Yet again, I must apologize for my tardiness in posting. Last week was the long weekend, so no entry for the Monday, and with Monday’s now becoming loco-manic-days, I may switch to Tuesdays. 😉
Anyway, as I’ve gotten back a great beta read on a WIP that I’ve revised more times than I care to consider, it has me thinking: how many revisions is enough? When do you call it quits or just move on?
In my case, I was pretty sure I’d reached that number. That if this book still wasn’t ready to move and wasn’t at a point it needed to be, that was that and I’d bury it in a computer file, forget about it for some time. (Okay, one of the options I considered was also printing it off just so I could burn it, but I despite how wasteful that’d be.)
Then I got this beta read. Details, salient points I agreed with, but which really made concrete where and how it needed to be fixed where previously most suggestions had been too vague. And suddenly I could once more “see” the book I’d dreamed of, consider new possibilities. And even more? The characters are talking to me again, whispering their own suggestions for how this story can finally become what it was always meant to be.
So how many revisions does that make? As many as it takes. Just so long as you’re still willing.
It would be impossible for me to go back to this book without this new injection of enthusiasm – something I thought I’d never find for it again. And lo and behold, there it is. I still love this story. I still think there’s something I can fix, a way I can help my characters “live” their life and achieve their happily ever after. So know what I’m going to do? Tear it apart, and start writing again. Which is where I’m off to now.
What about you? How many revisions do you think it needs? What have your experiences been?
Thanks for reading, and wishing you a great reading week. 🙂