Posts belonging to Category submission



Revision request

August 23, 2010 | Posted by Suzanna

On July 28, six months after submitting my story to the Harlequin Historical Undone! line, I received an email from an editor. It wasn’t good news, but it wasn’t bad news, either. The editor gave me suggestions about how I could revise my story so it would be more in keeping with the line in general and asked me to resubmit the revised version.

Given the extensive nature of the requested revisions, it would have been very understandable if the editor had rejected the story because it didn’t suit the line. The fact that she didn’t, and that she asked to see it again is huge. Editors are very busy people and they don’t have time to waste. If there wasn’t something in my story or in my writing that didn’t spark her interest, she definitely wouldn’t have asked to see it again.

I was extremely flattered – and deliriously happy – that the editor for the Undone! line wanted to see this story again. I feel as though her interest validates me as a writer. It’s one thing to have friends tell you something is good, and quite another to have a publishing professional take an interest in your writing.

So I revised the story and resubmitted it last Wednesday, and now I’m back to waiting. In the meantime, I’m finishing up the edits on the first draft of my book (only 10 pages left to go – I know, what am I doing blogging?) and am already thinking about what book to write next. I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head … I just have to pick one and start working on the outline.

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First submission of the year

January 19, 2010 | Posted by Suzanna
Yesterday I submitted the story I’d written for the Harlequin Historical Undone line. I went through the story several times after completing the edits and each time I read it I would find something to tweak. I’d touch up a sentence here, make a word change there. And of course there was that typo I found right before I was about to submit it. I could have held onto that story and read it again and again, and I’m sure each time I would have found something to fix. I loved writing the story. I loved the characters and thought they suited each other well. It was time, though, to send the story off into the world to fend for itself.
What will I do now? Well, I’ll tell you what I won’t do. I won’t be sitting on my hands waiting to hear back from Harlequin. The novel I finished before Christmas has sat for long enough that I can now come to it with fresh eyes. I’m starting the edits for that book and already have an idea for my next book. I’m not sure if I can write a new book while editing another one, but I will definitely work on the outline for it (yes, I’m a plotter.)
I was a little nervous when I hit the send button for my email submission, but the predominant emotion I felt was happiness. Contentment. I felt like a “real” writer. My story may not sell, but I feel that I am finally on the right path. And until I do make that first sale, I’m having one hell of a ride enjoying all these amazing characters who are romping through my mind and coming up with all sorts of scenarios for them.

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