Last week I posted a warning about unscrupulous 'publishers' charging money to help authors self-publish their books. You can read that here. I thought it might be helpful for some of you to know what kinds of things you should be expecting to pay for, in the event you are thinking of self publishing your book, and some places I know that are reputable to get them done.
There are three main things that need to be done to turn your story into a novel after you have edited it to the best of your ability. You can do some of this on your own, but you want to look professional. I recommend hiring these things out and getting professional help, but if you have knowledge you might be able to handle some of this on your own.
Cover Art:
The first thing your potential reader sees - can't stress the importance of great cover art enough. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I endorse hiring out cover art professionally. This can run anywhere from $20-plus for a pre-made cover to several hundred. For Always & Forever, I used LFD Designs for Authors and their covers run $75 for a custom cover or they have premades available. I know currently they have a waiting list, so get in line. Here's their web site if you're interested http://mycoverart.wordpress.com/services/ They only do front art for a digital book, but you can find other cover artists who do wrap-arounds for print books as well.
I recently had artwork done for the book I'll be working on next, Love & Deception, by a new artist, edh Graphics, and I love her work. She does romance covers and also graphic work for your website/FB page. Her prices are very reasonable. Check out her web site http://edhgraphics.blogspot.com/p/custom-covers.html
Also, if you are looking for a wraparound cover for your paperback or an ebook cover or other graphics work, I've heard good things about http://jayceedelorenzo.com/sweetnspicy/services.html though I haven't used this one myself.
Professional Editing:
I do think you need to hire an editor, though when looking through the quality from various editors, I'm starting to wonder if there is any way to be guaranteed a good editor. They say you get what you pay for, but I had a writer friend pay a significant amount for an editor who didn't seem to get the story and made a lot of suggestions that would have ruined the novel. So I'm feeling a bit dubious about whether you absolutely have to have a content editor. However, I do think you need a proof reader to help with missing words and grammar.
Most editors will offer a 5-page sample or so. I suggest you take advantage of this before shelling out the money. Make sure that editor has ideas you agree with and seems like a good fit before hiring them. Unfortunately, I do not have any editors to recommend at this time, but a search on the internet will give you plenty to check out.
You can actually get fairly decent content editing from critique partners. The place I love to use to get critiques is www.critiquecircle.com. My critique group helps me work out all my content problems and helps brainstorm story ideas for things I'm having issues with. I rely on them a lot to help bring my book from start to finish. Also, critiquing their work helps my improve my own writing skills, so it is a win-win situation.
Quality editors or even proof readers can cost a lot of money, so you definitely have to shop around if you are working on a budget. You might even interest an English Major at your local college who is looking for something to add to their resume if you don't have the resources to pay for an editor.
Formatting:
Finally, I think it is important to hire a formatter. I did Always & Forever myself, but couldn't include a table of contents or the code that allows customers to swipe down and jump from chapter to chapter (apparently this is an NCX file). However, it appears that Amazon is slowly changing their minds about this issue and want to start making a TOC mandatory. So, for my piece of mind, I hired a formatter to fix Always & Forever and will do so for my future books. I just do NOT speak computer code. I used Rachelle Ayala, as I was happy with both her prices and the quality of her work http://www.rachelleayala.com/p/book-formatting.html
As stated last week, unfortunately, it seems there are plenty of companies who want to do you the service of uploading your books and charge you a lot for the privilege of this. However, it is simple to do this yourself. Here are the links to the various publishing places and their guidelines and instructions. It is really a super simple process once you get your account set up, and something simple to do for yourself.
USA links for digital books for self-publishing:
Amazon Kindle: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help
Barnes & Noble Nook: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=support
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/companyinfo/authorsnpublishers.html
More resources:
Romance writer, Maggie Jaimeson, was nice enough to send me a list of the services she uses and recommends so I could share them with you all. Thanks, Maggie! Check out her books and website while you are looking around http://maggiejaimeson.com/
Maggie says: Here are the people I recommend and other resources I use.
Gilded Heart Designs - Christy created my webpage header, bookmarks, and FB timeline (all the same image). She also does book covers. Though she didn't do any of mine I've seen the ones she's done for others and because of that, I will use her in the future.
