Do you have old unpublished manuscripts that you might revive? Why did you abandon it (or them?) What would it take for you to go back to them?
Brenda here.
Like many (most?) writers, I have several unpublished manuscripts tucked away that might never see the light of day. Each took months to write and the stories still haunt me, yet I don't consider any of them a waste of time. I enjoyed the process of writing each one, and I like the stories even if the publishing world turned them down for one reason or another.
The first adult crime fiction novel I wrote was accepted by an agent who liked the story. I continued writing book two in the series as she shopped around the first. Neither was ever accepted by a publisher. My agent retired and that was that. A few years later, I met an old friend who had critiqued the first manuscript. "Did that ever get published?" she asked me. "I still can't stop thinking about the characters and the story."
"Nope, but I love you for saying that."
I wrote an adult literacy novella for Orca called The Second Wife. It did well, nominated for a Golden Oak Award, with solid sales. The publisher turned down the second in the series so I wrote another 'second' that he also turned down. I was fortunate that the Grassroots Press publisher liked The Second Wife enough to hire me to write what became the eight-book Anna Sweet series, also for adult literacy. Every cloud has a silver lining.
I also tried my hand at two thrillers, one for teens and one for adults. Both are unpublished. One publisher told me the teen one was good but wasn't trendy enough.
As I reminisce about the books that never got off the ground, I remember that I once tried my hand at a picture book. It was a charming story that never found a home. I even had an illustrator lined up, but learned that publishers don't like that unless the author is also the illustrator. They prefer to use their own. What could have been.
Would I dust any of them off, have another round of editing, and try again? I guess it will depend on how I spend my time after I finish the series I'm working on now. It would be hard to muster the energy needed to put into a shelved project, but I would never say never. It's difficult looking back sometimes, realizing that every manuscript that never got published took up hours and days and months of my time, seemingly for nothing. Yet, each was a learning opportunity and helped me to work on the craft.
Who knows -- maybe, when I'm long gone from this world, one of my unpublished manuscripts will be found like one of those paintings in somebody's attic and will be published to universal acclaim. A writer can dream...
Website: www.brendachapman.ca
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That's a sad, yet funny image, Brenda – an old manuscript found in an attic. As you say, we all have a dusty old unpublished ms or two lying around, and yet, it's the practice that got us published in the end.
ReplyDeleteBetter to laugh than cry :-) There aren't many professions where you can work at something for a year and not ever have it see the light of day.
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