It seems that my apology wasn't taken for what I wanted it to be taken for. So let me try a different way of explaining things and see if I can make it more clear.
I know what my strengths are as a writer. I am a good story teller. I create characters that people care about and put them in situations that are quite interesting. I have a habit of coming up with some real gems for lines and there are things where I say "wow, I came up with that!?!"
I also know I have some weaknesses that I need to get better at. I constantly replace one word for another and that makes spell checker useless. I didn't even know there was a third meet word (meet, meat, and mete). When did mete show up and why didn't anyone tell me? A lot of my issue is part of being dyslexic and another part is that I think I've always had a hearing problem. The reason why I wrote the words "would of" and "should of" for so long is because that is how I heard them and that is how I said them. No one ever corrected me for saying would of and should of so I thought I was correct. And forget the word drawer. We never pronounce the er, and when you try you sound stupid.
Okay, back on track.
Unreachable is something that I didn't take into consideration when I was writing it and when I was finished. I don't think it's my best work (I still think God Bless the Child and Finding Jenny are my top two), but the public seems to disagree. Could this be that special work that only comes around once in a great while. So here I am, looking at a work with great potential, and then I realize, and this is very hard for me to admit, I don't have the skills, talent, or tools to realize that potential. In order for the work to be what it can, i got to do the things I fear doing the most. I have to get out of the way and I have to give up control.
I know where Unreachable goes. It gets better. We haven't even tapped into the emotional parts. I'm sure some can see where it is all going. I tend to telegraph things. But I write more like a Columbo episode anyway. You know who did it, you just want to see how Peter Faulk figures it out.
The problems with Unreachable.
1. Too long.
2. Redundant.
3. There are some real mundane parts.
4. I keep slipping religion in there.
5. I don't know if throwbacks to characters in other works is the right thing or referencing Jenny Milan was smart (she appears heavily in the sequel but I won't say how)
6. Spelling and Grammar mistakes - and I used an editor.
So the question is what do I do about all this. I'm far too attached to know what to cut out and leave in and that kind of work is laborious and tedious to me. It doesn't sound appealing and I want to create new works. I live to create.
Solution. I found a professional editor. He's going to charge 1000 dollars (250 dollar payments per month that will make things tight) and cut this work down to 120,000 words or less and fix up all the areas I flubbed.
Don't get me wrong. I think I produced a quality piece and I am proud of it. But this can be so much more and I think it is worth the sacrifice. Writers like King, Grisham, and Dan Brown have a team of editors and wordsmiths to correct their slop, I don't, and I'll put Unreachable against any manuscript out there.
In the end. I'm tired of being mediocre. I have been given a gem. It is a nice gem. But even diamonds and rubies are cut and polished to look even better. I even think I might do a kickstarted, but I don't know if anyone is interested. I just have a feeling that unreachable can be more than a story about a teacher who reaches a misbehaving student. I think Unreachable is the story that can reach mainstream audiences and give them a glimpse of our plight.
Comments
Good For You
Katie,
I am so happy you're going forward with this. Hopefully, this editor will do the right things. Any wholesale deletions should not be made without your concurrence. It is a good story and deserves to be persented in its best form.
Portia
Wonderful
Katie, it is so good to see you becoming so much more accepting of your gifts and talents. Work with your editor but never forget whom the Author is.(you might want to briefly research the entomology of the word "author").
Last, fasten your seatbelt and hang on to your hat, if the editor is good you are into the ride of your life.
I think you are being to hard in yourself.
First off:
Much of what you are saying goes for many Well Know and Big-Name "Traditionally-Professional Writers" (I mean the writers who have been published via the traditional publishing house method. In the modern days of Amazon, e-Books & self-publishing who is or is not a professional writers is a bit open to debate, so we will ignore that issue for the moment.) This is in-spite of their having editors etc. The true measure of a work is how well it is received. However keep in mind every work will be liked by some and disliked by others, not all tastes and prejudices are the same. Absolutely every work out there is hated by somebody, as long as enough other people love it don't worry about it. You are a success if you have fans, and you do have fans.
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Now some other mixed comments:
You are getting a professional editor which is a good thing for catching mistakes and making a polished finished product. But don't let him make any change that will compromise the story. Make sure who you got is at least professionally if not personally neutral(as in not against it) on the the topic of TG & gender issues. And particularly that he understand deliberate unusual use of of gender pronouns(he, she etc.).
Conversations should sound like conversations, people do not talk like English lit professors unless they are one. Therefore at least some objections to improper English do not really apply as long as it is understandable and probably sounds more natural, that is unless its an objective narrator talking which is a different case.
Religion is a sore subject with some people and opinions and beliefs vary. It is one of those things that some people will like other dislike, just like some will feel that way about any LGBTI topics. While it may put some people off, due to bigoted use of organized religion, which has created many hard feelings. I believe you treat the topic well and the way most would like it to be viewed ideally. That does not mean it wont still put some people off because of their own personal bad experiences, just remember where they are coming from. But also remember it may open other people eyes to that possibility that being TG does not mean being apart form God. In fact you have written an entire book on the topic, don't let other make you exclude that viewpoint from your other works. Write what you feel is Right and what you feel your characters would believe, it is your stories after all.
References to other characters are fine and give a bit of an extra thrill to those who recognize them. As long as the reader does not miss anything by not having read the other works I don't see anything wrong with that, and it adds extra enjoyment for those who have.
And ignore the hecklers who just don't like anything that smacks of gender difference, you know this but sometimes you just can't help having it make you feel down.
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Please keep writing, and don't let anyone change what you feel you need to write. Polishing up for a more public presentation fine, but do not change the core of your stories because of what others feel is proper. Tell us your stories that you feel you need to tell. You have fans here and out there too.
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*huggles & encouragement*
~Hypatia >i< ..:::
PS. You are not mediocre, you are just writing in a niche that has not made mainstream and are doing on your own without the traditional writers support structure. I my self consider you a professional writer, traditional outlets be dammed. Do NOT let the squeaky-wheels get you down instead take note of your fans.
Damn this got long! *grin*
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((pps. I reserve the right to edit more comments in to this portion later))
I agree with everyone else.
A book being long is not really an issue because any book is enjoyable no matter the length as long as it entertains the reader and brings the reader in to the book. Stephen King writes two large a novels a year on average and they are almost always over seven hundred pages but his books are so entertaining and almost makes the reader part of the story. Maybe the pace may need to be adjusted in areas and that is where a professional editor will help you in this. Nora Roberts puts out four or five books out a year but they are short but engaging and thrilling books but she feels that is what she needs to do to keep her reader base. Author like J.K. Rowling takes two years or more to write a book because she spends so much time researching her storylines and make sure they continue from where they left off and the early Harry Potter books were small but then her books became three times the size of the first novels because she included so much detail but it entertained the reader without droning on and on. You need to find that sweet spot that works for you and your readers then once you do then writing books will become much more enjoyable and easier for you to do. The harshest critic I find is always yourself so it is great to have someone else proofread your work and offer suggestions. I have read the Unreachable all the way and enjoyed it very much and I am waiting on the second novel to come out in the series.
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.