Red Circle Ink - This is run by Jessa Slade, multi-published paranormal romance writer. I've known her for 8 years and heard her critiques. I've also seen what type of feedback she gives writers. She's reasonably priced and has a variety of packages. The thing I like most about her is that she is what I would call a "developmental" editor. Meaning she doesn't just copy edit, she understands novel structure, character arcs, tension, turning points, etc.
PrintRunner - This is who I used for my bookmarks. I got 500 for about $50. I really great deal and that was for two-sided, full color glossy print. They are absolutely beautiful. And they were delivered within 5 days. I do not use business cards ever. I tried that before I published and a little after I published my first book. What I found is that people lost them or threw them out. But bookmarks are actually useful, and mine have all the information needed for people to contact me (website, email, QR code that goes to my website) and shows all four of my current books as well as my brand) I used to use VistaPrint, but I like the quality of PrintRunner and the pricing better.
Earthly Charms - For my Signed by Author Labels and Local Author labels for print books. They are the best prices I've found and you can get rolls of only 100, instead of having to buy 500 to get a decent price.
Book Tour: GoddessFish Promotions - http://www.goddessfish.com/
E-book formatting faeries who do such a good job with the formatting. Here is their website. http://e-bookformattingfairies.blogspot.com/p/services-offered-by-e-book-formatting.html
I hope some of this is helpful. Make sure you read everything carefully and shop around. You can produce a quality book, even on a budget. Good luck and happy publishing. Have a fantastic week, my friends!
eeeChantelfff
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Writer's Block? Where did I go wrong?
I told you all about my new work in progress, Crime & Passion, a few weeks ago. After all my bragging on how much fun I'm having writing this book, how easy the words are flowing from my brain to my fingertips, suddenly that all dried up. I struggled to write two chapters the weekend of the 6th. Even though they felt wrong, I soldiered through, hoping somehow it would start to feel right on its own.
No dice. I spent an entire week not writing anything. I tried all my usual tricks: staring at a blank page, doing housework without any music, listening to classical music while thinking of absolutely nothing (this one doesn't always work for me because I actually like classical music, so it can make my muse happy), long showers, lying in bed trying to think about my characters before falling asleep, counting to ten in my head over and over again - come on Muse, get bored enough to talk to me! Nadda, nothing, zip, zilch.
I've attempted to write Crime & Passion in a different manner than I wrote Always & Forever. With A&F, I didn't find critique partners until late in the game. So, when I came across a problem in A&F, I would exchange emails with one of my fabulous crit buddies, they would help hammer out the details, and I would change the manuscript then and there, racing to make changes in the remainder of the MS before my critique partners read any of the chapters that followed the problem. This method worked well for me, but it meant a lot of editing, not to mention all the other edits I did once working with my editor.
Several of my friends suggested a different approach for C&P. The method that works for many of them is to write the entire first draft without making any changes. Then, they go through their MS using suggestions from their crit partners to pound their story into shape. They suggested I try this. Since several of the classes I've taken suggest when you need a plot change you simply write a note in the area that needs fixed and then continue writing as though the problem is fixed, I agreed this was likely a good idea.
I'm trying. Lord how I'm trying to follow this advice, even though I itch to go fix problems as my partners find them (I have to admit a few times I've made notes, but then gone back and fixed the problem instead of letting the note stay). So, here I sit with my muse sticking her fingers in her ears and making raspberry sounds every time I try to write. I forced my way through one more chapter. Totally wrong! What happened to my joyful, effortless, loving the heck out of what I'm doing novel writing?
I'd finally had it. At my wit's end, I took a deep breath and tried to remember which part in the MS had last felt effortless. Then, I went back four extra chapters. I took all the critiques I had received and put on my thinking cap. Line by line, I went through each chapter, fixing mistakes my partners noticed, rewording things I didn't like. I might not have been able to write, but I slipped into editing easy-peasy. Five chapters down and no major errors, everything felt good.
Then, suddenly, two little lines.
My muse whispered, "I thought you had a different plan for him. What is that doing there?"
"Really? This little throwaway dialogue is what pissed you off?" I ask. "It's a little bit of nothing that doesn't even matter."
I swear to you she laughed.
I took that line out, reworking it into what she wanted to see. BAM! She poured out what will happen in the rest of the book faster then I could keep up. I'm not worried though. I fixed her problem and I know she'll keep talking to me now. The ideas will all still be there when I'm ready for them.
