Why Throwing Away Your Novel Could Be Your Best Decision Yet

[@reinventingmelissa2061]

I wrote a book. Polished it. Queried it. Got a good number of full requests but no offers of representation. An author friend told me she thought the first chapter was problematic. I couldn't figure out a fix for that because it was 100% necessary. I eventually trunked it. I'd found the querying process so soul destroying that I quit writing entirely. Several years passed. A coworker asked to read it, and I dug it out. She loved it. I reread it... and it's good. I figured out how to fix that first chapter, and I decided to self publish it. My husband asked if I wanted to re-query, but nope. Shall not go that way again. Am in the process of self publishing now. Had to pause for financial reasons after changing jobs, but I'll have it out next year. Took a while, but I'm actually really excited about it.

[@xChikyx]

idk why people just try traditional publishing first and if that doesnt work they give up without going for self publishing... it's like giving up at the middle point

[@reinventingmelissa2061]

@@xChikyx Honestly, a LOT of books aren't ready for prime time when they're queried. Most of them, in fact. They aren't ready for self publishing either. I'm actually glad that people don't just automatically self publish the slush. I've had a fair amount of external validation from sources I respect that my book IS ready, so I'm moving forward.

[@xChikyx]

@@reinventingmelissa2061 yes, but, I mean, I know peoplr who have great books, their beta reader think its a great book, but they get rejected by agents and then they just give up

[@harrishadi4556]

May I ask what the criticism was?

[@reinventingmelissa2061]

@@harrishadi4556 The criticism of my first chapter? The protagonist wasn't in it, and it seemed to set up a different kind of story. If you read the first chapter and answered the question, "What's the book about?", you'd say, "A boy and his dog." Nope. Oh, the boy and the dog are pivotal to the story, but the protagonist is an adult, and the story is about an estranged family coming together after an unexpected death.

[@Obihann]

'Abandoning' and 'Throwing Away' are two different things. I think it is extremely rare for a writer to completely throw something away. Authors go back to book years later, all the time, when they figure out flaws. Therefore, throwing it away is not really the wording that should be used. Thus, authors abandon books all the time, especially when seeking trad-pub and they get no offers. But throwing it away, well...

[@shebreathesingold8043]

Literally watched half of this video and then went back on my WIP that has not been working for 3+ years and out of pure spite (no offense, I just don't like the idea of "you can't" when it comes to writing) hellbent on making it work, and literally figured out the major issues the book has had for years in like 15 minutes. I'm always coming back to this WIP and trying to fix it; and I always fail. I've literally tried hundreds of times. Today it just clicked. Thanks for the video!

[@moyhdehehe9493]

spite is excellent in small motivating doses

[@carlnord6590]

A few years back, I threw away my thirty-thousand-word novella. It had one flaw... it was terrible.

[@KeepCalmandReadOn]

Just starting a new project. This confirms for me that moving on is the right choice.

[@PROVERBS31WAM]

I threw mine away. You're right. It needed a full overhaul. It's like trying to patch a bucket full of holes. Just get a new one!

[@ThrasherMan]

The book I was writing was very personal to me; tackling some things that I have gone through, and having some allegories for real life things I see. I took most of the subplots and themes within it from daydreams I had as a kid, and tried to form a plot out of them. This made it incredibly hard to make a decision, but the book never had the magic that the original idea had in my head. I'm not giving up on it entirely, because I never got past the outlining stage to tell you the truth. But I am taking a break from it until I get any spark of creativity and inspiration for it. If that time ever comes, then I'll put my full effort into writing the novel I've dreamt about since childhood.

[@StormChaserSquadurn]

Glad I’m the first. Love ya vid, helped me a lot as a junior high student in both academic and *fun*writing. Thanks so much!

[@MrNichtus]

I've absolutely had to do this on numerous occasions. I have 4 books written in one setting, and it's fun, but at the end of the day the level of unnaturally heightened emotion means it is never going to sell. Ever. So it's a fun diversion I can think back on lovingly, but I can't noodle away at that series anymore when I know it will lead nowhere.

