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JUNE QUESTION - For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?
MY ANSWER - It depends on my connection to the piece, my mood, and what editors are looking for at the time of completion. For example, one of the pieces I published with Chicken Soup for the Soul was actually a story I had written for another purpose some 20 years before, and edited multiple times. Another piece they published, I actually wrote and submitted a first draft to them - and received an acceptance within a couple of weeks (this rarely happens). I have some manuscripts that have sat waiting in my desk, or computer, for a decade or more because I know they are not ready - and neither am I. Some manuscripts have been accepted almost immediately upon reception. I think there is a combination of confidence in the tale, your readiness to part with the piece as is, and an editors desires or needs, that determines how long until you edit, and how many drafts you need before publication.
How about you? How long do you wait before editing?
