When to Send

When do you hit the button that sends your manuscript to an agent or publisher? In the past I've sent it too early but when do you know?

When first starting out you tend to hit the button the minute you've finished writing, checked it over - yes - so out it goes. The next day if you pick it up you'll soon spot little typos (at the very least). As you become more experienced you get other people to read it, put it to one side and come back to it. this may be repeated many times. Then you send it out.

But it's rejected - what then? If you've been lucky enough to get feedback - you work on the areas highlighted, get someone to read it and revamp it again. There seems to be a pattern forming doesn't there?

You realise that your new version was better than your old one and might curse that you sent the previous one out - but then hindsight is  a wonderful thing.

Having just done my third overhaul of my first Young Adult book - I have found a new publisher and have sent it out to see what happens. Is it ready yet? I don't know. It's is much better than it was. I could keep sitting on it but as I don't know how else I would change it I've decided to send it out and hope for some good feedback or *shock horror* the offer of a contract - you never know - it only takes one person to see the potential in it.

I think you will always be able to see ways to improve your story - even after it has been published - Philip Pullman has included 'lantern slides' in the back of his Dark Materials series - which are little snippets he would have added to sentences in his books.

Now it is the waiting game - the worst part for an author but it also releases you to start working on something else. When your manuscript is sitting stewing you always have it at the back of your mind, once it's sent you have that time to start something new.

So until I hear back I'm off to do some more editing on another story.

Keep your fingers crossed for me and Good Luck to anyone else who is taking that scary step of sending their baby - sorry I meant Manuscript - out.

Marie

www.mariegodley.moonfruit.com