Unpopular Writing Advice-Maybe

Okay, I'm not one to necessarily listen to, but hear me out.  I'm not an expert, not published (as I've said before).  I'm really a nobody.  However, I've been doing this a while and if my trials and tribulations can help you, then I'm doing my job.

My possibly unpopular advice is this:  Maybe you shouldn't try to submit that first finished manuscript.  There, I said it.  Now, here's why.  I tried to.  So proud that I'd actually finished a 75,000 word manuscript, I submitted to all the big agents out there.  What happened next?  Crickets.  Nothing.  Nada.  I know getting picked up by a big name agent is a shot in the dark, like playing the lottery, etc.  Still, I didn't really understand.  Now, I do.

Four years in, I've recently gone back and read some of my other pieces.  I have to admit they're pretty terrible.  Accomplishments, every one of them but not quite there yet.  At the time, I thought they were great.  I thought they were just right.  I was wrong.  I read some advice once but unfortunately can't remember where.  I'm sure it was an agent blog as those are the ones I visit the most.  The advice was to put a work aside for a while, move on to something else for a time and then come back to it.  You will be able to look at your own work with fresh eyes.  Boy was this advice right on.  I can so clearly see it now.

One of these works really disappoints me because I still love the idea.  I guess I just need to scrap some of the writing, take the idea and try again.  Sigh.  The good news was another I took a second look at really appealed to me.  One of my most recent manuscripts.  I think it's actually pretty good upon second glance.  My plan is to polish it up and submit.

Back to my original statement though.  Those early manuscripts of mine were just not good enough.  I couldn't see it then but I can now.  I'm definitely getting better.  Big plus!  However, maybe we need to look upon that first as a start.  A beginning of a wonderful writing life.  It might not be ready but another will be.  Of course, there are always exceptions.  I'm sure there are many authors out there who published their first and, at the time, only manuscript to great success.  Alas, that person isn't me but I'll keep chugging along slowly up that ginormous hill to a successful writing life.