To Shelve Or Unshelve? That is the Question
Greetings and Salutations Scribblers! Today we’re going to talk about shelved manuscripts, their value, and whether or not they’re worth revisiting throughout your writing career.
Shelving a manuscript is when you take a completed or semi-completed manuscript and you put it aside to concentrate on a new project. Any writer who's been in the game for a few years probably has a shelved manuscript. Or Two. Or maybe a dozen. It's almost a right of passage to pour your heart into a story and then let go of it and move on.
Shelved manuscripts happen for myriad reasons. The market isn't right. You stop feeling connected to the project. You realize you aren't at the craft level you need to write that book yet...and so on and so on. There is no one reason to shelve a manuscript and each person's journey to that point and feelings surrounding those stories will be different.
For me, each of my shelved manuscripts are pieces of my heart. I have four, one which I have no plans on ever reviving. But the other three, those are still very much on the table. When I was writing them, my world revolved around those characters and that world. I was confident in them and in writing them. I could see how much I'd grown as a writer not only from manuscript to manuscript, but also from draft to draft. I queried all three. I had requests for full and received passes that praised my writing and expressed the merit they saw in the work–but ultimately didn’t feel it was the best fit for them. I’ve had to accept that each wasn't going to get me what I wanted and put them off to the side.
I'm unsure whether my current project will join them or not. I, of course, hope not, but once it's ready, it will be up to publishing to decide if it passes muster or not. I'm not here to talk about the woes of querying though. There are lots of places you can read about that, or, if you're lucky, experience it for yourself! Instead, I want to talk about the value of shelved manuscripts and whether it's worth revisiting them.
My opinion is an unequivocal YES to revisiting them. Why? Why would I poke at those tender places in my heart that will never truly heal? First off, because I'm masochistic in matters of the heart. There's a lot to unpack here psychologically, but having my heartbroken is familiar, it's safe, it's something I know. So revisiting projects that didn't perform the way I wanted is a strange comfort.
One reason is that when I get into a funky spot in my head regarding writing, Where I’m simultaneously very happy with it while also wondering whether or not it will ever be *enough* for traditional publishing. I like to go back to my shelved projects and read them. Sometimes it’s a full read through, sometimes I cherry pick my favorite scenes or chapters. But I’ve found that when I go back to these projects, I fall in love with them again. They still make me happy and I get to see my progress as a writer. Which is really big, because sometimes we’re so unaware of how much we’ve grown that the only way to see it is to look back at where we were two or three years ago.
When I reread I find passages and lines that reminded me I am good at this. And I read some bits where I was like OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I THOUGHT THAT WAS ANY VERSION OF GOOD. But for the most part, I was finding things I'd done rather well and seeing places where I could make them EVEN BETTER. The complexity of the story was clearer to me.. Because I’ve grown as a writer, I can see better ways to present the story, deepen character voice, and increase reader engagement.
Sometimes, I also realize that a book I originally thought was Young Adult would work better as adult. Or maybe I should add or take away a POV. But looking at them allows me to take a critical look at my writing process and see where I’ve grown.
Remember how I said there was one shelved manuscript that will likely never see the light of day? I also love it, but I know it will never be viable and the thought of overhauling it is still too much for me to think about. There were pieces I loved, the rest just not up to snuff. I’m at the point where I’m salvaging bits and pieces of it. I just reused a name in my current manuscript because I realized the original character I had with that name will never exist outside of my head. So sometimes, those shelved manuscripts become our own personal junkyard we can explore and pick from to make our current manuscripts nice and shiny.
When I did a massive revision of a shelved project two years after I had queried it, It brought me literal joy to go in and apply two years worth of writerly growth to the prose. Applying all my new skills and experience made it really fun.
All this to say I think shelved manuscripts are a valuable commodity to have as a writer. No matter whether you're agented or still querying. Publishing wants you to think that if a book doesn't succeed while being queried that it will never get to see the light of day. But with the rise in self-publication, if your work doesn’t fit in the narrow confines of what traditional publishing wants, you can control of your own destiny and publish anyway.
Not every shelved manuscript will turn into a published book. But each one is a mark on your journey toward publication. Each one shows how you've developed your craft or experimented with new things. When I finally do find an agent to work with and promote my writing, we can revisit them and decide where and if they fit. Or draw out specific elements to put into something new.
Most of all, they're notches on my wall of how I've grown. When I look back at my past writing, yeah, I laugh at some awkward phrases and cringey snippets, but overall I'm always like OMG I MADE THIS. These people. This world. All of it. And it's a huge boost. So instead of looking at them as failed projects, I like to think of them more like well-aged whiskeys and people will someday pay out big money just to get a taste of what I have to offer.
If you are looking to pull a shelved manuscript out and do a revision, The Scribbler’s Den offers a fantastic revision course that will help to guide you along that journey. We also offer one on one coaching through the revision process or developmental editing services. All of those are linked below, so check them out!
As always, your mileage may vary! Take what helps and leave what doesn't! Do you have a favorite shelved manuscript? Do you reread your old work from time to time? Let me know in the comments!
