First Draft Perfection

I have friends--other notable authors--who tell me, "I wrote 3,000 words today and they're all keepers." How can this be? I think. My first drafts are so rough I won't let anyone else see them. They're downright embarrassing. It isn't until the fourth or fifth draft that I feel almost comfortable enough to let even my husband read my books.


An aside: Writing, I've discovered, reveals much about the author. You are laying yourself bare for the world to see, especially if your characters have any kind of depth. Everyone you've ever known will think they have the inside track on you personally, once they've read your work. If you're a sensitive person who falls apart at the least criticism--don't become an author. It will devastate you. Everyone thinks you're fair game for their sarcastic diatribes. Reviewers will use their wittiest language to tear you limb from limb, even if you write the mildest, sweetest literature. Some will say you've sold your soul to the devil while others say your Christianity is so sticky sweet they couldn't wade through it (trust me on this one!).


Now back to the topic at hand. When I write that first draft, I'm merely sketching in loosely what I envision each scene to be about and potential ideas for dialogue. It's that "roughing in" I talked about in the house building analogy. I want the pace to be right, so I write fast, usually in a spiral bound notebook so I can take it with me anywhere. For some reason my brain works better on paper; don't ask me why. Even on the second draft I'm still formulating the overall story. Scenes always get cut and new scenes always get added. I add in details, descriptions, character markers in the later drafts, although if something comes to me at an earlier draft I'll add it in. There's simply too much to keep track of to try to do it all at once.


So, the question remains: these friends who say they wrote "keepers"--is that the truth? No. I'll tell you right off, as the editor for many of these folks. The author who think the first draft is perfection is the one who needs the most extensive edit. Without exception.


You aren't doing yourself any favors when you hand in a rough manuscript to your publisher. Why? Because if you can WOW your editor--the first reader of your book--they'll tell others at the publishing house about how great it was. A fire will be ignited. It's too late to light that fire after the book is published. There's a chance readers could really love your work, assuming you've allowed your editor to turn it into a silk purse. But if the excitement starts in house, it will spread to their sales force and from sales to the retailers. They're the ones with the power in this business. If your book isn't on the shelves, the reader will never have a chance to get wowed by it.


More later,
Traci