Editing a Novel and Surviving the Rejection Slip

Creative Writing Help & Tips on How to Write Better Fiction

Apr 18, 2009

Revising a Novel After Repeated Rejections, morguefile

Creative writing techniques for the writer whose novel suffers repeated rejections from publishers.

Rejection letters can be very disheartening for the hopeful fiction writer, and can get under the skin of even the most hardened author and set the scene for the dreaded writer’s block. Before making any rash decisions, a few options might be worth considering.

Subjective Views on What is Good Writing

The story goes that Robert Louis Stevenson burned his novel in response to his wife’s comments to Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Longmans Green & Co, 1886). He allegedly spent the next several days rewriting it before encountering success with his story. The lesson to be drawn from this is, no matter how flawed a novel might suddenly appear, don’t throw it away. An average-sized manuscript takes but a little room and can be tucked easily away without impacting upon storage.

Creative Writing Example

Criticism and praise has a very subjective effect upon the mind. Criticism will have the effect of devaluating a work; praise will make it seem highly worthy, and yet the work remains the same. Numerous judges will gain something different from the same piece of work. The remarks from an endless stream of rejection letters from publishers will eventually fade. In the end, the most important judge is the honest, objective view the author.

Elements of Fiction Writing

The best time to evaluate a novel is after several months of putting it away. This will help the author look upon it with fresh eyes. Areas requiring improvement will suddenly become obvious. When doing this, consider three areas of the novel.

Characters
Plot
Style of writing

Making a judgement on a novel is often about gut feeling rather than dissecting each paragraph. However, the following guidelines will be worth looking at.

Writing Advice to Improve Writing

Are any characters superfluous?
Are any stereotypical?
Are they unbelievable?
Are they interesting?
Do their desires drive the plot?
Do the words they speak sound natural?

Improving the Plot

Will the story suffer if a particular scene is cut out?
Is the story contrived?
Can the plot be tightened in some way?
Does the story move along with every page?

Writing Style

Are there any hackneyed phrases?
Is there too much description?
Does the words flow, or does it sound stilted? Reading it aloud might give the answer.

Editorial Services for Authors

Editorial services are available for a fee for those who wish to have their work professionally evaluated. Cornerstones Literary Consultancy offers a comprehensive service for the fledgling author.

Creative Writing Ideas for the Struggling Author

Every novel is like an apprenticeship for the author on how to write creative fiction. Even if that first novel never gets published and remains in the bottom drawer after many rejections, writing it will have provided the writer with many valuable lessons on writing a novel that “how to” guides cannot quite touch. The blueprint will remain within the mind of the novelist for when novel number two comes along, and perhaps, even number three.

The copyright of the article Editing a Novel and Surviving the Rejection Slip in Writing Novels is owned by Rachel Wills. Permission to republish Editing a Novel and Surviving the Rejection Slip in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.