Is Your Manuscript Ready for Submission?

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I got a ton done on my new chapter(s) for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" while everyone in the house slept. No further work was done on my plot for "Snowed in with a Millionaire". I think I'm going to just let it rest until it's time to start writing it for real on November 1st, when NaNoWriMo begins. I'll just have to figure out how it ends when I get to that point!

As I work on my WIP, I know I am improving it because, well - it just wasn't long enough to be submitted to Harlequin. By adding another chapter I am helping move the story forward as well as making it more submission-ready. But when is it time to stop revising and actually send it out?

I found this article entitled "When to Stop Revising" by 'amyallgeyercook' (sic). Click the link to read the whole article, it's wonderful. Here is an outline of the article, based on the five points the author made and then embellished on:

• You've changed something back to an earlier version.
• The revisions you're working on make the book 'different' but not necessarily 'better'.
• Your critique group opens your submittal and groans, "Ugh. Not this again."
• Your heart isn't in it.
• You can't figure out what else to do with it.

She says "Remember...one-hundred percent of shots not taken, don't score. Your book will never be published if it remains hidden on your hard drive. Take a chance. Send it out!"

That is such a good point. My novels will never get published if I keep them hidden away.

Today I will be working on finishing up another chapter for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" and I will be incorporating that into the rest of the novel.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers