While I was laid up with sinusitis, I distracted myself by rereading the crime novel manuscript I’d submitted to agents in early December. ‘Sounds like you were a bit desperate’, do I hear you say? To tell the truth, I was. You can’t lie in bed with sinusitis. That increases the pressure inside your head. You have to sit up. So I wrapped myself in a heated blanket and plonked myself down at my writing desk. As I reread the manuscript, it dawned on me that it was flawed. As I read on, I realized that it wasn’t just a bit of tinkering that was needed but a significant rewrite. To go with my bunged-up head, I had a sinking heart. No wonder half of the dozen agents I’d sent it to had rejected it. I’d submitted the manuscript too soon.
With a sigh, I went through the manuscript again. I had read it several times before I'd submitted it. But this time I was trying to look at it with an agent's eye. I focused on the bits that didn’t quite work or that didn’t really belong. Red pencil in hand, I was pretty ruthless.
And when I stopped, I found that I’d cut 9000 words. At the same time, I was reshaping the
story. I rewrote the backstories of the two main protagonists. This impacted on
their motivations and how they related to each other and responded to the
challenges they encountered. I also built up a minor character into a major one. When
I looked back, I found I’d added 7000 words.
My rewritten
manuscript still has the same start and ending. It keeps most of the scenes it
had before. It’s just that the story is now flowing and working better. The two
months of editing had produced a manuscript that was much the same length. But the
shape and emphasis had changed, especially in the personal journeys that the two
main protagonists take. And that had improved the whole significantly.
This
daily engagement with the manuscript, the work of editing and rewriting, gave
me a focus and a purpose at a very difficult time. It got me through a debilitating
and depressing illness. The improvement of my manuscript was a bonus. But an
important one. I also had the presence of mind to withdraw my submission from
the half dozen agents that hadn’t rejected it. I shall shortly begin submitting
the revised version.