Tuesday, January 10, 2012

4 Ways to Recycle Dusty Manuscripts


You'd think I would suggest using dusty old manuscripts as doorstops or paperweights, but no. There just may be a happier resting place for an unpublished piece of work. Here are four suggestions:
  1. Unpublished picture books--Consider cleaning them up and sending them to markets like Stories for Children, Knowonder!, or My Light Magazine. These e-zines are free, and you'd get paid little or nothing, but kids could enjoy your stories!
  2. Unpublished nonfiction--If it's short nonfiction for kids, like a nonfiction picture book, consider updating the data and sending it to Imagination Cafe or the educational market, Viatouch. Again, you wouldn't get paid, but this is such a great way to practice writing and earn publishing credits. And you'd be helping kids in the process. If you write for adults, FundsforWriters is a great place to search for markets.
  3. Steal a scene--If you've written a novel that will never see the light of day, but you love a particular character and/or scene, consider vamping it up and creating a short story. Especially if it's an unusual premise. It could then be submitted to an e-zine or anthology.
  4. Create a quilt--If you've left a trail of unpublishable manuscripts, I feel your pain. But maybe there are exceptional characters or plot points from different pieces that can work together. Dig through old material for gems and quilt them together in a new manuscript. A fresh spin might do wonders for those old faves.
I have a few pieces that I'll be tweaking and updating, then sending off to new places. I figure why not? They might as well be read and enjoyed by kids.

Have you ever recycled material from unpublished manuscripts? Did your favorite character find a home in a new story, or did your nonfiction piece satisfy hungry readers? If you can think of other ways to recycle dusty material, please share!

34 comments:

  1. I am completely rewriting an old ms right now. It's hard--harder than writing. Even though, I got 105 rejections I love that book. I know it's good even if no one else does. (And I'm not the kind of person thatloves everything they write). I'm afraid it won't be as good this time. I don't really want anything to change but they have to. Just lots of things...wow...Great post. It's always good to be able to use all that work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did something similar to number three. I took a really crappy old manuscript that had two awesome characters and completely rewrote it, with only the essence of one scene surviving. (That eventually became CassaStar,)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I do the quilt a lot. I have hundreds of different disconnected ideas floating around in my head. They mingle with the unfinished stories and sometimes come together to form one cohesive whole.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have revamped one manuscript, Julie. I just did not have the heart to shelve it, so gave it a make-over. Infact, I will soon be giving it another make-over. Love this post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm in the process of revamping a MS with the help of a beta reader. I had changed the story from YA to MG but in the process of cutting, cut too much and have to figure out how to up the tension back up. It's definitely a work in progress.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved your post it really made me smile.
    I'm revamping one of mine. After a drastic edit I'm going back through and adding a lot more bite.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the great post and list of resources, Julie! I have designated this year to editing and polishing my existing manuscripts. Take care ~

    ReplyDelete
  8. I did something like number three also. My second book was a sequel that will never see the light of day...so I took two guy characters I liked from it (plus some other characters, scenes and story lines)and wrote two new novels with them as the inspiration points.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great tips! And I've got plenty of dusty manuscripts to use them with :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wrote a short story for a class and the instructor informed me he thought it should be a novel. He said he wanted to know more, and thought the story could be easily expanded. I think it was his nice way of telling me I tried to squeeze too much in, but I've never forgotten that. I think one day it may go from 3k words to...who knows, 70 or 80k! PS, just got the nicest note from K. Our agent rocks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've tweaked and updated recently with some success.

    It took a Dust Buster to clean them up, but it it's worth pulling out the machine instead of the feather duster.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love this idea of literary going green. I have lots of fragments floating around waiting for new homes. It's fun to match make.

    ReplyDelete
  13. These are all great ideas. No writing is ever wasted, so why not repurpose it for something (or someone) else?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm reworking an old manuscript now. I just couldn't let the characters go, and I'm soooooo excited about the new direction it's taken!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great suggestions! I have some old short stories. Maybe I'll repurpose them somehow someday.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm guilty of doing a micro-version of #3. I occasionally steal tidbits of dialogue or description from unpublished manuscripts and tweak them to fit my latest project. It's like a DVD easter egg that only I know about, and it secretly keeps old stories alive, mwah-ha-ha.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I just, literally, recycled about ten full-length novel manuscripts that had collected tons of dust on my shelf. I tore them up and put them in the recycle bin. Since they are all on my computer anyway, I figure there was no point in keeping them around. But, you got me thinking about how to salvage some ideas from those awful first drafts. Thanks! - LWReyes, author of The Rock of Ivanore

    ReplyDelete
  18. Julie, These are fabulous ideas! Thank you. I know I'll have a quilt in no time!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Excellent advice. I cannibalize a lot, stealing settings, character quirks, or favorite names from retired stories.

    Becca @ The Bookshelf Muse

    ReplyDelete
  20. You guys have offered such great ways to re-use old stuff. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Cool suggestions, Julie. Thanks for sharing them! I love 3 and 4 and hope to implement them soon!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love your idea about using particular scenes for short story inspiration. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for the great suggestions. They're much more inspiring than my idea of using them to line the bird's cage.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I've been dying to find some places online for some stories that aren't quite pbs, thank you so much!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. No I actually don't recycle manuscripts unless it's to rewrite it.

    Still, the lessons I've learnt from every WiP go towards making the next one better.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Another awesome post. I think those are great ideas!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love it when characters or scenes pop up in other places.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oh my goodness, what a fantastic post!!! Great ideas (and I'm taking some of them for my own greedy little self:)

    ReplyDelete
  29. What an encouraging post, Julie. Some great ideas, and thanks for the market sites. I'll check some of them out.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hope you take the best of the Ideas and implement to achieve success.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great ideas, both in your post, and in the comments! Thanks Julie! (And I'm so glad Cheryl Reif's blog led me to your blog.)

    ReplyDelete