Nicole Sune Sbitani (she/her) is a diplomat by day and speculative fiction author by night. The views expressed in her newsletter or on her website are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.
I Finished My Second Draft!
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Hello! I finished my second draft of my novel manuscript, and it feels amazing! For Fics & Dip readers who are not writers: most books go through many, many drafts. This is not the first novel manuscript I've ever written, but it is the first I've seriously revised. I learned so much about myself and my editing process along the way, and I'm so proud of how much better the second draft is compared to the first draft. When I mention to people I'm writing a novel, they often immediately asked, "When are you going to get it published?" Whether or if I get it published is something I can't control, but I do plan to revise this manuscript into the best version I can and then attempt to publish it traditionally. After two drafts, I know that I'm not ready yet to query agents (i.e., seek a literary agent to represent my work to editors). My goal now is to do a third draft (much faster than my second draft, hopefully, now that I learned about some techniques I tried with draft two that did not work well for me), share it with beta readers, make any additional changes I need to, and then query. Most experienced folks I know recommend letting your manuscript breathe with a break between drafts. I've heard a few suggest that writers take a break of four weeks before diving into the next draft. However, I have a baby due any day now so I would rather not wait. We'll see how it goes with me taking a very brief break before getting to work on this novel again. One of the biggest changes I know I need to make is reducing my word count. My first draft clocked in at 115,198 words. I cut quite a few scenes but added others to the second draft, which now stands at 116,285 words. My goal is much closer to 90,000 or at least under 100,000 words, so I have some serious cutting to do! In some cases, I'm glad I wrote certain scenes so I have the background information for myself as the author, but on further reflection it's more detail than the reader needs. In others, I know I need to tighten my writing and over-explanations to make each remaining scene better! I'm learning to enjoy this part of the writing process as I build the skills that I know will make a better book. Thanks for following me on this journey! Nicole Disclaimer: The views expressed in my newsletter or on my website are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States. |
Nicole Sune Sbitani
Nicole Sune Sbitani (she/her) is a diplomat by day and speculative fiction author by night. The views expressed in her newsletter or on her website are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.
Hello, I posted a few months ago that I finished the second draft of my novel. Since then, I've quietly been chugging away and finished drafts three, four, and five (in much less time than draft two took, for many reasons)! Now, I'm querying my work for the first time. (Querying is the process of seeking an agent, a requirement for almost everyone who wants to have their work traditionally published in the United States.) I'd heard from writer friends that querying is brutal (it's often...
Hello all, I just launched a brand new Instagram page to share a peek behind the writing journey curtain, thoughts on human art and culture, and a place to talk all things books. Don't worry - the newsletter isn't going anywhere! At the same time, I'm looking forward to sharing some short-form videos, conversations with friends, memes, and other types of content that are a better fit for social media on my new page. I've enjoyed being a follower of the Bookstagram community for years and I'm...
Hello! I've used Google Docs to draft three different novels and countless short stories. I'm grateful for the tool that helped me write so much for so many years, but I decided to jump ship for my fiction given the pervasive embedding of AI. There are so few spaces left that are free from AI right now (see: partial screenshot above of an AI-generated flyer from my kid's school with a leg growing out of the shoulder), and I want to protect my human creativity. Someone made a great Chrome...