Reread, rewrite, redo, undo

Ah, the self-editing process. Self-loathing, more like it. The part where you look at a manuscript that's just not selling, and conclude that it must indeed be absolute rubbish. So do you give up on it, or try and fix it?

Me, I can stubbornly hold onto a book for years before concluding it's not going to work. And even then, as with the Sophie books, sometimes they come off the shelf and sell eventually. But I, Spy? had to be rewritten, especially at the beginning, a gazillion times.

So, here I'm looking at the Untied Kingdom with a view to sending it out. Despite it once more getting rejected. Twice. Last week. I can't see anything especially wrong with the opening, but in looking at the next couple of chapters I've cut loads of rambling crap out and replaced it. With what might turn out to be more streamlined crap, but you never know. I certainly don't.

The thing is, I love this story. And I know I'm not the great arbiter of what's going to sell (boy howdy would I be rich if I was!), but I can't be that off. Can I?