Diving in for a Complete Edit

I have completed 2 chapter book manuscripts. I’ve been submitting both a bit to agents and editors. Then I rewrite, then a new critique,  then a new rewrite, then I submit. I’ve received complimentary rejections (which is way above a postcard, or check- the-box-of-no-suitability) and also postcards or crooked copies of “no thanks” form letters or just no response. So I have decided to take the plunge and hire an author that spoke at our SCBWI Summer Retreat two years ago to do a complete edit of both manuscripts.

My heart is torn. I love the characters and plots. What will happen now? Will she completely redraw the lines again? But I have decided I need to get off the plateau and get them into fighting shape from a published expert. If my characters now have the best chance to see the light of a child’s eye, it’s totally worth it. I know a true athlete re-frames their training when something is not working — so I am getting my writer athlete into new shape.

I hope my characters stay strong too. They are jumping in with me!