The bad news? The three chapters I forced myself to write have had to be totally revamped. In fact, the last one was totally deleted. So, even though pushing through all the way on your first draft might be a good choice in most cases, if you find yourself stuck, perhaps you put a little nothing line in there that actually throws off your entire novel.
No matter how much I try to tell myself I'm the one in control, my muse is in the driver's seat and she is very, very picky!
Happy writing, my friends! I hope you are having a fabulous week!
eeeChantelfff
No dice. I spent an entire week not writing anything. I tried all my usual tricks: staring at a blank page, doing housework without any music, listening to classical music while thinking of absolutely nothing (this one doesn't always work for me because I actually like classical music, so it can make my muse happy), long showers, lying in bed trying to think about my characters before falling asleep, counting to ten in my head over and over again - come on Muse, get bored enough to talk to me! Nadda, nothing, zip, zilch.
I've attempted to write Crime & Passion in a different manner than I wrote Always & Forever. With A&F, I didn't find critique partners until late in the game. So, when I came across a problem in A&F, I would exchange emails with one of my fabulous crit buddies, they would help hammer out the details, and I would change the manuscript then and there, racing to make changes in the remainder of the MS before my critique partners read any of the chapters that followed the problem. This method worked well for me, but it meant a lot of editing, not to mention all the other edits I did once working with my editor.
Several of my friends suggested a different approach for C&P. The method that works for many of them is to write the entire first draft without making any changes. Then, they go through their MS using suggestions from their crit partners to pound their story into shape. They suggested I try this. Since several of the classes I've taken suggest when you need a plot change you simply write a note in the area that needs fixed and then continue writing as though the problem is fixed, I agreed this was likely a good idea.
I'm trying. Lord how I'm trying to follow this advice, even though I itch to go fix problems as my partners find them (I have to admit a few times I've made notes, but then gone back and fixed the problem instead of letting the note stay). So, here I sit with my muse sticking her fingers in her ears and making raspberry sounds every time I try to write. I forced my way through one more chapter. Totally wrong! What happened to my joyful, effortless, loving the heck out of what I'm doing novel writing?
I'd finally had it. At my wit's end, I took a deep breath and tried to remember which part in the MS had last felt effortless. Then, I went back four extra chapters. I took all the critiques I had received and put on my thinking cap. Line by line, I went through each chapter, fixing mistakes my partners noticed, rewording things I didn't like. I might not have been able to write, but I slipped into editing easy-peasy. Five chapters down and no major errors, everything felt good.
Then, suddenly, two little lines.
My muse whispered, "I thought you had a different plan for him. What is that doing there?"
"Really? This little throwaway dialogue is what pissed you off?" I ask. "It's a little bit of nothing that doesn't even matter."
I swear to you she laughed.
I took that line out, reworking it into what she wanted to see. BAM! She poured out what will happen in the rest of the book faster then I could keep up. I'm not worried though. I fixed her problem and I know she'll keep talking to me now. The ideas will all still be there when I'm ready for them.
The bad news? The three chapters I forced myself to write have had to be totally revamped. In fact, the last one was totally deleted. So, even though pushing through all the way on your first draft might be a good choice in most cases, if you find yourself stuck, perhaps you put a little nothing line in there that actually throws off your entire novel.
No matter how much I try to tell myself I'm the one in control, my muse is in the driver's seat and she is very, very picky!
Happy writing, my friends! I hope you are having a fabulous week!
eeeChantelfff
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Is Self-Publishing Taking the 'Lazy' Way?
Sue Grafton is a writer I've respected over the years, read a few of her books based on a recommendation from my best friend's mom, and generally thought highly of her. After all, she's one of the lucky few who had lightening strike and was able to make a career from her writing. I know a lot of people feel this way. Imagine my dismay when I read her interview at LouisvilleKY.com http://louisvilleky.com/2012/08/louisville-author-spotlight-welcomes-sue-grafton/ and read her response to the question of whether she had words of wisdom for young writers. Her response? "Quit worrying about publication and master your craft. If you have a good story to tell and if you write it well, the Universe will come to your aid. Don’t self-publish. That’s as good as admitting you’re too lazy to do the hard work."
