Confessions of a first-time novelist - how I used manuscript assessment and mentoring services

A writer at a workshop I attended once, said that the twenty thousand word mark is the place where a lot of people give up. She said that it was here that the inspiration runs out for her, and the really hard work begins. I'm sure it is not the same for everyone, but there have been a couple of ideas for novels that I've run with for about twenty thousand words, and then given up.  One or two would-be novels have found their way to the recycling bin, not because they were necessarily bad ideas (they might have been) but because I didn't persist. My own particular mix of bald arrogance in thinking that I could do this novelist thing, a pathetic shrinking insecurity in feeling that I was not worthy, and an unswerving egalitarian belief in the right of all to be heard drove me to think about this another way.

I wanted to finish a novel. After all, regardless of whether I did or didn't finish, I would continue writing. It is what people who have this particular affliction do. 

At the 11,000 word mark of the first draft of my (now) debut novel I stopped writing forward, and started obsessing. At this stage I  normally plough on womanfully, for about another 9,000 words, give or take a few, and then give up. It takes a while to understand that if something doesn't work the first, second, or fiftieth time, it won't work the fifty-first. In previous attempts it had never occurred to me to talk to someone who understood, and could help.

This novel was different. I started it in a hard-headed way, not really knowing where it was heading, but deciding that I would keep going regardless. I had decided at the outset that when I got to the point of wavering in this decision, I would find a good manuscript assessor, and have them take a look at the work.  11,000 words doesn't seem like much, but I felt the need for some advice at this point.  Not just any advice. I set my sights high.

I searched the Internet, found a list of manuscript assessors on a reputable site, checked out their websites, and was amazed to see that there were some really good, published novelists with great credentials, who had set themselves up as manuscript assessors, and read work for a relatively modest fee.  I found Chris McLeod that way (check out his credentials on the link!) emailed him, and sent off the first few cell divisions of my embryonic novel.  Of the assessors that I found, I thought he would be the best for me, and I really lucked out here. Chris's advice fell in the Goldilocks zone - not too much, not too little - for each stage of my process.I was encouraged and empowered to continue. When that first bit of manuscript came back, I went on with the work, probably wrote another twenty thousand or so words this time, sent it for another assessment, and at this point Chris offered to mentor me, which I gratefully accepted.

After the first few drafts of the novel, I felt that it would be helpful to get a fresh pair of eyes to do a manuscript assessment, and in a second stroke of luck found Tom Flood who was able to provide a different, highly professional perspective, and detailed feedback which helped to lift the work further.

I guess the take-away message for me was that while my personality type might default to introversion, and while I might have a stubborn tendency to do everything for myself, and  even a concern that if I obtain advice, I am somehow not quite doing it right, the reality is that we live in a writing community and this is a good thing. Accepting the community certainly helped my work and my skills to develop and grow. Besides asking professional, highly skilled assessors to look at my work, many of my friends also generously read and commented on early versions of the work. Sometimes I took the advice and sometimes I didn't, but it was always, always of the greatest value.

Of course, once a manuscript is accepted for publication, there is another process of fine-tuning, which I will discuss at another time in this forum.