, starting again with that pristine white page, and cut and pasted what I felt could stay in the that first scene, and then began to craft new words around that flawed bit of narrative, working at layering in more dialogue, more of the emotional reactions of the characters, and looking for the humor I’d sadly forgotten completely.
I have a very long way to go to make this one publishable, but I will take one chapter at a time through this process until I get to the end. Then I will send it once again to my Betas for a sanity check, and to my critique partner for her thoughts. Who said writing had to be a solitary effort. For me, it often works better if I have that frigging awesome village at my back.
I zipped through the end of the rough draft of a new novella yesterday. I asked for beta readers for this one because I knew something was off, but was too close to it to see how to fix it. Between Heather, Masha, Virginia and Renee, I got some great feedback. My puzzle today is how to implement changes without a complete rewrite. The parts of the story that are there are good, it’s the glue between the scenes that needs to be applied because I rushed my couple and the ultimate four-ple (my word) into bed. It’s days like these I really wish I hadn’t quit smoking.
Last night I rewarded myself with a TIVO’d episode of one of my favorite shows, In Plain Sight. Yeah, I miss the adorable Rafael in Mary’s life, but the older, and more flawed, FBI agent Faber is completely right for Mary. All through the episode, I was silently nudging Mary to give him a chance. I think last night she finally succumbed to his charm. That awkward little peck he gave her at the end made me smile.
However, as much as I loved the show, I miss the drama of her dysfunctional family. Her sister Brandy is off to New Jersey blowing her boyfriend’s $20,000 doing who knows what, and we’re only getting an occasional phone call to remind us she exists? Really? Her mom is working in a dance studio, but has she also moved out of Mary’s home? Nooooooo! I need Jinx to fall off the wagon, to fall in love and fall apart. I need Mary to wallow a little more in family-made disasters because when shit hits the fan that’s when she shines.
Okay, so I’d much rather be thinking about Mary and the letter I want to send to the show’s writers than thinking about how to fix my own messy manuscript. It’s time to shut up, pull up my big girl’s panties and get to work.
You hear a lot of complaints from authors about their publishers and you know? That’s understandable. My husband works for an amazing company, but there are days he wants to sit upper management down for “a talk”. 🙂 The entities with so much control over our livelihoods are bound to inspire both positive and negative feelings at times. Right now? I’m just truly loving Harlequin.
For such a behemoth company, they are incredibly innovative. They’re always trying new things, looking for ways to reach more readers and opening doors for their authors. I’m sure you know they were the first major publisher to put their books out in digital format en masse. And I’m betting you’ve heard of their new electronic-only publishing venture, Carina Press. But I wonder if you know about all the print alternatives they continue to provide beyond their regular lines and imprints. The Manga versions of popular books and most recently their new venture—the Harlequin Showcase. Showcase is a single title venture (shelved with all the romance books, not the Harlequin series) that brings back previously released series books in a 2-in-1 format for readers who missed the books the first time around.
As an author, I’m thrilled by this new venture. Why? Because I get tons of letters weekly asking where readers can find my now out-of-print and often unavailable even in used venues Presents. So, when I was told one such story, “The Sicilian’s Marriage Arrangement” would be in the May launch, I was over the moon! I have a lot of readers who have asked about this story and where to get it and now, it’s available again in a 2-in-1 with Julia James’ “The Greek’s Virgin Bride.” How cool is that?
It’s your turn: If you could sit the publishers down and talk to them, what would you ask for as a reader?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Sicilian’s Marriage Arrangement
Harlequin Showcase: Reissue
ISBN-10: 0373688024
ISBN-13: 978-0373688029
Hope Bishop is stunned when darkly sexy Sicilian tycoon Luciana di Valerio proposes marriage. Brought up by her wealthy but distant grandfather, she is used to fading into the background. But Luciano’s sensual lovemaking makes her feel vibrantly alive. Hope falls in love with her husband and is blissfully happy—until she discovers that Luciano married her to fulfill his own ruthless agenda…!
The book also includes the fabulous “The Greek’s Virgin Bride” by Julia James.
Look for Showcases in the single title romance section of your favorite bookstores!
