by Katherine Reay, @Katherine_Reay
We spend so much time with our characters and our stories that we can feel a parental interest in them – and become a wee bit bearish when they get slighted, picked on, or gently critiqued.
Now, I’m not talking about reviews. Those happen after the story is out and about in the world and our ability to pull it back is gone. At that point, we simply must wave it goodbye, wish it well, and hope for the best.
I’m talking about the moment we hand our manuscript to those first readers – beta readers, editors, our agent or our publisher – knowing full well it will come back to us slightly tarnished.
This is the point at which we need to take a deep breath and let go, just a bit. I qualify my “let it go” here because not all suggestions or criticisms are valid, but a few probably are. We can get so immersed in a story that we can “miss the forest for the trees.” It certainly happens to me. I come to understand my characters so well I miss when I have not conveyed that clearly to the page. I come to see the story world so distinctly that I miss a more powerful setting in which to place an aspect of the narrative. I believe in the journey so much I miss inconsistencies within it. The critiques and comments at this first stage of input help me see my manuscript in a new light, in a way I could not see it before nor get to on my own. And more often than not, this input make the story far better than my original vision.
Now as I said, not all comments are valid or will work. That’s when I’d suggest we take a deep breath, once again, and negotiate answers. Here’s what I mean… In one of my manuscripts, the publisher wanted to get rid of a secondary character by merging her with another. I fully believed I needed both characters. But rather than simply say no, we dug around as to why she wanted the change – and she had valid reasons. I then asked if I could have a pass at making both those characters stronger. By making them stronger and by calling out their polarity rather than their similarity, I was able to create the dynamic each needed with the main character – and that’s what was previously missing. It was in my head, but not on the page. So while the advice per say wasn’t what the story needed, the end result was.
It’s hard to do. Letting go.
I hope as you approach that point in your manuscript these thoughts help, because accepting those hints, suggestions, and even criticisms is never easy… but it is so worth the risk.
Have fun!
Katherine
Mary Davies finds safety in her ordered and productive life. Working as an engineer, she genuinely enjoys her job and her colleagues – particularly a certain adorable and intelligent consultant. But something is missing. When Mary’s estranged childhood friend, Isabel Dwyer offers her a two-week stay in a gorgeous manor house in England, she reluctantly agrees in hopes that the holiday will shake up her quiet life in just the right ways.
But Mary gets more than she bargained for when Isabel loses her memory and fully believes she lives in Jane Austen’s Bath. While Isabel rests and delights in the leisure of a Regency lady, attended by other costume-clad guests, Mary uncovers startling truths about their shared past, who Isabel was, who she seems to be, and the man who now stands between them.
Outings are undertaken, misunderstandings play out, and dancing ensues as this company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation, work out their lives and hearts.
Katherine Reay is the national bestselling and award-winning author of Dear Mr. Knightley, Lizzy & Jane, The Bronte Plot, A Portrait of Emily Price, and The Austen Escape. Her next novel, The Printed Letter Bookshop, will release May 2019. All Katherine’s novels are contemporary stories with a bit of classical flair. She has also just signed a contract for a nonfiction work to be published in February 2020. Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and is a wife, mother, former marketer, and avid chocolate consumer. After living all across the country and a few stops in Europe, Katherine now happily resides outside Chicago, IL. You can meet her at www.katherinereay.com or on Facebook: KatherineReayBooks, Twitter: @katherine_reay or Instagram: @katherinereay.