[@DragonRiderElf]

I needed this so much 😭 I am 16 and have been working on a book since I was 15… and it’s discouraging sometimes. It’s fantasy, so the majority of my working on this book has been world-building. When I actually do write, however, I normally scrap it 4-5 chapters in and restart (I have done this at least 6 times already). I don’t feel like it should be ditched entirely, but hearing that since it’s my first book I should finish it kinda helps me stay motivated.

[@r.e.holding]

If it makes you feel better, it took me 20 years of scrapping to get what I wanted 😅

[@DragonRiderElf]

@@r.e.holding Well, at least I’m not the only one… I only hope I don’t take that long… I am so bad at following goals, but I wanna at least have this done by next December. 😅😭

[@TheCamBeard]

I think I needed this. I made a promise to finish my Grandfather's book when he asked family to do so when he passed away. I've been going back and forth on it for years. I think it really sunk in when your example in #7 was EXACTLY what this story is: a story about Native Americans, written by a white author. I have always been and will continue to be against the idea that one must be the identity of the characters in order to write the book, but it is becoming more clear to me now that focusing on finishing this to be a published work is robbing me of time and energy better spent on my own stories that I am more passionate about. Thanks for the video!

[@dontgivetwothwips3615]

I am a painter not an author; however, I have abandoned many a painting. Under most of my finished pieces there is another image that I may have worked on for months but just wasn’t satisfied with it. Some of my favorite pieces actually incorporate bits of the underlying artwork that I’ve strategically left exposed after adding additional layers. As you said, the time I spent on a painting I abandoned wasn’t wasted; I still improved my skills

[@fragwagon]

It's amazing how the creative principles overlap between totally different forms.

[@flaksight]

I spent 5 months trying to learn and get the hang of writing and loving the process, by attempting to write my first novel. The longest thing I wrote before, was a 5000 word short story. This novel attempt reached 20,000+ words but I didn't know how to get things going in the vague plot. After learning so much in the craft during the process, I realized how flawed it was. I'd already pitched it to several producers and they loved my presentation and the concept and asked for when they could get signed copies. But, I wasn't ready to write that book yet. All writing is practice after all, so it wasn't a waste. Now, I've spent the past 7 months to work on something new I've completely structured and plotted for a joyful execution -- it's been a complete banger to write. I love the craft now, and figured how to get the most out of myself when it comes to writing. It's fully planned out for self-publishing as a debut novel, since that's the option that's worked for my friends where I live and it fits my circumstances better. It's been a wonderful ride and I'm 55000 words in and hoping to finish the last few chapters this month and start revising while editing to publish by early December, all while working on the cover art and insert illustrations myself and getting beta readers beforehand. Hopefully a little while after I finish this one, I can rework my abandoned novel. I never really fell out of love with it; I just realized I wasn't capable of doing that story justice, with the limited writing experience I had at the time. Nice video, liked and subscribed.

[@dukeofdenver]

Art is subjective. There are "subpar" works online with millions of fans. Throwing away your book is a generational thing, i believe. If those writers had the Internet and independent platforms, without the traditional gatekeepers, i bet wayy less of those get shelved.

[@tearstoneactual9773]

Sometime, abandoning a novel, and letting it rest while you learn and grow is a good thing. I have one, working title is "Shadows of Verrhaven" which is a high fantasy mystery/thriller that would be right at home in Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms. It was first being written as a novelized version of a D&D game... But it wasn't actually LitRPG (as some people would conclude.) It was third person present tense, then switched to past tense. Lots of head-hopping, and the structure felt really wonky and doughy. And it didn't seem to want to fit into any easy "box." -- BUT! After years of reading, growing, fiddling with other stuff... And then most recently reading "Techniques of the Selling Writer" By Dwight V. Swain, that book made everything click. I know exactly how to fix it. It was already structured pretty decently, but there will need to be some fat cut, and a few things added... and it should *sing.* - Since I read Techniques, I've been plugging along with my revision plan, and can't wait to get busy on it.

[@maggot1111666]

that "own voice" standard is absolutely toxic. i she publishes that native american story somehow

[@reverendofwar2796]

Yeah, and also fine with double standards. I don't give one shit the race of the author. Is it a good book? Great! Intersectionality is toxic toxic toxic.

[@TheCamBeard]

110% agree with you.

[@middlefingermotionpictures4772]

Any book can be fixed and saved.

