Sue Painter
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
How long did it take you to write the draft of Annihilation that you eventually sent to the editor, and how long does it take you to rewrite, when the editor sends your draft back with corrections?
Jeff VanderMeer
Annihilation took about a month to write--I wasn't doing anything else but working on the novel, and it's fairly short. Then over the space of the next six months I worked on revision and edits. Once FSG acquired it, I took the developmental edit notes and worked on it a bit more. Those edits were fairly light in the grand scheme of things and didn't take me that long. On the second and third books in the series, it took longer. Because they were longer novels but also because they were more complicated in terms of their structure, which usually means you spend a bit more time making sure everything is in place where it should be.
More Answered Questions
David Harris
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
The first book of yours was I read Finch, which I got after seeing a review of it. I've greatly enjoyed the first two Southern Reach books, and am looking forward to the third - which of your other (earlier) books would be most suitable to read as I wait for Acceptance?
Chad Post
asked
Jeff VanderMeer:
Annihilation and Authority bring to mind a few Stanislaw Lem books (Solaris and His Master's Voice in particular) along with the Strugatsky brothers (Roadside Picnic)--do you view Lem & Strugatsky as influences on your work? Which other works by these authors, or works by other fantastic world authors would you recommend to bide the time until Acceptance finally comes out?
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