Should you salvage what you have or move on?
We own a 2007 van that, let’s just say, has been around the block a few times. From preschoolers to college kids, from the beach to the mountains, it’s been a people-hauling rock. Plus, it’s like Mary Poppins’ bottomless carpet bag--an amazing amount of stuff can go in and out of it. An 84" couch, a mattress, bales of hay, and a big, fluffy Great Pyrenees? No problem. If it can’t fit in the van, we probably don’t need it.
But recently it rattled in a new and unsettling way. We took it to a recommended mechanic. Later he called to tell us that for $3,500 we could pass inspection and be back safely on the road. Bushings, brakes, struts, axles—so much work was needed.
We had decisions to make. Fix it? Send it to the junk yard in the sky? Spend even more for a younger van? Though we trusted the mechanic and we were leaning toward paying the price, we needed another opinion.
I found a second recommended garage and headed to Mechanic #2. His estimate? $375. And that included the state inspection, an oil change and a new air filter.
$3,125 less than the first estimate.
How could the repair estimates be so different? They were both reliable mechanics. Would the van be safe if we went with the less expensive option? Would we be ignoring problems that would just pop up again soon or cause other issues? WILL IT EXPLODE? Or, are there not really any big problems?
Like our van, I once had a manuscript I loved, but it rattled and broke down in some (okay, many) places. I got the advice of a critique partner I trusted, and asked how much fixing it would need. They saw why I loved it too, but wanted to repair it in places I didn’t even realize needed help. They made big structural suggestions I wasn't sure about. I struggled with thoughts like, maybe I should scrap this one and maybe it’s never going to be “right."
But I'd put so much into it! Its imperfections had been with me a long time and I thought I could live with them.
I needed another person’s opinion. Critique Partner #2 saw a lot less that needed work. Just a few tweaks and touch-ups here and there.
But I was feeling uneasy. One person saw a lot that needed work. Another didn't. Was it risky to go with the least invasive option that required less work? Would someone else see the problems that CP #1 saw? (yes, most likely) Or worse, would a potential agent say, “The author missed a doozy of an issue there! I’m surprised she’s still allowed on this writing road!”?
If you’re like me and you’ve spent a lot of time with a manuscript, it’s probably because you love it and have faith in it. You fix it and tweak it as best you can with the best information you can get. How will you know if and when there are no more problems? What’s merely a subjective issue and what's a big concern?
You have to draw the line somewhere and start the querying journey when you feel your work is as ready as it’s going to be. There are a few resources you can tap into before you make the ultimate decisions on how to revise your manuscript to get to that point. After your first rounds of drafts, find critique partners or a writing group to exchange pages with. If possible, find writers with more experience than you have. Be open to fresh perspectives. Do you want a sensitivity reader or to work with a professional editor? Pay attention to your spelling and grammar; where you put that semi-colon matters. And remember, if you don't care about your story and characters, your reader won't either. Love your story.
Along the way there will be bumps in the road. Some days you might feel like starting completely over with something shiny and new. And that's okay. It can be exhilarating, even!
With this particular manuscript, I hopped around from one writing mechanic (craft books, classes, contests, oh my!) to the next. I ended up parking it because I realized it needed more of an overhaul than a tune-up and I wasn’t prepared or equipped to do the extensive work. For a time, I had to forget about it.
But now after working on other manuscripts, and in different genres, I’m in a much better position to understand the feedback and see what needs fixing in older manuscripts that I still believe in and love. I’m going to pull this heart one out of my writing garage soon, because I think with all the right revision work, both cosmetic and structural, I can eventually get it up and running. One day, you might even see it out on the road. There I'll happy-beep and wave at you, knowing how much work you put into getting yours into tip-top shape as well.
(And the van? This is where my very clever metaphor stops. We went with the smaller bill and the least fixing. Because, unlike a novel, it only needs to work for our family and various-sized dogs. So far, no explosion. Not even a backfire.)
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