I’ve come to the conclusion that have to do another round of major edits before I begin submitting to agents in earnest again.
(Sigh…) I’m not completely looking forward to it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m adding another layer of intrigue, and making my leading manuscript more in line with all the rest of the works I’ve written, but, never-the-less, after working for over a year polishing this particular manuscript, then bronzifying it and polishing again, then giving it to beta readers, I’m actually rather sick of reading it…
However, this change needs to be done. In my other manuscripts, there’s much more of a female/male balance in the narrative which isn’t the case in Curse of Crows. Currently, of the four narrators, three are male, but with a very strong female storyline. I struggled to find a female voice that would fit in the roles of society and serve the same function of the plotline, but then abandoned it because it seemed forced. But, before I can submit, I have to reexamine the faults I can see and solve them.
So, I’m changing one of those male narrators into a female to create a more balanced narrative (as is the trend in fantasy fiction and is more inline with the manuscripts that follow this). And it works. Instead of a regional ruling Hassu, I’ve turned them into a Priestess to the Goddess of War. I’m sad to lose Daphid, but, in the end, a female priestess will be more intriguing.
But I sigh because this means heavy revisions on at least nine chapters with major modifications and gender reference checks in between. I have to come up with new character motives, and try to fit them into the current storyline. Then, after revising, I have to reread and polish, and that will bring me smack into the new year.
So, cheers…
