Revising my way to proper pacing

I spent a few hours yesterday writing down a chapter-by-chapter summary of my latest novel. I did that in response to the literary agent's complaint that my pacing was the reason he rejected my project for representation. I hadn't done that review before, but it was an educational time. Before,  I simply took my seat-of-the-pants approach and followed a logical path from event to event. I missed the forest for the trees in the process.

I should have listened to one of my first-draft beta readers who told me the story didn't grab her until one of my main characters began talking about his history. That is about twenty chapters in. She saw the same thing the literary agent did, but I was too close-minded to see the wisdom. I see it now. That chapter-by-chapter list showed me that I spent too long establishing interpersonal connections among characters and not getting to the meat of the story.

That won't continue.

I embark today on major revisions on that first chunk of my novel. I know "chunk" isn't a glamorous term for hours spent constructing a story, but it's accurate. There will be chunks within that chunk that are due to disappear completely. Those create hurdles for my storytelling. If I only would have been more aware.

Okay, time for AIC. This is going to be a challenge, but that makes this lifestyle rewarding.