I’m a recovering perfectionist. Unlike those writers who are thrilled to receive a revision letter, I’ve viewed it more as a stick to beat myself with. What? Didn’t get the character development right? Whack! Try again!

My Significant Other wasn’t exactly a great help with my first revision letter, either. “It’s really just a nice rejection, isn’t it?” he asked moments before I stopped hammering myself with the two-by-four and turned it on him.

But I’ve learned some things since then. Fellow perfectionists, put down your two-by-fours. This article may help.

It’s possible to get revision letters before contracting your first book and after selling your twentieth.

Editors say they never hear from many writers who receive revision letters. I was floored when I heard a Silhouette editor say this but, after some reflection, I understood the tendency. The author might decide the editor’s comments are wrong. The author might have the manuscript out to another publishing house, which buys it or provides comments more in keeping with the author’s opinion of her own work.

Or, like me, the author might go to work with the two-by-four, believing her work just isn’t good enough to sell. After sinking into a deep despair, she might give up writing altogether for a while. But let me encourage us to face a little reality: Our work isn’t good enough to sell -- yet. What we’ve done is get beyond the rejection letter. We have an editor’s attention. I’m not talking about a silver lining or the glass being half-full; I’m talking about facts.

Everyone gets revision letters. I know, I didn’t believe it, either. I thought revision letters only went to writers whose stories needed severe work and that published authors never received them. Published authors are experienced enough to avoid the slings and arrows of the creative process, right? Apparently not. It’s possible to get revision letters before contracting your first book and after selling your twentieth.

Revision letters make up a very small percentage of letters sent from the publisher. The vast majority of letters are rejections. If you’ve received a revision letter, you’re much closer to publication. The editor has taken time to note her comments, which means she sees potential in your work. Contrary to my SO’s uninformed opinion, a revision letter is not a nice rejection letter. A nice rejection letter says the editor doesn’t have a need for this manuscript. A revision letter says, “I’d like to see this story again, only better.”

Some revision letters reveal the editor has read only the first one or two hundred pages. Does this mean the manuscript is awful? Absolutely not! It means the editor has evaluated what she’s read, decided she likes the characters/plot/writing, and sees issues in those first one or two hundred pages that need to be addressed because they’ll affect the rest of the story.

This may be the most important revision letter you receive because your subsequent submission will tell the editor a lot about you: Are you willing to evaluate your own writing and story to understand what the editor is saying? Once you understand it, can you execute the changes? Do you recognize that something changing in those first pages will have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the manuscript? Can you provide the revised manuscript in a timely fashion?

It’s possible to get more than one revision letter on the same manuscript. The horror! I didn’t know this could happen until trading revision letter experiences with other pre- and just-published writers. One talked about getting four revision letters before her manuscript sold. That’s not a reflection on the writer. It means that as the manuscript evolves, other issues lurking beneath the surface are coming to light. There’s no shame in multiple revision letters, only opportunities to improve craft.

All in all, I finally realized the secret to avoiding the two-by-four boils down to understanding one thing: A revision letter means you have a new critique partner. So we can stop worrying about getting the manuscript perfect the first time. Very few of us ever will.

Sandra K. Moore has been a technical writer, poet, martial arts student, and software product manager, occasionally all at the same time. She writes for Silhouette Bombshell and still gets revision letters.

Copyright © 2004 Sandra K. Moore. All rights reserved. Used with permission.