Lazy... really? While waiting for the Universe to come to your aid, you can read the entire interview--the digs against self-published authors continue. Many authors I know in the SP world are highly offended. I have to admit that I am as well. She makes it sound as though we aren't taking classes, learning our craft, putting in hours and hours of work writing, critiquing, editing, editing, oh - did I mention editing? On top of that, so many of us that want to do this right hire cover designers, content editors, copy editors. The book then needs formatted and a few more reads to make sure the formatting came out okay before it can finally be published. If all that isn't work, I don't know what is. Besides the fact, Indie authors pay for all of these things out of their own pocket, just hoping it will turn out to be worth it in the end. It's a labor of love that most of us do because we've found that we can't NOT write.
The difference is, at this point, Ms. Grafton is pretty much done with her book. She sits back while her big publisher promotes her book and helps it sell, with very little work on her part. Maybe that's not fair. I'm sure she does some things. Attend book signings and whatever else, but the heavy lifting is done by her publicist and her publisher. Don't get me wrong, that's great for her. She got lucky and her books took off. A "lazy" self-pubber now has the long, arduous process of promoting their own book, paying for their own advertising, and doing everything they can to make that lightening strike for themselves.
No one seems to know why one book does better than others, but sometimes everything comes together perfectly, and an author takes off. I would rejoice for them all, normally. But reading this interview, I have to wonder what makes some traditional authors think they are so much better than anyone else. Self-published authors are getting lucky too and having their work read by millions. It happens. I would think any author would be happy for another one who became successful. If most readers are like me, I have room for more and more great authors. I'm not going to quit reading my favorites just because I found another one I like too--I get to enjoy them all. Obviously, there are a few people sucking on sour grapes in the publishing industry. I feel a little sorry for them.
I do need to say that I think there is a valid point in this argument against SP. Indie's who put their work out without editing, without having it critiqued by others, basically write a book and slap it on Amazon without any work are taking the lazy way and make me angry too. I thought this was what all Indie's did for the longest time (based on one SP book I bought and tried to read), and I'm a bit ashamed I didn't know better. Anymore, Indie's are taking much pride in their work. We are hiring some of the same people the Big 6 publishing houses are using. We learn our craft and do everything traditional authors do, we just choose to do things differently.
My writing hero, Holly Lisle www.hollylisle.com, has decided to self-publish all her work. She's putting all her old books (at least the ones where the rights have reverted back to her) out herself and she is planning to self-publish her new book and is in the process of self-publishing her writing courses/clinics. It is heartening to me to know that some highly successful authors, people I truly respect, are taking this as a viable route.
The reasons I finally made the hard (for me at least) decision to self-publish were these: I want to control customer cost, making the price affordable for them while still making a profit myself. I also want creative control. Always & Forever deals with some tough issues, that are very important to me, and I have a few scenes I'm not sure would be acceptable to the traditional publishing world. I wanted to tell the story I had in me, not a watered-down version that fit someone else's vision. Finally, I have heard horrible things about the current trend with contracts signed with traditional publishing, where the writer is basically being paid almost less than nothing for their work and retaining none of their rights for foreign, movie, and electronic editions. If they want to stay with the publisher, they are forced to agree to these terms that strip them of most of their ability to make money. If you can't make money at your craft, it won't be long before you cannot continue doing it.
So, maybe I'm lazy, but I didn't want to deal with that. I wanted to tell the best story I had in me to tell. If people enjoy it, I don't really care if I took the supposed lazy way. I'll be grateful to whomever takes the time to read it, to appreciate the world I created, and the story I wanted to relay.
For a few interesting articles on self-publishing, these are some I really enjoyed and they deal both with the way publishing is being looked at and the difference in the amount of money an author stands to make going the Indie route:
Sticks & Stones: The Changing Politics of the Self-Publishing Stigma
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=6481 (This one deals with the money and was very eye-opening for me)
Ebook Publishing Trends
Is there room for both traditional and independent books? I've read many books in my life, and I have to admit that there are many a traditional published book that should never have received a contract. There are also some traditionally published books I love so very much, I read them over and over again. I recently read a few independent books that are so fantastic, I'm going to share them on my blog in the coming weeks to help spread the word about them. I think there is room for both sets. I think readers don't care about it one way or another, as long as they are getting a good story worth the money they paid for it.
Where do you stand on this issue?
Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful week!
~ Chantel
Since I wrote this article, Ms. Grafton has issued a clarification on her statement. I will post the link so you all can read it. http://louisvilleky.com/2012/08/more-from-sue-grafton-on-publishing-indie-writers/
Write with joy, friends!
