Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Agent Jill Corcoran - Revision Tip of the Day

I have known the talented Jill Corcoran for many years.  She is a poet, author and now a very successful agent.  At L.A. Writer's Day this year, I asked Jill to give us a Revision Tip. of the Day.

Whole-Novel Revision: How to "Remodel" a Book - Barbara Jean Hicks

Tina and I are both known for our picture books. Tina's recently released Hanging Off Jefferson's Nose: Growing Up on Mount Rushmore, is getting rave reviews and just won a 2012 Eureka Award for Nonfiction from the California Reading Association. My imaginative picture books, including Jitterbug Jam: A Monster Tale, The Secret Life of Walter Kitty, and Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli, have all been well-reviewed and won numerous awards.

But did you know that Tina and I are both novelists as well? I'm thrilled that Tina is once again working on a novel she's had in a drawer for four years now. Dear Joe (working title) is a middle grade historical novel set during the sixties with a unique and very moving take on the Vietnam war. I loved the manuscript when I first read it years ago, and I can't wait to read it after another round of revisions and four years of artistic growth on Tina's part since the last revision.

As for me--I wrote romance novels before I turned to picture books. The rights to a number of these have reverted to me, and I've already revised and published two novellas as e-books (Tea for Two and Cupid's Chase). Revising and publishing several old novels is on my To-Do list. The books were published over a decade ago, and I think (I hope!) I've learned a lot about the craft of writing and grown as an artist since then--so I'm looking forward to the revision process.

Which brings us to the question: what's the best way to approach a whole-novel revison?