Award winning author Lucy Monroe published her first book in September of 2003. Since then she has sold more than 50 books to four publishers and hit national bestsellers lists in the US and England. Whether it’s a passionate Harlequin Presents, a sexy action adventure, or a steamy paranormal historical, Lucy’s books transport her readers to a special place where the heart rules and love conquers all.
Don’t go to your stack to talk about the best books you’ve read recently! What will you be curling up with today?
Because I’ve been napping so much lately, I chose a short story collection to read. And I must say, I’m enjoying it very much! This is the book:
Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission
by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Editor)
Pub. Date: March 2008
Trade Paperback, 210 pp
Okay, so I didn’t select it for enjoyment but because I’m working on a short novella with D/s flavorings and wanted to immerse myself in the language and lifestyle before charging forward. But collections like these are addictive—like boxed chocolates. Can you really stop at just one bite? The stories are sometimes strange but always stimulating. Since they are written in first person (at least those I’ve read so far), I feel as though I’m taking a glimpse inside someone else’s bedroom. Very, very stimulating…
Your turn.
Tell me what you are reading and what it’s doing for you.
My sister sent me an email today with these two pictures in it. Both came from Texas and both were about things found in culverts in that state. A time or two I’ve been tempted to write a scene with a twister where the hero and heroine had to seek refuge in the open. Guess I’ll count out scurrying into a culvert as a means to escape.
And there I thought scorpions and spiders would be the worst thing they’d face…
An 18-foot alligator was caught here!
87 Rattlesnakes were wrangled from this culvert.
Yeah, I just woke up and didn’t want to think that hard about today’s blog.
I had a very productive week until I hit Thursday, about which I’ve talked enough, right? Up to that point, I slammed through the first four and a half chapters of a very sexy novella. I reviewed half the galley for Darkness Captured. I contacted a publisher I love and asked for advice on how to submit an anthology project to them. And I have completed research and dreamed up the premise for a short story project.
This next week, I have to complete reviewing and editing the galley for Darkness Captured and I plan to complete the sexy novella—hopefully by Tuesday. I’ll start writing the short story and draft the description for my anthology proposal. A little ambitious, but I want to make up lost ground. Also, next Saturday, I have to teach a class to my RWA chapter, which reminds me I actually have to come up with content to teach. Oy!
I found out today that a story I wrote a while back for an anthology, Warlord’s Destiny, will be reissued on its own June 14, 2010. If you haven’t read it yet, June will be a good time to pick it up. It’s one of my favorite stories—a futuristic with a medeival flavor to it—another of those wonderfully manly men… Okay, now I’m wanting to go back and read that opening scene again when the hero strides into the heroine’s hall. Mmm-mm.
I believe really good drugs made me temporarily psychic.
I had surgery on Thursday. They used some sort of anesthesia that allowed me to drift in and out while the doctor removed a very ugly under skin lump from my shoulder. When I drifted in, I’d feel something of what they were doing and an “Ow!” would elicit another dose of whatever it was they pumped into me.
I remember telling the doctor they’d removed an alien implant. When I got home, my sister called me and asked if I thought I’d ever write again now that the alien inhabiting my skin was gone. Hmmm….
Coincidence? I think not!
On the way home, my mother, who drove me to and from the hospital, decided to stop at the store for milk. While she was gone, I remember distinctly wanting to call her back and tell her to get some white powdered doughnuts—something I only crave once or twice a year, and something I never buy.
I didn’t see what she bought, but later that day when I stumbled into the kitchen for something to drink, there sat a box of powdered doughnuts on the counter.
See where I’m going? I’m still on drugs and feeling a little goofy. So that’s all I’m saying. I’m hoping today when the drugs wear off and I’m finally parked in front of my keyboard for the long haul that I don’t find out that the alien they removed was indeed my muse.
The winner (by random number generator) of yesterday’s contest is….Valerie! Congratulations, Valerie. Be sure to email me and let me know which of the MIK eBooks you’d like sent.
Last night I rewarded myself with a TIVO’d episode of one of my favorite shows, In Plain Sight. Yeah, I miss the adorable Rafael in Mary’s life, but the older, and more flawed, FBI agent Faber is completely right for Mary. All through the episode, I was silently nudging Mary to give him a chance. I think last night she finally succumbed to his charm. That awkward little peck he gave her at the end made me smile.
