Inspired or Tired?
Can all writing projects be made into sellable art or should some just go away permanently? As I've been a reviewer for many years, I can sometimes spot when an author has pulled something out of a back drawer. I blasted someone in a review (and I rarely do that) who had written excellent YA then came out with a very bad one with outdated teen stereotypes - clearly this one was written a long time ago and the author thought no teens would notice?
But sometimes this works: Evanovich, Sandra Brown, Catherine Coulter, Debbie Macomber are all romance authors who republish old romance titles that have been updated. I've recently enjoyed many of these. I've been trying to get a hold of Tess Gerritsen's old romances after enjoying her talks so much at LIM.
I have had two characters I've loved for years, waiting to be made into a book. I've worked on them in various forms, for a paranormal mystery, but I've always struggled with the point of view. See I can't switch back and forth for some reason. I just can't do it. I've had professionals look at this work more than once, and I'm currently using it in a class, and surprise, surprise, these folks have told me it doesn't work. But I still like them and the idea. However, one is now gone. I had to do it. It was either scrap the entire thing, and the jury is not out on that for sure yet, or radically redo it. It's the hardest thing I've worked on to date. Yes, even harder than the 9 draft short story I did in November...
Is part of a project always salvageable? What if an agent has had a book for ages and not been able to sell it? When have some of you decided to move on? Or - how have some of your troublesome projects been reincarnated successfully?
-Amy Alessio
But sometimes this works: Evanovich, Sandra Brown, Catherine Coulter, Debbie Macomber are all romance authors who republish old romance titles that have been updated. I've recently enjoyed many of these. I've been trying to get a hold of Tess Gerritsen's old romances after enjoying her talks so much at LIM.
I have had two characters I've loved for years, waiting to be made into a book. I've worked on them in various forms, for a paranormal mystery, but I've always struggled with the point of view. See I can't switch back and forth for some reason. I just can't do it. I've had professionals look at this work more than once, and I'm currently using it in a class, and surprise, surprise, these folks have told me it doesn't work. But I still like them and the idea. However, one is now gone. I had to do it. It was either scrap the entire thing, and the jury is not out on that for sure yet, or radically redo it. It's the hardest thing I've worked on to date. Yes, even harder than the 9 draft short story I did in November...
Is part of a project always salvageable? What if an agent has had a book for ages and not been able to sell it? When have some of you decided to move on? Or - how have some of your troublesome projects been reincarnated successfully?
-Amy Alessio
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