I wonder how many writers take a step back and consider their expectations, every time they sit down to write. I've found a technique that really helped me, so I'd like to share it, as it might be of some use to other people out there.

After several rejections and the feeling that I was pushing things uphill, I began thinking from the end, scene by scene, chapter by chapter. I found it to be a fast track to getting in the zone. When I applied it, I rewrote a 100,000 word novel (which had taken three years to write) in ten weeks. I used the same process to finding an agent and had an offer of representation four days after submitting the MS and now have the first of a trilogy out to publishers. Our expectations shape the way we approach things, but we often forget them when we get down to the detail. I've written the details in an article, for anyone who might find this useful:
http://www.freeyourib.com/?page_id=185

I think you posted this a couple of weeks back, didn't you? It was very interesting - more like a kind of NLP technique, I thought.

A few months ago, I came back from a Writing Festival on the train. It was raining and I had no book deal. While the event itself was hugely inspiring, neither of my one-to-one sessions with an eminent agent and publisher went to plan. It felt like being punched repeatedly in the face. I don’t like the opening voice. It needs to be grittier. I don’t like the narrative stance. It’s too much for one story. It’s not working. It’s not working. Four years of work pulped in twenty minutes.

It's probably me, but I was rather confused by this blog post. First off, I don't really understand why you expected to get a book deal at a Writing Festival. One-to-ones at festivals are usually based on the editor/agent having read a small amount of the book. I can't see anyone getting a deal on that basis. Similarly, I can't see any editor or agent pulping four years of your work. Seems rather extreme. Getting some feed-back and making a few contacts is the usual result from a festival or conference.

I didn't get the 'end' you were starting to think from after this. Was it the book itself or visualising getting an agent? Obviously, they're two very different things, and not necessarily connected.

Now I’d go for a walk and think about how it would feel to have an agent. Not just any agent, but one who loved the concept and could see its potential. I practised that feeling whenever I had a spare moment—in the car, in the shower, before I went to sleep. I got really good at it.

This seems weird, too. I can't see how being good at visualising having an agent who likes your concept can really help the writing improve. I think this is because the motive of the agent's approval is likely to be different to the writer's - unless they're both purely in it for the money, I guess.

But well done for achieving your goal. I hope the agent can place the book.

Terry

First off, I don't really understand why you expected to get a book deal at a Writing Festival.

O Terry, let us dream!

Thanks Freebird, I did place this a while back but new to the site, so couldn't locate it - hence the rerun. It could be an NLP technique - it's just a method to focus.

Terry, thanks for the comments.

Think we're coming from difference perspectives here. With your experience you've found your own way, and that's great. You won't have any need for this.

I found this stream lined the whole process of writing for me and as I've benefited from tips and techniques from others along the way, this is one I feel is worth sharing.

To answer your questions, there were many end points. Each time I sat down to write, the end of the scene or chapter was an end point. Once I'd completed, finding an agent was an end point.
Being pulped was how it felt. They were very nice about it, though.
Finding an agent who engaged with the concept was important to me because it's not a mainstream novel. Working with someone else who believes in the story has made a real difference.

Thanks for taking the time to post - I appreciate your comments and good wishes.

Lib

Lib,

Got it, thanks.

Leila, Lib,

Apologies; didn't mean to stamp on anyone's dream! I just thought that feeling 'pulped' - either because they made you feel that way or because that's the way you took it - is a bit extreme from that kind of situation. But it looks as if it worked for you anyway.

Terry

No problem, Terry. In the same way that our dream can't be stamped upon unless we allow it, feeling pulped is a choice. Pulping was all my problem, not theirs

Lib