PERFORMING CPR ON YOUR REJECTED MANUSCRIPT

None of us like rejection. Sadly most writers usually experience a lot of rejection before they're published. Even authors with books on the shelves are rejected. Rejection is part of the business so don't take it personally. You may need to repeat that a few thousand times before you believe it, but it's true.   

My Irish immigrant heroine/American aristocrat hero story didn't fit the publisher's guidelines was rejected. The editor also told me the hero and the plot had problems. As I thought about what she said, I agreed with her points, but I also knew even with revisions the book wasn't a good fit. I went on to write other books, yet I couldn't forget that tortured hero and desperate heroine I’d created and had left languishing for years. 

Perhaps you have a book worth saving under your cyber bed. Not all of them are. Perhaps too much is wrong. If there’s no conflict, no goals, then there’s no story really. Not that you couldn't create goals, just as you created characters, but without goals and the conflict they produce, the book has no spine and may take too much work to salvage.

Perhaps the manuscript has been rejected but with a vague "Not for us at this time" so.you don’t know what’s wrong with it. You could run the story past a critique partner or hire an editor. Or enter the manuscript in a contest. But remember contest judges usually see only the opening. We can learn to write terrific openings without knowing how to finish a complete, especially keep the pace and plot strong in the manuscript's middle.   

I’m not recommending you revise an old manuscript at the expense of writing new, but if you can identify the problems and have learned how to fix them and you can't get those story people out of your head, then go for it. 

But first a rejected manuscript needs new life. I decided to give it CPR. Dr. Dean version.

I first re-looked my editor’s issues with the book. And then noticed one of my own. I can now see the book had a lot of telling. But I've learned how to turn telling into showing. And have studied craft long enough to fix the other issues. Or so I hope!

Even if the door is closed to a traditional publisher, writers now have the option to publish the book independently, that open door on the right. 

                                           
                                 The C of CPR stands for CRITICISM

Criticism of the hero: .

1. The hero is unlikable and his characterization is inconsistent. 

Even as I wrote the opening, I knew the hero’s interaction with the heroine could upset readers. As the writer, I understood why he behaved as he did and personally loved their confrontation, but I had to remember that the reader was meeting him for the first time and what the reader thinks takes precedence, especially if that first reader is an editor. 

So before I even submitted the story I put the opening in his point of view instead of in her thoughts. So I could give tiny hints at the back story. Even trying to fix an unlikable hero is not an excuse to dump back story. 

Next I showed through action and his thoughts a loss that tortured him. A universal loss that readers would understand and would react to with empathy.

And finally I had him save a child’s life. Surely that was enough for an editor to like him. 

Nope. My hero wasn't consistent in how he viewed and treated the heroine. I would show his attraction, then he would revert to his rude behavior, then he'd be attracted again. This see-saw characterization will make anyone want to toss my book against the wall. Why didn't I see that? Who knows? 

              The P of CPR stands for Possible Patches  

I had to come up with something that would make HER see him in a more positive light. Then the reader will hopefully feel the same. I decided I could make the hero the heroine's champion and save the day.  

                       The R of CPR stands for Repair

I have him rescue her from some creep’s unwanted attentions. Then in the emotionally charged scene that follows I show their mutual attraction, which is evidence that she's seeing the hero differently, and have him kiss her. That kiss is a risk, but I think it works as long as I show that the dynamics between them have changed. He can no longer despise who she is and she can no longer see him as a threat. 

This attraction doesn't mean they aren't still in conflict. Without conflict I don't have a story. To keep the conflict strong, I must raise the stakes, not keep recycling old issues.    

Criticism of the plot:

2. The plot involving his business and inheritance are not evident in the book's middle. 

I had a huge black hole in the middle of my novel because I’d dropped these elements of the plot, which are important in the end of the book. Yet the way I'd written it, they seem to come out of the blue. I got caught up in showing the romance at the expense of the plot..I didn't know then that the romance is not the plot. It merely complicates the plot. 

An easy fix would be to have him go back to work, but he's driven to find a killer, not to run his company. So how to fix the problem? 

What romance writer could resist this stethoscope?

Possible patches:

Show him interacting with characters who have responsibilities in the company or interest in who inherits. These secondary characters can make demands, hint at trouble, force the hero to take action. I will need to make sure these encounters aren't merely conversations. They must require action, create conflict. 

Repairs:

I can have the hero stop by his office, hire a manager, handle complaints, but the best way to keep the story active is to show him getting sidetracked by more pressing issues or by having another attempt on his life. 

Novels have a plot thread, romance Thread and faith Thread. All these threads force the characters to grow and change. If we writers drop any one thread, the story won't hold together. 

While I’m doing CPR for the plot and characterization, I’m be looking for telling. I can show with metaphors, description, dialogue, actions, physical reactions and the five senses. 

Certain words should alert writers to telling.

Adverbs. Don’t tag dialogue with “she said angrily” when you can show her anger by having her plop her hands on her hips, poke someone with a finger or slam the door as she exited the room. When I was a teenager my mom and I had got along great. But, I do remember after a rare conflict going to my room and slamming the door. Immediately I heard, “Don’t you sass me!” My mom knew what that sound/action meant and so will your reader.   

Was. Its fast and easy to say: The room was cozy. But telling readers that won't make them feel that coziness. Instead give details that show the room. Describe the cushy furniture, the soft glow from lamps, the blazing fire in the hearth.

Looked. Sometimes we replace "was" with "looked" and think we're not telling, as in: She looked sick. Bring her alive with details. Show her flushed face, red nose and dull, watery eyes. Just don't overdo it and have readers taking Airborne. LOL  

Felt. She felt like her world had come to an end, isn't as bad as writing she felt hopeless. But its clichéd and not as good as using details of the setting to reveal her despondency—her mood impacts how she views everything—or by giving physical reactions that show like her trembling hands. Or showing with words, internal or in dialogue. "How will I go on?"

Use the "Find" feature in Word and look for showing words like was, felt, looked.

Not that writers should always show. Sometimes telling works, especially in high action. But vivid details engage readers. 

Do you have a manuscript worth saving? Characters who live in your heart and demand a second chance? if so, give them CPR. 

As a reader what bugs you most about a book? Have characters stuck with you? Why?  

I'm now wearing my chef hat. I have the fixings for omelets and waffles so grab a plate and let's chat. 

A comment is your ticket for a chance to win a ten dollar Amazon gift card.