Does Your Story Have A Plan B?

I don't know how many times I have heard this happen to a writer. The project is done. It is submitted and you think things are golden when the your editor turns around and says, "You know, I don't think this particular thing works in the story. What else can we do to make this work."

At which point you get the deer in the headlights look and think, "Oh S...t! Now what do I do?"

The solution is simple. Keep thinking of Plan B's for your story. It doesn't have to be fully thought out, but keep it on the back burner.

There have been a lot of times I have sat with authors during pitch sessions and thought the story might be good, but in the present form, it just isn't quite working. So I ask about other potential directions the person can take it. Of course I always get the "You know, I am open to revisions" comment, but that is not what I am looking for. I would hope you would be open to revisions. What I want to hear are some alternatives that might sway me one way or another with the project.

This is really important when writing a series. I have one client I am working with right now with a series planned. I think the idea is a great one, but we are building in a Plan B to be able to stop the series at any number of books. We even have it set up for a potential single book project. The idea is we want to be flexible. By taking this approach, we can often make things a lot easier for an editor when we are pitching the story.

So, how do you keep those Plan B's ready for any sudden change in your story? Let us know!