So I’m re-reading Donte as I update my file. Did I explain this? Last fall I polished him up, printed him out and sent him off–but didn’t back it up. Hard drive go boom, I still have the original, but not the changes. Fortunately when poor Donte got rejected (sigh) Warner Books sent the MS back, even though I’d not sent an SASE figuring recycling was a better move.
I’m SO glad they did, since that book is so very much better than the one I had in my back-up files!!
As I read, though, I’m blown away by how a sentence here and there–only two scenes are truly altered, one by a few extra lines, another completely replaced–by how much that little changes the whole. Think I’ll keep it in mind for the next time I’m not getting anywhere, thinking I’m writing crap. As CJ Cherryh said, it is fine to write mediocre–so long as you edit brilliantly.