[@Derpsman2021]

Damn it, Ernest, in this day and age the two ladies could have just ran off together in a lipstick-red convertible.

[@DutchWestFilms]

Keep 📖 all of your work. I went back to a film 📽️ I made in highschool, and it was such an amazing experience. Some aspects that I was critical of at the time that I made it, didn't seem like a big deal. It was a moment in time.

[@beescheeseandwineplease889]

I threw out a novel at chapter 4, and I am so glad I did, because it was just holding me up from starting my current novel series, which is 100x better than that precious project.

[@sarahsander785]

Sounds stupid, but I have written some novels I didn't want to publish after finishing, due to different problems coming up (mostly market and falling out of love). What I did was putting those novels up on Wattpad to get them out of my head. Because keeping them on my drive would make me bound to them. But publishing on Wattpad keeps it open for revisions, IF I want to come back to it. It's a sandbox to play in, especially for more young audience oriented stuff. But I also abandoned ideas and half-written projects as well. Even complete novels, out of different reasons. I may come around to them again, but realistically I won't 😂

[@Bookfox]

That sounds like a good alternative -- with strong psychological benefits, as well. The novel stops taking up attention space in your head.

[@kathyl6677]

I finished the first draft 4 years ago, but I'm trying to revise, and.... aaarrrggghh!! it's been shelved, it's been changed, it's been played with. I do want to publish it, but the person I'd promised it to doesn't care. He's older now and had forgotten about it. I've been working on it, off and on, for 7-10 years. Maybe it's the title:The Curse. ?? Thanks for the encouragement. I do have other books waiting in the wings. There is still the thought of writing the 2nd (doesn't have to be "final") draft using the notes I've made thus far and give it to my beta reader(s). Anyway, thanks. Best video on writing I've seen lately, considering the situation I'm in with this book.

[@SN_Sims]

Did this with my novella.❤

[@beescheeseandwineplease889]

Bruh, how can you note come up with an ending to the Garden of Eden!? It is obvious neither spouse gets the girl at the end due to their selfishness. The girl probably dies, but she could also just find her true love and move away. There done! Masterpiece!

[@Krintas09]

I had my book with a beta reader. But I knew I could never be happy. I edited, edited, and edited. But when I got it back from my beta reader, I knew, he knew. It wasn´t good. Half of it worked, the other half didn´t. Great test run for my first script. I learned a ton, and now working on something else in my native language instead. Edit: I loved the main characters from the original script, but hated the world. It represented my own fractured mind at the time, and as I healed, it felt more and more "wrong." I´m reusing the characters, but in a world, and a way that I love.

[@TooFarWest1]

I would say these writers who threw away their novel must not have had a wife like Stephen King who pulled "Carrie" from the trash bin. Many writers are just too hyper-critical of their work. They've worked so hard at planting trees in the forest, to the point of blind exhaustion, that they can no longer see how beautiful their forest has become.

[@Kyouma.]

My view on this is: If your novel doesn't work, ask yourself "What do I need to do to make it work?" Sure, there are stories that can't be salvaged, but if you really have a strong vision for your story and "feel" that it'll be worth writing, then not writing it or finishing it feels like a waste to me

[@adinaluca317]

I did that with my first one. Too bad to fix. But not 'thrown away' as in deleting, it's there, buried to always remind me where I started. Good practice though

[@theq6797]

Thanks, but I won't throw away book I am writing. It is going great and if I will make some mistakes I will repair it in editing. No problem.

[@sdkelmaruecan2907]

Another reason: bad luck. Someone just published a similar story or made a film similar to the story... so the originality is lost

[@Bookfox]

Good point.

[@VinnyTheory]

This all depends on how iconic your first idea for a book is. If you’re sitting on the next Percy Jackson or hunger games, don’t get all doubtful about it. However, if you’re writing some crazy strange sci-fi, or a boring urban mystery or basic romance that’s been written 100,000 times before, then yeah, maybe your book is lackluster. I don’t get why people try to write unoriginal things as their magnum opus

[@beescheeseandwineplease889]

Writing and not publishing is like taking a college class and not using the credit towards a degree. You are still better for it.

[@emmagrove6491]

I personally don't think it's a good idea to destroy the novel you feel isn't working, but definitely move on to another one if you feel you're spinning your wheels. Maybe return to the troubled one later... a long time later... with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Maybe you'll see how to fix it, or maybe it is unworkable from concept onward and will exist as an interesting experiment.

