The Bad 'S' Word
The true story behind my still-not-quite-done romcom...
Hi! Happy autumn and welcome to my new subscribers! I’m so glad you’re here.
Growing up my parents had a very strict no cursing rule. So naturally anytime my brothers and I heard someone utter the “bad f” or the “bad s” word we were filled with a giddy mix of glee and horror.
About a month ago I was hit with a far worse “bad s” word that went well beyond four letters and sparked a rush of dread and sadness. That word, friends, is “substantial” as in: “There are some fairly substantial edits needed…”
That message came from my new editor. She was referring to my romcom manuscript. To say that I was not anticipating this “s” word would be an understatement. The “s” word I’d been hoping for was “sending” as in “Sending it on for copyedits!”
A bit of backstory: When the editor who acquired The House on Cold Creek Lane made an offer on this (soon-to-be-titled) romcom, which I’ve been writing and revising on and off since 2017 (more on that below), I was ecstatic — not only to work with her again but also because this story had finally found a good home.
Then, a few weeks after making that offer, my beloved editor shared that she was moving on to a new role at a different publisher. I all but begged her to do a round of edits with me before she left. She is one of those rare gems who can give critical feedback in a way that is energizing and motivating as opposed to the far more common makes-me-want-to-throw-my-laptop-in-a-lake style of feedback. She agreed. We did a round and both thought the book was good to go.
More backstory: I began writing this tale of a harried mom who has a single day to decide the fate of her marriage in November 2017 when a friend in a writers group (hi, Rose!) suggested we try NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month — this was before the NaNo people seemed cool with AI, ahem). I’d spent much of 2014-2016 writing a memoir about unemployment and mining a tough time in my life. A new project — fiction, written in 30 days — (yeah, right!) sounded perfect.
Here’s how that went: I loved writing it. (That should be enough, right? That’s a different newsletter.) I probably penned 30,000 messy words in a month.
I finished it by the following summer and got a fancy agent fairly quickly. She submitted it widely and we received nothing but lovely rejections that went like this: “What a great, relatable character!” “I had so much fun reading this!” before taking a tragic turn in paragraph two that went like this: “Ultimately though, this doesn’t feel big or fresh enough …” or the old “I found a few plot points predictable so I’m going to step aside…” They all ended with “I’m sure another editor will feel differently!”
Fast forward a few years and I received a revise-and-resubmit request from a lovely editor who had great ideas on how to enhance the story. I took her advice and was pleased with the changes. The story felt richer, my main character more fleshed out. This version didn’t make it past the acquisitions team. The main character is a middle-aged mom and the editor said she was told “mom fiction” just isn’t that popular. (Sigh) I received a second revise-and-resubmit request from another publisher who said the story straddled women’s fiction and romcom and I needed to pick one or else no one would know how to market it. Based on my experience with the first R&R, I was reluctant. Instead of digging in, I hired a developmental editor who was enthusiastic and helpful but couldn’t pinpoint anything that was glaringly missing/terribly wrong.
Based on the suggestions she offered, I made more changes and began submitting on my own. (My agent and I had parted ways by this point as her career began to focus more on nonfiction.)
I continued to work on the manuscript in between other projects and even hired another editor years later after making additional changes in response to more feedback (read: rejections).
Why am I sharing this? First, I love when other writers are transparent and honest and offer a behind-the-scenes look at their path to publication. Second, I’m hoping you’ll remember this and make a pity purchase when/if I ever get to the point where this book is for sale. I’m joking…sort of.
But seriously, when it comes to books and publishing in general often we only see the finished product. Non-writers think it’s all this:
When actually it’s like this:
My mother is notorious for pointing to a bestselling debut novel and musing, “Can you believe this is her first book?!” And I always respond with, “She probably has six manuscripts in a drawer or the iCloud that we don’t know about!” My mom gives me a pity nod like “Keep telling yourself that, dear” and we move on.
My point is rejection and revision are part of the writing life and while it would be amazing to get a book right on the first try, that seems incredibly rare.
But what do you do when the feedback doesn’t jibe or speak to you initially? I’m not gonna lie, this “s” word (and the ensuing four-page edit letter) hit like a sucker punch. In all the years I’ve been working on this, no one had taken this view of the characters. How, after all this time, was there still more work to be done? A little? Sure. A “substantial” amount? WTF?!
(Wow, I’m really selling this, aren’t I?)
Yet as I’ve sat with the feedback and reread that edit letter a dozen times, I’ve seen the wisdom in many of the ideas. There were opportunities to go deeper, things I’d never considered. I didn’t agree with everything so after explaining that, I’m taking what I think serves the story, the characters, and ultimately, (I hope) the reader, and going with that.
But I’m also facing that terrible ripple effect of “improve one thing, notice how awful everything else is.” Like when you get a new couch and you suddenly realize your carpet is hideous. You get a new carpet and now your wall color resembles a bland shade used to subdue prison inmates and next thing you’re off to pick up three dozen paint swatches. It feels endless…and exhausting. But I’m in the homestretch and I think it’s a far better book. Stay tuned for updates and possibly more lamenting.
As always, thank you for reading!
Where I’ll be:
Sat, Oct. 26: In Conversation with Lisa Kusel, author of The Widow on Dwyer Court: The Book House in Long Branch, NJ at 2 p.m. If you missed our conversation on The Book House Podcast, listen here.
Sun, Oct. 27: The Thrill of Suspense: Four Authors on the Art of Crafting Spine-Tingling Fiction
Panelists: Laura Sims, author of How Can I Help You, Libby Cudmore, author of Negative Girl, Lisa Williamson Rosenberg, author of Embers on the Wind, and Liz Alterman, author of The House on Cold Creek Lane: Calvary Episcopal Church, 31 Woodland Ave, Summit, NJ, 2 to 4 p.m.
Register here.
Sat, Nov. 2: In conversation with poet Melissa Elder, author of the collections The Mundane and Nostalgia: at Howling Basset Books in Oldwick, NJ, 5 to 7 p.m. (There’ll be wine and snacks, so please join us if you can!) RSVP here. If you missed our conversation on The Book House Podcast, listen here.
Time for my obligatory cat photo:
Happy Halloween!
OH man I loved this piece, Liz!!!!! IYKYK!!!! Widow was started in 2017 too!! Another coincidence--along with the MANY rejections and revisions before it finally made it onto bookshelves. You are fearless (and wildly talented), so I have no doubts this new book of yours will be as excellent a read as all the other books you've written. I am, and always will be, a HUGE fan. Good luck, girl. You've got this.
UGH. I feel your pain. I can't wait to read it! have fun at your events and love the cat pics!