hemingwaywantabes

Hello Hemingwaywantabes – hope all is well. And that you are writing away toward that day when you hold your published book in your hands. All the hard work is then worth it as you clutch the book to your chest like a newborn baby.

Recently,  I noticed a good interview with literary agents in Poet’s and Writers’Magazine, a terrific read for aspiring authors.  One simple piece of advice: “When you think your book is completed, spend another year on it.”

I’m not sure a year is required, but the point is that when someone says their book is “done,”  it probably isn’t. One common mistake aspiring authors make is to submit material before its time. Then rejection is the end result, when perhaps with some more hard work, the manuscript could have been improved significantly.

I noticed this recently when reviewing a manuscript I’ve written about the JFK assassination. While perusing my text, I was amazed at how much I could improve the flow. Every time we revise, the book gets better, and I would encourage you to re-write, re-write, and then re-write some more. In fact, when people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I am a re-writer.