[@Catratio]

I finished my first 42k word story in July. I doubt I'll ever do anything with it. It means something to me, but is too niche for anyone else to find interest in. I'm about 40k into my second story and it's about halfway, but I just don't know where to take it from there. Probably will end up not finishing it, or if I do, also letting it sit on my HDD.

[@Bookfox]

Niche stuff is great, man. Those are cult classics. There's always an audience of people out there interested in tiny topics that nobody else cares about.

[@adriang6259]

You never know. Niche to you doesn't mean you're an island. It's like those weird words that describe something that you can't believe happens enough to have a name. I guess test readers will tell you.

[@General_reader]

Better to sit on your shelf forever than to throw it away

[@BookClubDisaster]

NEVER throw it away. Maybe leave it for awhile.

[@TheRealKLT]

Joanne is still stuck, considering the reviews for the Casual Vacancy, lol

[@shipjingle2531]

I already made one video request but I have another that I haven't found a comprehensive answer for- the boring parts of novels. I always wonder why they include so much stuff that isn't necessary. I understand its for pacing in someways and world building in some ways, but lots of times to me it seems not necessary, like the writer just wanted to include it. Thank you. Edit: it may be a pacing issue that I'm really misreading. I just want to know how and when to do the slow parts.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

You might want to clarify that request. There are so many mistakes that can make a section boring. And then things that are not necessary can be interesting, so that is not the same thing. The second question is probably easier, namely the rule is that everything should advance the storyline in some fashion, but teachers tell students instead that they have to create the mood, to put the reader there. And, of course, there is plain infodumping, because deleting information you spent time creating is hard to do. I think of it as a challenge, namely how can I allude to this information without saying it directly. Say a person misses home. To read, 'She was really, really missing her mother and her cooking, esp. her cooking,' is boring. Better to show it obliquely, like the girl does something strange (like touch a bracelet or ring) when home is mentioned casually in a conversation. Carol Burnett always tugged her earlobe to tell her mother that she loved her and was thinking of her.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

Frodo's journey through Mordor was very hard for me to read, but now I understand that it was needed to show both how hard the task was and to show why Frodo and not Sam should have carried the ring.

[@dukenukemforever6912]

I have a better idea. Why even throw away a book? just stop writing it !

[@Derpsman2021]

I find burying my unwanted novels in the garden is much more effective. I do this at night so the neighbors think that I'm hunting slugs and not insane.

[@Bookfox]

Yeah, I guess I didn't physical delete the file. Abandonment would be technically accurate, but emotionally, it feels like I'm throwing it away.

[@LG-pv8se]

If you like to read about unfinished novels by great authors, you may like Revisionaries by Kristopher Jansma!

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

Stephen King threw his first novel in the trash, his wife dug it out and told him to keep trying, then he went on to become one of the best and most prolific authors in all of human history. Don’t throw your books away, leave them and come back to them a few months or a few years later.

[@vesanus5600]

I REALLY pray Patrick Rothfuss will never find this video 😅

[@Lilitha11]

Other books get in the way, the story ballooned out of control, spinning your wheels for 10 years. George R.R. Martin is sweating bullets over here.

[@Yokar_mova1212]

The timing couldn't be worst.

[@joshuam2212]

the only one that is concerning to my current work is the Native American aspect i do have one pov that is part Navajo I'm am not but i had cousin that was Native American but sadly he died many years ago maybe i should put that in the dedication any thoughts on this

[@Bookfox]

I think a dedication would be nice, absolutely. And I think that multiple POVs helps defray a little bit of the Own Voices issue.

[@joshuam2212]

@@Bookfox thank you

[@mdavidmullins]

OwnVoices is BS. It's the job an author to live in the skin of many different kinds of characters, from all nationalities, all races, all genders, all experiences. No one owns an identity.

[@anthonycastro2146]

What if thousands of people would of loved that book? Example: Stephen King threw away his book Carrie but his wife took it out the trash and he published it. The rest is history. Better to try and fail then never try at all.

[@Alex-rr7qc]

Have you actually read "war and peace"? It's a pile of boring pretentious crap