When Can I Read Your Book?

Being a writer, I naturally get excited when I’m nearing the end of a story whether I’m close to finishing a rough draft or a final one. Because of this excitement, I’m bound to talk about it whenever people ask me how I am. (I don’t do regular small talk. If you ask, “How are you?” be prepared for a ten-minute conversation on whatever fandom is on my mind.)

Either way, one of the most common things I hear from friends is, “Oh, you’ve written a book! Can I read it?” One of two things can happen from here. In the case of finishing a rough draft, I’ll feel like cringing. It’s FAR from ready! In the case of a nearly finished draft, I might get frustrated with the over-eagerness of readers. After all, I can’t just hand out copies of my story EVERY time people ask to read it (unless that person is an agent/editor). That would be bad business.

Something a lot of readers fail to realize is that writing is just that: a business. So before you ask a writer for a pre-release copy of his/her novel, consider in what ways this could impact the writer. Now, that’s not to say that a writer will NEVER send out pre-release copies. If you’re really eager to read a book before it’s published, you might serve as a beta reader, giving the writer your thoughts on the story in the earlier drafts. Or you could request a pre-release copy closer to the publication date in exchange for an honest book review. But what exactly can readers do if the drafts are nearly finished but not published yet?

A friend brought it to my attention the other day that I kept saying I wrote a book but whenever he asked to read it, I said blatantly said, “NO.” I was tactless to the say the least. (But that’s nothing new. I’ve been told I can be brutally honest sometimes because I expect brutal honesty.)

What I should have said, was “Yes, but not yet.”

What I wish readers would ask instead of “Can I read your book?” is “When can I read your book?”

Notice the subtle difference? Including WHEN  implies an expectation that the story will be available to read soon, and even if soon means 1-2 years, this is encouraging to writers. Leaving WHEN out implies that the because a writer has a story (not necessarily a published one) that writer has an obligation to allow EVERYBODY to read it. And saying, “No, you can’t read it,” or even better “Not yet,” can seem like a letdown for both the reader and writer.

Put another way, consider this scenario: a baker who’s making a bread for his store. If somebody were to come in and ask him/her to taste the dough before it goes in the oven, “Can I have a piece?”, the baker will obviously say no. But if the person asks “When can I have a piece?”, the baker may reply with a given time to cook and cool.

It’s similar (not the same) with books. Pre-published books, while they may be ready to be read before publication, they are not ready to be SOLD. Besides, suspense is half the fun! Please don’t harass writers if they’re caught between the pre-publication and post-editing stages.

So, my answer to everybody’s question when you can read my latest novel ,Breaking a Thief, is soon. Not yet. But soon. I’ll keep you posted when I finally get a contract with a publisher. I’d like to say sometime in 2016, but it might be 2017. Either way, it’s sooner than it was yesterday! Thanks to all those interested in reading my work. Until my book releases, you can check out some of my short stories and poetry here.



Aside from the premise and the novel itself, what would you like to read next about Breaking a Thief?

Scanning Draft 3

There’s a reason writers call plot bunnies, well, plot bunnies. Perhaps they should call them Tribbles. Once you have one, you suddenly have ten and they never go away. Especially when you’re trying to write an essay or trying to sleep. I recently found a black-and-white, dystopian plot bunny wandering about and decided to house it in my little bunny hatch. (Aka my folder of story ideas.) Can you guess what else I found there? A really old bunny that developed into a novel, which I know call Breaking a Thief. I looked back on the original idea and laughed. Wow, had my story taken completely different turns than I had originally planned!

Pfeffer: my writing/editing buddy this summer.
She's not cuddly unless she's hiding from the wind.
Photo credit: Lori Klein

What had started out as historical fiction changed to medieval fiction with my own countries and towns. Characters came and went and others developed. Major plot points changed. Earlier this year, I posted my experiences rewriting giant portions of my novel (You can read about it here: Wrestling with Draft 2.) But the work didn’t stop there. After I set the novel aside for another month so I could take part in Camp NaNoWriMo, I dove right back into editing.

After a whole month dedicated to Visionary, a story with no plot, I was excited to get back to some structure in Breaking a Thief. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the plot, all of which is vital to working on a story. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have stuck with it so long. In my third round of edits, I decided to try two new techniques to help me catch as many mistakes as I could.

