It's so lovely to have a prolific and wonderful story teller as Jane Toombs to showcase on my blog today.I have seen Jane's page on Amazon and am green with envy as to the many books she has written.
Jane tells us here a little about rejection and to revise or not.
To revise or not to revise
by
Jane Toombs
Your rejection
letter says the editor liked a few things about your ms, but…then comes a list
of the problems she had with the plot or the characters or both. She doesn’t
suggest revision. You do?
If this is the
first time you’ve sent the ms. out, read the rejection over carefully to see if
you agree with the rejection. If you do, revise that part or parts and send it
to another publisher.
If the second
editor rejects it, agreeing more or less with the first, study their comments
and make revisions before sending to the next publisher. But if the second
editor has a completely new list of problems, unless you find something in her
comments that strikes you as right on, should you revise? Always do so if something an editor said
speaks to you. Otherwise, simply send it out again.
Always compare
your rejection letters and always revise if more than one editor mentions the
same problem. Bug if the time comes when no one seems to want the ms., stop and
think. New writers sometimes have a problem shelving a ms. because they’re in
love with their story and unable to give it up. They fall into the trap of
believing they can get the ms. right if they go on revising and rewriting.
Unfortunately, this is rarely true.
Published writers
have less of a problem with shelving a ms. because they’ve learned some plots
are not viable. But, yes, it always hurts. However, a shevled ms. isn’t always
a complete loss. You’ve learned something from writing that story.
And who knows—it’s
always possible that sometime in the future you’ll be able to use a character,
a scene or a description—even, maybe, part of a plot in a new story.
I sold My first
two books with no problems. The third, a gothic like the other two got rejected
everywhere, I had no idea why. I may never had sold another book if my agent
hadn’t called to tell me a Packager was doing a Zodiac gothic series and needed
a Sagittarius.
All I had to do was
send a synopsis and three chapters. I had no idea how to write a synopsis, but
he convinced it was simply a short way of telling the story, so I gave it a
try.
My synopsis
and three chapters sold to the Packager and I learned a valuable lesson. I
needed
that synopsis. When I had time, I
tried to write a synopsis using the third story and could not
because it wandered all over the place.
This was my AHA! moment.
After writing a new synopsis for that story, I revised it accordingly and The Fog Maiden sold.
Interestingly, Samhain
has bought The Fog Maiden and is bringing it out as an ebook in
April of 2014. As a matter of fact, they’re bringing to life all my old
gothics, in their Reto line,
including Tule Witch,
the very first book I ever wrote which is out now
and up at Amazon.
So rejection doesn’t
necessarily have to rhyme with dejection
~~~
GOLD
All America went crazy when gold was discovered in California
in 1849, Which explains why the characters in Gold! act as they do. Life was far
from normal in Hangtown or even San Francisco. Will Pamela and Selena, mother
and daughter, ever find true love in this mad time?
Love's Odyssey
This is the story of a sixteen-year-old American girl who is
orphaned when her father dies and she is sent to live with her English uncle.
Unfortunately he falls out of favor with the king and is killed. This is where
she meets Adrien who saves her from a dire fate by taking her to Holland to live
with her mother’s sisters. They sail to Java on the same ship, but Rommel and
Adrien are fated to be torn apart again and again. She has only her courage and
her beauty to keep her alive—and her impossible love for Adrien. He never gives
up searching for her, even after she is abducted by a Chinese pirate and taken
to Amoy. He’ll need all his ability as a swordsman to survive long enough to
rescue her.
Bride of Baja
Alitha is aboard her father's ship, heading to the Sandwich
Islands where she plans to marry Thomas, a minister. After surviving the wreck
of her father's ship, Alitha is cast adrift on a uninhabited island off the
Pacific coast. Rescued eventually, first by Indians and then Esteban, a
Californio (which is what the Spanish settlers were called). Believing herself
in love with him, she travels with him to Mexico.
Meanwhile Jordan's ship is captured by pirates and, since his bride-to-be, Esteban's sister, is aboard, he loses both bride (she kills herself) and ship. He's cast adrift in Mexico. Thomas, hearing of the wreck of the Flying Yankee, also winds up in Mexico, searching for Alitha. The pirates are refurbishing their two ships in Mexico--like the other characters, in the Baja peninsula. Will Alitha be captured by the pirates? And, in the end, which man will she choose to marry?
Meanwhile Jordan's ship is captured by pirates and, since his bride-to-be, Esteban's sister, is aboard, he loses both bride (she kills herself) and ship. He's cast adrift in Mexico. Thomas, hearing of the wreck of the Flying Yankee, also winds up in Mexico, searching for Alitha. The pirates are refurbishing their two ships in Mexico--like the other characters, in the Baja peninsula. Will Alitha be captured by the pirates? And, in the end, which man will she choose to marry?
Give yourself a treat this holiday month of Novemeber with a good book to read.
And we love comments. Say hello to Jane today when you drop in.
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