Revisions, Baby.
Yesterday I was comparing a manuscript I wrote years ago called “Manhattan Rat” to my book coming out next month, “COOL DADDY RAT.” Although the first was a loose framework for the second, when I compared the two pieces word by word and line by 
line, COOL DADDY RAT is 80% different. I'm not just talking about word placement but entirely NEW words. Also, another character was added to the story, it was given a new title, and the vast majority of the piece was completely re-written under the guidance of my agent, my writers group of about ten authors, and my editor. I remember one nine-word line, in particular, which took weeks of revision to get exactly right. I was literally grappling with three letter words, rotating different ones in and out until they were finally okayed by my editor. So yesterday I looked back at that first piece and thought, “you came a long way, baby.”
My agent told me the manuscript would never have sold if I hadn’t added little “Ace.” “That’s when the story really came to life,” she said.
line, COOL DADDY RAT is 80% different. I'm not just talking about word placement but entirely NEW words. Also, another character was added to the story, it was given a new title, and the vast majority of the piece was completely re-written under the guidance of my agent, my writers group of about ten authors, and my editor. I remember one nine-word line, in particular, which took weeks of revision to get exactly right. I was literally grappling with three letter words, rotating different ones in and out until they were finally okayed by my editor. So yesterday I looked back at that first piece and thought, “you came a long way, baby.”My agent told me the manuscript would never have sold if I hadn’t added little “Ace.” “That’s when the story really came to life,” she said.
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