The difference is, at this point, Ms. Grafton is pretty much done with her book. She sits back while her big publisher promotes her book and helps it sell, with very little work on her part. Maybe that's not fair. I'm sure she does some things. Attend book signings and whatever else, but the heavy lifting is done by her publicist and her publisher. Don't get me wrong, that's great for her. She got lucky and her books took off. A "lazy" self-pubber now has the long, arduous process of promoting their own book, paying for their own advertising, and doing everything they can to make that lightening strike for themselves.
I do need to say that I think there is a valid point in this argument against SP. Indie's who put their work out without editing, without having it critiqued by others, basically write a book and slap it on Amazon without any work are taking the lazy way and make me angry too. I thought this was what all Indie's did for the longest time (based on one SP book I bought and tried to read), and I'm a bit ashamed I didn't know better. Anymore, Indie's are taking much pride in their work. We are hiring some of the same people the Big 6 publishing houses are using. We learn our craft and do everything traditional authors do, we just choose to do things differently.
My writing hero, Holly Lisle www.hollylisle.com, has decided to self-publish all her work. She's putting all her old books (at least the ones where the rights have reverted back to her) out herself and she is planning to self-publish her new book and is in the process of self-publishing her writing courses/clinics. It is heartening to me to know that some highly successful authors, people I truly respect, are taking this as a viable route.
The reasons I finally made the hard (for me at least) decision to self-publish were these: I want to control customer cost, making the price affordable for them while still making a profit myself. I also want creative control. Always & Forever deals with some tough issues, that are very important to me, and I have a few scenes I'm not sure would be acceptable to the traditional publishing world. I wanted to tell the story I had in me, not a watered-down version that fit someone else's vision. Finally, I have heard horrible things about the current trend with contracts signed with traditional publishing, where the writer is basically being paid almost less than nothing for their work and retaining none of their rights for foreign, movie, and electronic editions. If they want to stay with the publisher, they are forced to agree to these terms that strip them of most of their ability to make money. If you can't make money at your craft, it won't be long before you cannot continue doing it.
So, maybe I'm lazy, but I didn't want to deal with that. I wanted to tell the best story I had in me to tell. If people enjoy it, I don't really care if I took the supposed lazy way. I'll be grateful to whomever takes the time to read it, to appreciate the world I created, and the story I wanted to relay.
For a few interesting articles on self-publishing, these are some I really enjoyed and they deal both with the way publishing is being looked at and the difference in the amount of money an author stands to make going the Indie route:
Sticks & Stones: The Changing Politics of the Self-Publishing Stigma
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=6481 (This one deals with the money and was very eye-opening for me)
Ebook Publishing Trends
Is there room for both traditional and independent books? I've read many books in my life, and I have to admit that there are many a traditional published book that should never have received a contract. There are also some traditionally published books I love so very much, I read them over and over again. I recently read a few independent books that are so fantastic, I'm going to share them on my blog in the coming weeks to help spread the word about them. I think there is room for both sets. I think readers don't care about it one way or another, as long as they are getting a good story worth the money they paid for it.
Where do you stand on this issue?
Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful week!
~ Chantel
Since I wrote this article, Ms. Grafton has issued a clarification on her statement. I will post the link so you all can read it. http://louisvilleky.com/2012/08/more-from-sue-grafton-on-publishing-indie-writers/
Write with joy, friends!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Mini Checklist for Self Published Book
So, I made it through my final edit that will include major rewrites. Yay! Party time! I'm nearly done! Er - maybe not. While the book itself is going to require only one more read from me before I send it back to my editor to be proof read, yesterday I realized I still have a lot of work to do.
GOODREADS: In a writer's group I belong to, someone asked if you should put your book up on www.goodreads.com prior to publication and the answer was yes. I didn't even know I could do this. I went and checked it out. You have to have fifty books on your Goodreads shelf and then you can apply to become a librarian. Once a librarian, you have the ability to add books; thus adding your own book pre-publication. I try always to listen to the advice of people who have done this before, so decided to add my book, and then realized I have some things to do before this step.
COVER ART: When submitting to Goodreads (or when you publish the book) you will need cover art. This is the first shot you have at grabbing your readers attention, so it needs to be catchy. I know a lot of people who are doing this on their own and if you have the skill, you can save some money. I'm not so skilled, unfortunately. My cover art was done by LFD Designs for Authors at http://mycoverart.wordpress.com/services/ and I've been extremely happy with the outcome.
