Patrick Sullivan
asked
Scott Hawkins:
How long did it take you to complete this story? It's extremely well put together and an amazing debut novel. It's one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I've ever had.
Scott Hawkins
The bulk of the writing that made it into the published version was done in about three or four months. There were maybe six months of "stare at the screen until drops of blood form on your forehead" leading up to that, which included a LOT of false starts. There are maybe 2-3 times as many pages on the cutting room floor as ended up in the book. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out the right way to approach a scene, so I do alternate versions. Others were just boring--I had a couple pages of Erwin in Afghanistan that didn't work, a big long speech about Buddhism from Steve (yawn), and a flashback of Father coming into power that I could never make work.
Once I had the first draft, I gave it to my wife. She loved the first 2/3, but straight up hated the ending. She literally thwapped me on the head with the last third of the manuscript. If you're wondering, the original version had a lot more to do with something called the black folio, which is mentioned only in passing, around page 370. So I rewrote that completely, which took maybe three months.
Beyond that, there were a couple months of polishing and soliciting feedback from my writer buddies.
Once I got an agent, there was a medium sized rewrite, mostly to tone down the ghastliness. We actually negotiated what percentage Margaret's maggots would be reduced, toned down the bull scene (yes, it used to be worse), and a couple other things.
Once the book sold, I went through...hmmm....I think three rounds of content editing. Maybe four, but the last one was small. This was stuff like "make the first part of the book less confusing" and "can you tone that bull scene down a bit?" :-)
Last but not least, we did copy editing. That's where you learn how little you actually understand about English grammar. Also the copy editors do things like reconcile inconsistent spelling and make sure that the names of minor characters are used consistently.
Start to finish? About two years. But a lot of it was waiting on feedback, or staring at a blank screen and trying to think of something to say.
Once I had the first draft, I gave it to my wife. She loved the first 2/3, but straight up hated the ending. She literally thwapped me on the head with the last third of the manuscript. If you're wondering, the original version had a lot more to do with something called the black folio, which is mentioned only in passing, around page 370. So I rewrote that completely, which took maybe three months.
Beyond that, there were a couple months of polishing and soliciting feedback from my writer buddies.
Once I got an agent, there was a medium sized rewrite, mostly to tone down the ghastliness. We actually negotiated what percentage Margaret's maggots would be reduced, toned down the bull scene (yes, it used to be worse), and a couple other things.
Once the book sold, I went through...hmmm....I think three rounds of content editing. Maybe four, but the last one was small. This was stuff like "make the first part of the book less confusing" and "can you tone that bull scene down a bit?" :-)
Last but not least, we did copy editing. That's where you learn how little you actually understand about English grammar. Also the copy editors do things like reconcile inconsistent spelling and make sure that the names of minor characters are used consistently.
Start to finish? About two years. But a lot of it was waiting on feedback, or staring at a blank screen and trying to think of something to say.
More Answered Questions
Henry
asked
Scott Hawkins:
No question - - no need to answer. Really enjoyed your book. Echoes of Neal Gaiman, Lev Grossman, even Greg Bear (Songs of Earth and Power). I have a good friend who is a librarian - - I've recommended this to him. I'm looking forward to whatever you have coming out next! ?
Fiona Mackie
asked
Scott Hawkins:
Hi Scott, just wanted to let you know that The library at Mount Char has made it to New Zealand and I absolutely loved it! I'm a teacher-librarian and have recommended it to other librarians and will be buying it for my school library too. More please about C and E! (And now I'm adding a ? because I cannot post without one.)
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