I’m making progress. Slower than a sloth in a barrel of molasses, but progress. I’ve now finished three drafts of the third revision of my novel. It’s gone to beta readers. I’ve sought feedback, including professional help, for my opening chapters. I’ve been told my writing has merit, that it’s thoughtful, articulate, insightful, and rich in imagery and symbolism. Reading that gave me a much needed spiritual boost. But I was also told my work was incoherent, obscene, or just plain boring. Thing is, it’s all valid feedback. I asked for brutal honesty, and I believe that’s what everyone who has commented so far has given me, and I very much appreciate it. It’s up to me to figure out how to apply the feedback I’ve received to improve the story.
There are similarities in much of what was said, so I’ll give a great deal of focus to that feedback. And I won’t arbitrarily discard any feedback. Even the most negative feedback will help me refine what audience I should target.
The feedback I’ve received so far is only for my opening chapters. I have a few beta readers reading the entire story, and I’m looking forward to receiving their feedback around the beginning of March 2018. I doubt I’ll be able to incorporate changes based on all feedback received by March 8, in time for #PitMad. But we’ll see. If not, no matter. I’ll pitch and query when the time is right. Trying to rush it at this point doesn’t make sense. It’s only been since late 2012 that I started working on the first version of this novel. I need to spend the necessary time to polish it before sending it off to potential agents.