BLURB: I wrote a blurb for Always & Forever once, but I didn't really perfect it and decided to worry about it later. Now, it's time to worry. I submitted it to my writer's group and they had great ideas on tightening the writing and cutting information that doesn't need to be included. What I mean by blurb is the short book description that can be found on the back cover of a paperback book or in the product description on-line. This is important to get right, because it's the first sample of your writing potential readers will look when making a decision on whether or not to read your book.
AUTHOR PICTURE AND BIOGRAPHY: This is tough too. I'm still working on the bio, but I finally found a picture to use. The tough thing about pictures, I'm usually the person who runs the camera. Most shots of me are pictures I took by turning the camera backward and snapping the picture myself! :-) Not a good picture for something professional. I finally found a few decent photos and picked one. Perhaps in the future I will have one professionally done, but for now I think this is fine.
My bio is trickier, I'm not sure what to include. Other authors have suggested people like to know a little personal information about the author, so I'm trying to include some of that. Do people really care that I live happily with my family and our pet cats? I'm not sure, but I'll probably include that information anyway. I plan to go on Amazon and read other author bios to get a better idea of what to do here.
There is more work ahead once I get my book back from the publisher, but hopefully having all these things done in advance will save me time as I get closer to publication.
Happy writing, my friends. I hope you have a terrific weekend!
GOODREADS: In a writer's group I belong to, someone asked if you should put your book up on www.goodreads.com prior to publication and the answer was yes. I didn't even know I could do this. I went and checked it out. You have to have fifty books on your Goodreads shelf and then you can apply to become a librarian. Once a librarian, you have the ability to add books; thus adding your own book pre-publication. I try always to listen to the advice of people who have done this before, so decided to add my book, and then realized I have some things to do before this step.
COVER ART: When submitting to Goodreads (or when you publish the book) you will need cover art. This is the first shot you have at grabbing your readers attention, so it needs to be catchy. I know a lot of people who are doing this on their own and if you have the skill, you can save some money. I'm not so skilled, unfortunately. My cover art was done by LFD Designs for Authors at http://mycoverart.wordpress.com/services/ and I've been extremely happy with the outcome.
BLURB: I wrote a blurb for Always & Forever once, but I didn't really perfect it and decided to worry about it later. Now, it's time to worry. I submitted it to my writer's group and they had great ideas on tightening the writing and cutting information that doesn't need to be included. What I mean by blurb is the short book description that can be found on the back cover of a paperback book or in the product description on-line. This is important to get right, because it's the first sample of your writing potential readers will look when making a decision on whether or not to read your book.
My bio is trickier, I'm not sure what to include. Other authors have suggested people like to know a little personal information about the author, so I'm trying to include some of that. Do people really care that I live happily with my family and our pet cats? I'm not sure, but I'll probably include that information anyway. I plan to go on Amazon and read other author bios to get a better idea of what to do here.
There is more work ahead once I get my book back from the publisher, but hopefully having all these things done in advance will save me time as I get closer to publication.
Happy writing, my friends. I hope you have a terrific weekend!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Adventures in Editing ~ What I've Learned
My editor, Stephanie Pace, is absolutely fabulous. She did much more work than I paid for. I honestly feel bad about how much she did, never understanding how difficult the job of copy editor must be. I'm hiring her to do my proof read when I finish the revisions, and I'm very grateful to have found her.
I tried very hard to be a low-maintenance client, only sending in questions once for each set of chapter submissions she sent me, and limiting those questions to things I truly didn't understand. Stephanie was very patient when I did ask questions and tried to incorporate things more into the next batch of edits if she found I had a hard time understanding what she said. I think it is important to work with an editor you trust. If you find one, hold onto him/her!
The perk to self publishing remains in that I don't have to take her advice. Even though I do understand this, it has been a very hard thing for me to implement. I've found some of her ideas do not mesh with the book I intended to write and would change my novel completely. However, a part of me worries if I don't take her advice, I might do something wrong and ruin my chance to make my book the best it can be. This has led to a lot of rewrites, which I then realize are wrong for my novel after changing things.
