By J. T. Ellison
Good or bad, we all
remember our first.
I’m not sure what the
percentages are officially, but a very informal poll taken on Facebook gave me
some figures to work with. Out of 113 authors surveyed, 60% abandoned their
first effort and felt that was a Very. Good. Thing. Nearly 40% saw their first
novel published (some were still in the process of writing their first.)
I was a part of the 60%
until last week. My story feels somewhat typical – my first didn’t get
published. On the upside, it landed an agent. I shelved it (drawered it?),
jokingly called it “my 80,000 words of backstory,” and moved on. I used a few
scenes from it, but for the most part, it was destined never to see the light
of day.
Until Brenda Novak came
calling with an opportunity—I could participate in the SWEET DREAMS Boxed Set,
with an original work of no less than 100 pages. I immediately thought about my
book in the drawer. Could I revise it? I have ten years of writing experience
under my belt; I’ve just started writing my 17th novel. Surely
I had the writing chops to whip it into shape.
But I was scared to death
to read it. So scared, in fact, I enlisted the help of two of my beta readers,
and had them look it over. If they didn’t think it would work, I’d write
something new.
Their responses shocked me.
The loved it. They loved seeing how the series really began. Yes, there were
scientific errors and grammar mistakes. Yes, I’d used five or six scenes in
later novels. But they didn’t care about that. They loved the story.
Story is a very powerful
thing.
I remember the rejection
letters on this book. Each “no” felt like the end of the world. In the back of
my mind, for ten long years, those rejections have simmered. I assumed for so
long CROSSED hadn’t sold because it was bad, and here were two readers I greatly
respect telling me it was great!
So I read it myself. It
wasn’t perfect by any means, full of rookie mistakes: overwriting, over
telling, breaks in the narrative flow to give backstory, which slows the
action—but overall, it was a solid base to work with. It was cool to see how
far I’ve come, but also to see the sparks that got me started.
I ran into several problems
during the revision process, but nothing that ten years of experience couldn’t
surmount. After two weeks of solid work, I had a workable new draft, which I
then put through my normal editorial revision process. And voilĂ —I’d
resurrected a story I thought was long dead, and was able to give my readers
what they’d been craving for two years—a new Taylor Jackson novel.
For the 60% of us who have
a first effort moldering away, here are some ideas to help get it into shape.
Solicit Editorial Advice
From People You Trust
My beta readers don’t hold
back. Their honest input gave me the confidence I needed to move forward with
the project.
Be Open to Changing the
Story
What I’d written was too
small, in terms of the high-concept thrillers I write now. I reworked the
entire midsection to be more about the science and the challenges the FBI
profilers faced a decade ago, rather than the characters getting to know each
other. It made the book stronger and fit better with the series canon.
Murder Your Darlings
There were plenty of
sections with writing I thought was glorious way back when. Sadly, many of the
delightful phrases I’d so loved were perfect examples of first-timer-itis. I
had to be ruthless.
Streamline, Streamline,
Streamline
I also had far too many
“ideas” in the story – the kitchen sink approach. I’d dumped in everything I’d
learned during the course of my research. Integrating this knowledge into an
iceberg approach (what you see in the book is just the tip of the iceberg)
helped tremendously.
Reckless Abandon
Because it was my first
book, I did leave in some of my less egregious rookie mistakes. I wrote an
author’s note explaining my thought process on this, that I’d done some
editing, but that I also wanted the integrity of the debut to stay intact. It’s
about story, remember.
If you haven’t burned it on
a grill, go back and look at your first novel. You never know; you might have
instant contender on your hands. And even if you don’t, you’ll be able to see how
much progress you’ve made over the years, which is a gift in and of itself.
___________________________________________________________________
J.T. Ellison is the New
York Times bestselling author of several critically acclaimed
novels, including WHAT LIES BEHIND, WHEN SHADOWS FALL and ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS, and is the co-author of the Brit in the FBI
series with #1 New York Times bestselling author
Catherine Coulter. Her work has been published in over twenty countries. THE COLD ROOM won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original
and WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE was a RITA® nominee. She
lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens, where she enjoys fine
wine and good notebooks. Visit JTEllison.com or
follow her on Twitter @Thrillerchick orFacebook.com/JTEllison14. J. T. is happy to be part of Brenda Novak’s SWEET TALK collection for raising money for diabetes research.