Hi Reader,
“To me, revision is the sport. It's the impact. It's the reason we're writers. I mean, the first draft is great. You can't revise anything without it, right? But the revision is the sport for me.”
That’s a quote from A.S. King. She’s the award-winning author of Pick the Lock and other surrealist novels for middle graders, teens, and adults. After publishing more than a dozen books—and writing nearly thirty—she’s honed her revision process to a fine art.
And next week, she’s sharing that process with us on the Your Next Draft podcast.
I’ll admit, I was nervous to pitch her, one of the most decorated authors in YA literature, in the prime of her career.
But the truth is, the writing world is small. And once you enter it, you become peers with the heroes you admire.
Besides, authors are often very chill and down-to-earth, even after experiencing celebrity. This is, after all, an art form that lends itself to long hours of introspection.
And so Amy agreed to join me on Your Next Draft, and we had an absolutely delightful conversation about . . .
- Her five-draft revision process
- How she cuts 20% from her first draft
- What it’s like to get feedback from her editor at her publishing house
- What she does with feedback she disagrees with
- The time when adding 14 sentences was the key that made a novel work
- And so much more, because she’s an absolute gem of a human as well as a brilliant writer.
I can’t wait to share the full conversation with you next week. In the meantime, here’s another sneak peek:
“Revising is about making sure that you're saying what you wanna say yes in the way you wanna say it.”
“Revision is all about possibility. . . . The possibilities are just endless.”
“I think that if you're telling stories, if you're using creative expression when you're young, you’ve got a superpower. You’ve got a superpower for the rest of your life.”
”The most important thing is to have the best book out there that you want out there. If it sells two copies, who cares? If it's the book you wanted to write, that's what matters. That's it. And if it says what you wanted to say, that's what matters.”
Fabulous, right?
Keep an eye out for this episode, coming next week.
And if you’d like to warm up for that conversation by seeing what Amy creates through her well-honed revision process, check out her newest novel, Pick the Lock.
Happy editing,
Alice
P.S. Looking for a great listen this week? In this episode of The Creative Writing Life podcast, A.S. King shares her first draft writing process. Listen in to how she gathers the initial content, and next week, I’ll share how she revises each manuscript to perfection.