I think this is where a lot of writers struggle. How do you know when what you've written is good enough? Although ten different people (only one of them a friend/family member) read my book before I sent it to the editor and each expressed their enjoyment in my creation, I'm still left looking at the editor's suggestions and wondering if it's really okay to ignore her advice.
Silly, perhaps, but there it is. So I write, rewrite, hate the new stuff, reread the old version, love that, plug it back in, move on. The reason I keep doing this, however, is because several of the ideas she shared are so great, so mind-blowingly brilliant, I know my book is better for taking that advice.
Perhaps when I have more experience I will be able to objectively look at the editor's advice in the future, accept the changes she suggest that are wonderful, and reject the ones that don't match my vision before I rewrite the scene. For now, I slough through it all, frustrated if the new scene doesn't work, but even more grateful when something she inspired enriches a scene far beyond what I first imagined.
Through it all, my critique partners have been there for me. Thank goodness for them! They have been willing to read through some of the new scenes, tell me what's better, what's worse, what they loved about my book before and wish I wouldn't mess with. It's a great help to me on this frightening journey toward perfecting my novel.
I'm at the half-way point in my revisions and I will be happy when the major rewrites are done. Then, I'll send Always & Forever off for the proof read and move on to the next book. That's when the fun starts for me. First draft is my favorite part of the writing process.
Happy writing! I'm wishing you a productive week!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Adventures in Editing ~ Are We Done Yet?
I promised to do a post about my experience hiring a copy editor for Always & Forever. All in all, I'm very happy I did this. It has meant quite a bit of work, and I'm not quite at the finish line, even though I thought I was. Honestly, editing feels like a never-ending battle, but other authors do this all the time. I'll make it through.
Here are a few things that I plan to check and double check in any future novel:
Point of View Character - Honestly, I'm not certain I've ever heard a rule on how to pick a point of view character. I simply picked the character I thought worked best and went for it. My editor explained that the POV character should be chosen based on who in the scene has the most to lose if/when things go wrong. Unfortunately for me, this rule means there are three scenes in Always & Forever that I've chosen the wrong POV. Since this is essentially more Lilly's story than Zach's, sometimes I picked Zach when it should have been Lilly. Let me tell you, changing the POV character is not a little fix. I'm sloughing through, but I don't want to make this mistake again!
Does Something Change in Each Scene? - Another thing she nailed me on a few times is that my POV character started the scene thinking one thing and ended the scene thinking the same thing. Although something changed in the scene story wise (and they were important things that needed to happen in the book) she said if something doesn't change for the POV character then I didn't do my job as a writer. Easy enough fix, really, I just need to tweak a few things, but definitely something to look out for in the future.
Does the Plot Make Sense? - Honestly, this is why you need another person to look at your work. I think it is too hard to figure this out for yourself and it is important to have someone looking over your shoulder to make sure your plot holds together.
I think I got a lot out of the experience of hiring a copy editor, but honestly, I'm not taking all of her suggestions. She is, after all, merely a person with an opinion. I panicked and started changing everything at first, until I remembered that fact. I think it is a good idea to get a lot of people's opinions, and then make a decision from there. Lucky for me, I have a great group of critique partners (remember, you can do this for free at www.critiquecircle.com if you don't have a group in your area or you prefer to work on-line). When I had a hard time deciding whether or not to take the editor's advice on certain plot points (and really, this meant almost totally changing my book from what I had envisioned) they were able to tell me what they agreed with about what the editor said, what they disagreed with, and why. It's really helped me to understand what parts of my book worked, and where I need to work on clarification.
When it comes down to it, part of the reason I'm self publishing is so I don't have to listen to an editor if her vision doesn't agree with mine. One of my critique buddies reminded me, "This isn't an editor at Random House telling you make these changes in order to get a six figure advance." That really helped me put things into perspective.
Still, I've gained insight into my characters and into the story I wrote. There are many, many places in the novel where the editor has reminded me to add more internal thoughts, suggested flashbacks that would help bring things together, and suggested changes to certain scenes that will strengthen the whole of what I have done. She also made a wonderful suggestion to change one of my secondary character's personalities. I would never have seen this on my own, but I think it makes the book that much stronger.
Oh - she also nailed me a few times for telling and not showing...I hate that! But thankfully she caught them, because I thought I had eradicated all those telling problems.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my experience with an editor. I don't know if a copy editor is 100% necessary if you have a good critique group, but I learned more than I thought I might. Now, all I need to do is finish implementing the changes I've decided to make and send this baby off to my proof reader! And yes, hiring a proof reader is mandatory if you want to put out the best book possible.