First, I enlisted the help of several beta readers. (Thanks again, you lovely people!) I did this in cycles. After Draft 2, I got feedback from my first beta reader, then got feedback from another reader after Draft 3. Though these readers didn’t edit for me, they told me what they thought of the story and if there were any inconsistencies.

 

Perhaps the three most valuable things I learned from them was that some of my characters needed rounding out, whether or not a plot twist was obvious/plausible, and that my ending needed some serious work. And by serious work, I mean I rewrote it four different times. Though the extra comments meant a bunch of extra work, it was worth it to receive honest, critical feedback from my peers.

Then I read through the whole story again by reading each chapter twice in a row. In no way would I ever recommend this as a way to read a novel for fun, but two readings helped. First, I reacquainted myself with the chapter, getting to know what the story was trying to say. Then I would reread the chapter to analyze each sentence and see what the story was actually saying. Because of this long process, I would get through two or three chapters on a good day (that’s about 20-35 pages a day).

By the time I got to the midway point of my novel, I was sick of reading it. It was tedious, but I managed to look beyond the story and at the grammar and wording. Once I finished this process, I set the book aside and didn’t touch it for three weeks (During that time I worked on another project until my classes started. More on that story later! J)

Then I sent the story off to my editor. I recently got it back, and have been working on more edits throughout the week. Once I’m done editing, I’ll be off to sending out query letters to agents! Until that happens, I’ll keep writing, reading, editing. You name it. Talking about stories and ideas is fun too.
 

In fact, whenever I tell people I’ve written a novel, I get the age old question: “What’s it about?”

After my initial annoyance at this difficult question, I’ve learned to enjoy telling people about my story, which is easier now that I know the story inside-out. So now I say, “It’s about a thief.”

 

“Cool,” People typically say. “What does he do?”

 

I smile. “She seeks to become the greatest of all thieves by challenging a superior.”

 

Then I sit back and watch the shock on their faces as I defy stereotypes one character at a time. Silly readers. Whoever said all thieves had to be guys?

 

Writers, what does your editing process look like? Have you ever employed the help of beta readers?  Readers, what’s your favorite genre? I’m torn between several new ideas for my next story.

Wrestling with Draft 2

I realize I’m late with my blog post this month (sorry about that), but I can honestly say I had a good excuse (other than visiting Ireland). Yesterday, I sat down at my computer and finished editing the last chapter of my latest novel, Breaking a Thief. This accomplishment marked my first time ever completing a second draft of a novel-length story.


It was like assembling a puzzle without knowing what the picture was or where any of the pieces went. It was exhausting. Frustrating. Dangerous. It wasn’t just red ink that ended up on my manuscript (silly paper cuts!). But it is finally complete, and I shall temporary set aside the story (again) so I can write my next novel, Visionary, for Camp NaNoWriMo next month.



All 272 pages of draft 1.



So, you might ask, what was my process for editing my novel? Well, it was very similar to editing a short story, except 100x longer. After finishing my rough draft, I set the story aside for three whole months. It was painful not to touch the story, and I felt lost as to what to do next. But by the time I came back to the story, I was eager to pick it up again. I printed out the first draft, read it over, and made notes in the margarines and on the back. I also used a ton of sticky notes to indicate the types of editing needed (cut/add scenes or research).

Then I started the second draft, focusing mainly on major plot issues, so there will be many more drafts yet come! I scrapped and rewrote the beginning and the end and reworked plot twists and character involvement. I can honestly say I am (currently) proud of my progress, though I still have many doubts and will probably look back on draft 2 with horror in August.



I went through a whole red pen marking up this draft.

Then the process will begin all over again. Except there will probably be less rewriting chapters and more cutting words and personalizing actions. So there you have it! Draft 2 is finally complete, and I honestly could not have made it without prayer, coffee, and encouragement from friends (You know who you are. Thank you!). 

 

Now my mind is exhausted. It’s time for a break before I start hectically pounding away at my keyboard trying to write a novel in only 31 days. 

 

Before you go, here’s the premise to the novel I edited, Breaking a Thief:

One lie can change much, but the truth can change everything. Lorne has learned the fine skills of thievery since childhood, but when she steals an item forbidden to the thieves, she is torn between living a double life: one of thievery and another of knowledge. With the help of a young pickpocket, Thane, Lorne crosses boundaries where even her influential father cannot protect her. 

 What are some milestones that you’ve accomplished lately? Want to read more about Lorne? Stay tuned for updates on later drafts or comment below!