Guest post: Donna Hosie on Revising

I’m a Jekyll and Hyde writer. The type of writer who has two distinct sides.

On my left, there is my independent side. The half of me that craves empowerment and ownership over my own writing. The side that decided to say no to agency representation – not once, but twice – and self-published a YA Urban Fantasy trilogy that has been listed on Goodreads in the Top 15 Best Unknown YA Novels.

And then there is my right side. The half that believed it was good enough to get an agent and that elusive publishing deal. The half of me that was happy to be guided by industry professionals. The side that wrote a novel that received seven agent offers in the space of seven crazy days in 2012.

Two sides that create a whole writer. And that writer is me!

Today, the wonderful Muses have invited me to talk about these two different sides, and specifically, how I tackle the feedback I get from not only my agent, but the critique partners I have for my independently published series.

Let’s take my Camelot trilogy first. I write a draft. It sucks eggs. I revise, revise, rinse and repeat, eat chocolate, drink wine, watch too many episodes of Sherlock and revise a bit more. Eventually I have a draft that is good enough to be seen by…you know…people who can read! It’s scary but exhilarating. I have three critique partners who are worth their weight in gold. They read the ms and give me their feedback. 99/100 times I will incorporate every suggestion they make. My critique partners will pick up on those sections that don’t flow, or contradict another passage. Their ability to see plot holes amazes me. Once those revisions are done, the ms is sent to my line editor who has an eye for detail that quite frankly is Cyborg-like!

And then it is up to me to format, upload, check one more time and voila! Published.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that this isn’t hard work. It is. I’ve never counted up the hours it has taken to get this trilogy published but it has been every day of my life for three years. For many writers it would be enough, but for me it isn’t.

Because I have my agent, and as much as I adore her, she makes me work until my fingers bleed! OK, maybe I wrote that for dramatic tension, but no doubt about it, working with an agent on revisions is harder. Today is a great day to write this article, because this morning I received an email from Agent Beth that made me want to cry. Rounds and rounds and rounds of revisions and still she wants me to do more. “I thought she liked the manuscript,” I cried. “But she hates it! Where’s the chocolate, where’s the wine, WHERE IS BLOODY BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH WHEN I NEED HIM?” Writer histrionics over, I got on with doing what I always intended to do with an agent: revise, revise, rinse and repeat, eat chocolate, drink wine, watch too many episodes of Sherlock and revise a bit more, and then carry on doing this until Agent Beth is happy with it. Because working with an agent is different. Your aim is the sale to an editor, and you can bet your last dollar that is exactly what your agent is aiming for as well. My agent goes over every word because every word has to count. Entire paragraphs are moved or deleted. Hell, I removed an entire chapter just before Xmas! Character motives are questioned and rewritten. Scenes deleted. Scenes added. You’ll be asked to make a revision and then when it doesn’t work out that revision will be revised. It can be demoralizing in a way that independent publishing isn’t.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because if this was easy, everyone would be doing it. We writers are special. We put our souls on display for the world to take a pop at. I am completely blessed to have someone like Agent Beth in my corner, putting hours and hours of her time into a story that may not even sell. How can I repay that kind of commitment? By working my ass off, is how.

There isn’t one side I prefer over the over. The two halves make a whole me! Both sides give me days of grief; I am guaranteed days of utter joy. I am a huge advocate of writers taking ownership over their own writing, but don’t close your mind down to avenues in this new publishing landscape.

There has never been a better time to be a writer.

You can find out more about my books on my Amazon page or Goodreads.

Donna Hosie is a writer of YA Urban Fantasy and full-time geek. She is an English writer currently living in Australia and is repped by Beth Phelan of the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency, NY. She blogs at Musings of a Penniless Writer and has written extensively for the Harry Potter fandom. She’s the author of THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy. Books one and two, SEARCHING FOR ARTHUR and THE FIRE OF MERLIN, are now available as ebooks from Amazon.

Find her on Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook!

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