Indian Movies: Taking Your Time to Get it Right - Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Literary Agency

Friday, 4 January 2013

Taking Your Time to Get it Right - Natalie Lakosil of Bradford Literary Agency

Taking Your Time to Get it Right

by Natalie Lakosil
of Bradford Literary Agency

I’ve written before on why NaNoWriMo isn’t my favorite; it all circles around the impulsiveness that comes from a freshly finished WIP. Definitely, that accomplishment deserves a BIG CONGRATS WITH LOTS OF CONFETTI AND THIS AWESOME CAT

But then slow down. Funnel that excitement into your NEXT challenge: revising and polishing until it’s PERFECT.

Why?

Well now. First, first drafts suck. And you only get one chance; no matter how much you want to try it, unsolicited revise and resubmits (asking an agent to take a look at a revised they didn't ask to see) are not really a good idea - and even solicited revise and resubmits are rare. Why waste that one chance to get it out there? And don't try to fool us; agents have incredible memories. I can spot something I've seen before - and do, often.

If you're worried about market timing, you need to remember that publishing is incredibly cyclical. Today's dead meat will be tomorrow's dinner. I like to reference the romance industry for this, because things turn over in that genre so quickly; around 2006 it was all about erotic romance. Moved on to chick lit and romantic suspense. Then to paranormal. Then to paranormal and historicals. Then to contemporary. Now erotic and contemporary, with a rebirth (sort of) of chick lit emerging in sexy New Adult (not that that's all New Adult is by any means). And next....well, you get it. Every time the market shifted the previous craze was dead. But it all circles back on what a publisher wants, so even if you miss this turn of the wheel, catch it on the next spin.

Last, a good book will sell, no matter what the market is like. No, really. And I don't just mean a good enough book or a good right now book or a good for the genre book; I mean a good, carefully revised, fresh book with a breakout voice, unforgettable characters, and a solid, well-paced and enticing plot. Think you can encompass all of the latter in a first draft? SEND IT TO ME. Otherwise...happy revising!

Natalie Lakosil represents the authors of:

Already Released: