Good morning. I have well and truly been bitten by the writing bug. I have now started a Thriller novel and currently have just under 10k words. My question is; How do you know when your ready to approach an editor or contact a publisher?
Good morning. I have well and truly been bitten by the writing bug. I have now started a Thriller novel and currently have just under 10k words. My question is; How do you know when your ready to approach an editor or contact a publisher?
Thank you very much for the advice and yes, the more I think about what you have all said the more sense it makes to me. It's nice to be a part of a community that offer good help and advice.
As Ernest Hemingway (at least I think it was him), the only good writing is rewriting. 3 drafts is far from excessive David - in fact to have a whole MS ready to be published in just 3 drafts is probably as rare as unicorn droppings.
Good luck with your writing,
Clare
As already mentioned, reread (putting the work away for at the least a couple of weeks before looking it over is good advice), edit and rewrite numerous times until it's as perfect as you can possibly make it. Also line yourself up a few people to read it for you, ones that will give you honest feedback (family & friends are pretty hopeless on that score) - you could give them some questions for guidance as to whether the beginning draws the reader in, are the characters authentic with authentic dialogue, are there any continuity errors, is the story interesting/predictable etc etc. Finishing the first draft really is still part of the beginning of getting something published, and although a great & satisfying achievement in itself expect to do lots more hard work.