I wrote a LinkedIn post about being almost all in on Claude Code at work, which made me curious to try it with my manuscript.
I prompted Claude to act as a developmental editor, an agent, and a Big 5 publisher as it reviewed my manuscript. I fed my manuscript to it section by section.
Developmental editor
This hit on elements I expected, like the use of song lyrics, the Interlude, and some of the transitions between sections. Those have been issues since I defended the manuscript during my MFA.
The most people have been able to offer is to paraphrase lyrics instead of quoting them, but how to do that without breaking the structure and intent behind the explicit use of lyrics remains a challenge.
Claude wasn’t much help, either, but it did offer a suggestion:
Identify which lyrics are structurally essential and which can be paraphrased without loss of meaning. The Interlude's analysis of specific lyrics is more essential than some of the epigraphic uses. Know the difference before the conversation with a publisher begins.In some parts, lyrics are because they made sense at the time I wrote the piece, and still made sense during a series of revisions. With some time and additional distance, those lyrics seem like placeholders because I either wasn’t willing or wasn’t able to convey what I wanted to otherwise.
It also nailed what I have suspected: the inadvertent defense of Nickelback during the Interlude detracts from the story. Another darling to kill, though I think the defense of Nickelback can make an interesting, independent essay.
Agent and related works
One of the things I liked about this section was references to existing works. I have read some, like Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison’s memoir An Unquiet Mind, and some I have not, which I immediately added to my reading list.
An important thing if you are looking to use a publisher is being able to categorize your manuscript so the publisher can gauge audience, and potential profit.
Related works has been a struggle for me. After this experiment, that seems to be due to looking at other works from a structural perspective instead of thematic.
There were secondary market suggestions, which I hadn’t considered. Those secondary markets potentially hold the key to unlocking a blocker I’ve had in a particular section that has been a weak point since I first wrote it.
Those markets also point to a 6th Movement that I feel I am just beginning to understand.
It also provided some pointers on a submission strategy. The surprising thing was its suggestion to use a section of that I wasn’t considering at all. I have always thought “Little Man” is the standalone essay, with some tweaks to the last few sentences.
There is disagreement, it seems, which makes me curious. Perhaps I am missing something about the section Claude suggested.
Big 5 Publisher
This was perhaps the most interesting part to me.
Only recently have I considered entertaining the idea of publishing, and have not gotten beyond that. Self publish? Big 5? Indy? No idea. I figured I’d get a good sense of generally how publishers may approach the work if I used the Big 5.
A challenge, according to Claude acting as a Big 5 publisher, will be the editing pressure to simplify the formal architecture of the manuscript.
Not surprised. I’ve run into this already while defending my manuscript, and in workshop where I’ve submitted some of more structurally creative sections. The structural choices are deliberate, and serve a purpose.
Claude thinks this pressure must be resisted because the structure of my manuscript is its commercial differentiator.
Whether that’s true remains to be seen.
For me, the structure is integral to the story. But now I can also see how it might present some typesetting challenges.
An interesting thing was this little bit:
The song lyric rights conversation needs to happen early. Budget for it. The lyrics are structurally essential throughout, and the Interlude's analysis makes paraphrasing the most important ones difficult without loss of meaning. This is a known cost of acquiring a music-forward memoir and should be factored into the offer structure.Since both the Developmental Editor and Agent sections strongly encourage eliminating or paraphrasing lyrics instead, I expected the same to come from the Big 5 publisher section, too.
My thoughts
Similar to my weekend experiments with Copilot and my manuscript, I learned some things. And I am skeptical about some of its outputs, too.
There seems to be a 6th Movement that needs to be written that may tie the manuscript together. As I was reading through the review outputs, I had a few realizations, and made some new connections.
Space, for example, is almost like its own character in the manuscript. The structure of Movements, like a symphony, also contributes to the movement of the narrator, both physically and mentally.
As for the 6th Movement, that hasn’t become clear until recently. I’ve known adopting my dog has had an enormous positive impact on my life. I’ve been thinking of it as an independent element though. When considered in the context of my manuscript, it might provide the type of closure it is currently lacking.
Guess I have some new writing to do!