As a writer, how do you know when a DNR order should be given to your manuscript?
It’s a hard, hard decision. Many hours, weeks and months, maybe even years have gone into it. Revisions and edits. Beta-readers and more edits. That’s a lot of work and determination and I know, a lot of love also. It’s a whole new part of you.
Eventually you feel your manuscript is capable of standing on its own in front of agents, so send it tentatively out into the world of query land. You get rejections. You revise some more and send further queries out. Rejections again. Maybe you attempt to get some more feedback from somewhere before another round of queries, but all that you get is rejection. There may be a full manuscript request in there, but it still fails to bring that elusive offer of representation.
What next. Self publish?
You really have to look at your work now, even harder, and with a tougher critical eye. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t be sending our your very best work to an agent, but self published, it’s not going to go through a whole gamut of professionals who work with books day in, day out who could polish your manuscript into a gleaming pile of words akin to a beauty makeover. This is you and your work. This is the work that people are going to judge and boy, they aren’t afraid to judge. Just take a look at Amazon reviews.
So now, you really have to decide if the professionals in the business just didn’t like it and you maybe didn’t hit the right one, after all, it is a subjective business, or if it genuinely isn’t up to scratch yet. I know several authors whose first works are still in their drawers, never to see the light of day. But with the advent of Amazons self publishing capabilities putting your mauscript away into the top drawer seems to be an option that is being given less and less consideration.
Very often if you read a published authors work, you will be able to recognise the improvement in the second novel, to the first, and these are novels that made it into the world.
So, I think we should stop and think before we rush for the self publish button. I will stop and think before I go towards it. Have our manuscripts been rejected because of reasons that are acceptable to us; the agent didn’t love it enough, the agent was too busy and couldn’t do it justice, it just wasn’t the kind of thing the agent liked. Or. Does our manuscript need a DNR and placing in that top drawer and our time placed on the next work in progress which may make it out into the world and in a condition we are more proud of, than we think we currently are now?
A tough decision, but one I’m sure many writers wish they had considered and also many readers!
Sisyphus47 says
Daunting in many ways, but still wise advice 😉
DJ Kirkby says
Very good advice but there is also the other side of the coin. Allow me to use SD as an example….my agent LOVED it, every editor she sent it to LOVED it and sent wonderful feedback about it but all felt they couldn’t take it on due to market moves, already full list etc so my agent finally advised me to self publish it because she thought it was worth it. Strange old world.
Joanne Phillips says
A brilliant post Rebecca, and even as an indie author – or perhaps especially as one – I wholeheartedly agree. My debut self-pubbed novel was not the first I wrote, and it went through many many revisions, edits, beta readings etc before publication. I did have an agent interested for a while, but like you said, sometimes it doesn’t pan out. I also put chapters on my blog to gauge interest. It was only when I was absolutely sure the book was at least as good as other trad-published books that I felt comfortable self-publishing. And I have at least 3 novels which have been declared DNR 🙂
sharonsant says
I love the way you feel able to be so honest about yourself and your work. It’s another great post. There are many novelists with first novels tucked away, but many with amazing ones out there too. Only you have the power to decide whether to save it or not, and that decision will come from your heart. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, though, I say you should give it one last jolt with the defib before you call time…
Claire McComisky says
Great post, Rebecca, lots to ponder over. Good luck making the decision.
Bel Anderson says
Brilliant post! Something we should all take on board – sometimes that first novel isn’t meant to be our first novel!
kford2007 says
Great post, Rebecca. I’m with you. I don’t think I’ll self-pub anything. I like knowing a publisher loved my work enough to take it on and put it out to the world. I know it’s subjective, but they’re in the business to sell books. They aren’t going to take something they don’t believe in or can’t sell. Plus, it makes me feel vetted, accomplished. Publishing is too easy now. Everyone can do it. It doesn’t hold the mystique it once did, and in too many cases, fails to uphold to the standards of what it means to be published. I’ve read lots of self-pubbed books that were great books and should have been picked up by publishers. The authors have great followings, their books are topping Amazon charts, but there are so many self-pubbed books that are horrible, riddled with mistakes and plot holes. I wouldn’t be proud to publish something like that. I’d rather have my MS go through the ringer, and declared dead than to put my name on something released to the world when it isn’t ready. I value my reputation as an author too much just to say “I’m published”.
Cynthia Reed (@Cynthia__Reed) says
Excellent and, as ever, thought-provoking post, Rebecca. You make some excellent points. I’m working on finishing my first. Who knows where it will go, if anywhere? At this point, for me, finishing it to my satisfaction is the success. I’m not even sure I’m writing in the proper genre–the other things I’ve written (closer to creative non-fiction and more for fun or as exercises) are getting picked up for publication. Go figure! Still, excellent stuff, thanks!
ramblingsfromtheleft says
Rebecca … your ying/yang with an MS might also be the underlying problem with most indie books in the past two years. DNR a book because you lost faith in it … or because it didn’t grab an agent right away. Conversely, don’t go indie BECAUSE it was rejected.
Whatever you do, don’t rush into any decision too quickly. Give your work and yourself time to mature and write about a million words … then you’ll be able to decide what is best and only you can do that 🙂
Margot Kinberg says
Rebecca – That’s such and interesting and important question! I think as writers we have to be really, really honest with ourselves about our work. I think we also have to have faith in our work. I’m not sure what exactly is the point at which you ‘turn off life support’ for a manuscript; I think that’s different in each case. But I think there is such a point. At the same time, there are self-published books that are very good and in those cases I’m very glad the author had faith in the work even if publishers didn’t. I wish I had an easy answer to this one…
Vikki Thompson says
i resuscitated a WIP last year and i still don’t know whether i did the right thing lol, especially as I’m on rewrite number 4 lol. I guess time will tell, but ive still got a long way to go 😉
Great post honey xx
Jean Davis says
IGreat post! I’ve got a few stories tucked away in a drawer. They seemed brillant at the time, but then reality and feedback hit and even after rewrites, I have to admit, they just don’t work. Sometimes a major rewrite will fix problems, and hey, SP is always an option, but I agree, there are times when it isn’t the wisest one.
jmfilipowicz says
I’m picturing that clip of Charlton Heston at the NRA, shaking his rifle and saying “From my cold dead hands”. Replace Charlton with me and replace the rifle with a manuscript. You could say I have trouble letting go.
Patricia (@patricialynne07) says
I have a few stories that I have put in the drawer never to be taken out. The reasons vary and it’s sad, but sometimes the idea I got just wasn’t right.
Claire says
A very good point! This is one reason why my beta readers are so important to me.
lynneinpborough says
All my novels will be in that drawer. I’d better get a bigger sideboard.
nancyrae4 says
Great post about the tough questions.
At this point, I’ve sent out one query and received one rejection. Signs of things to come? Who knows? Not matter what, if my first novel receives nothing but rejections I won’t self-publish. Since anyone with $50 bucks can SP on Amazon, I’ll pass. After all, I’ve learned a lot writing this first novel, and maybe someday I’ll resurrect it or at least revive the characters for a future novel. Nothing creative ever really dies. It just waits for the perfect moment, morphing into whatever form works.
caroness1 says
The best advice I can give you is some given to me by a very famous author. Do NOT fiddle and edit, not until you have put your work away for a month preferably 6, which gives you the perspective you need to be able to make the right edits or to make the decision to abandon the project and start again…