Happy editing! Have a wonderful weekend!
Here are a few things that I plan to check and double check in any future novel:
Point of View Character - Honestly, I'm not certain I've ever heard a rule on how to pick a point of view character. I simply picked the character I thought worked best and went for it. My editor explained that the POV character should be chosen based on who in the scene has the most to lose if/when things go wrong. Unfortunately for me, this rule means there are three scenes in Always & Forever that I've chosen the wrong POV. Since this is essentially more Lilly's story than Zach's, sometimes I picked Zach when it should have been Lilly. Let me tell you, changing the POV character is not a little fix. I'm sloughing through, but I don't want to make this mistake again!
Does Something Change in Each Scene? - Another thing she nailed me on a few times is that my POV character started the scene thinking one thing and ended the scene thinking the same thing. Although something changed in the scene story wise (and they were important things that needed to happen in the book) she said if something doesn't change for the POV character then I didn't do my job as a writer. Easy enough fix, really, I just need to tweak a few things, but definitely something to look out for in the future.
Does the Plot Make Sense? - Honestly, this is why you need another person to look at your work. I think it is too hard to figure this out for yourself and it is important to have someone looking over your shoulder to make sure your plot holds together.
I think I got a lot out of the experience of hiring a copy editor, but honestly, I'm not taking all of her suggestions. She is, after all, merely a person with an opinion. I panicked and started changing everything at first, until I remembered that fact. I think it is a good idea to get a lot of people's opinions, and then make a decision from there. Lucky for me, I have a great group of critique partners (remember, you can do this for free at www.critiquecircle.com if you don't have a group in your area or you prefer to work on-line). When I had a hard time deciding whether or not to take the editor's advice on certain plot points (and really, this meant almost totally changing my book from what I had envisioned) they were able to tell me what they agreed with about what the editor said, what they disagreed with, and why. It's really helped me to understand what parts of my book worked, and where I need to work on clarification.
When it comes down to it, part of the reason I'm self publishing is so I don't have to listen to an editor if her vision doesn't agree with mine. One of my critique buddies reminded me, "This isn't an editor at Random House telling you make these changes in order to get a six figure advance." That really helped me put things into perspective.
Still, I've gained insight into my characters and into the story I wrote. There are many, many places in the novel where the editor has reminded me to add more internal thoughts, suggested flashbacks that would help bring things together, and suggested changes to certain scenes that will strengthen the whole of what I have done. She also made a wonderful suggestion to change one of my secondary character's personalities. I would never have seen this on my own, but I think it makes the book that much stronger.
Oh - she also nailed me a few times for telling and not showing...I hate that! But thankfully she caught them, because I thought I had eradicated all those telling problems.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my experience with an editor. I don't know if a copy editor is 100% necessary if you have a good critique group, but I learned more than I thought I might. Now, all I need to do is finish implementing the changes I've decided to make and send this baby off to my proof reader! And yes, hiring a proof reader is mandatory if you want to put out the best book possible.
Happy editing! Have a wonderful weekend!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Facing Chronic Disease - Rheumatoid Arthritis
First of all, I'd like to start by apologizing. I know I haven't posted in a long time. My life has been rather chaotic lately. Beyond the chaos, I have had a wonderful time throwing a little party for myself, a pity party.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis around the end of April. I've kept mostly to myself and shut out the world for a while with the exception of my family and one very good friend (I can't thank them enough for all they do for me). I read a lot of blogs from other people, and that was a mistake. Let me tell ya, it's dang depressing to hear how horribly tired they are all the time and how much pain they are in. I'm tired, I have the pain. I already know about all that.
In the midst of this little party I had for myself, my son graduated from high school - yes, I know I'm way to young to have a son graduating high school :-) My children aren't biologically mine, but I've had the pleasure of raising them for the past 14 years. We threw a huge party for him and a lot of family members came. It was great, and I'm so proud of him. He's going off to college in August to become a police officer. His ultimate goal is to join SWAT, which scares me to death, but I'm really proud at the same time.
Even though I got all the chapters back from my editor a week and a half ago, I couldn't find the motivation to fix anything. I haven't been critiquing any of my friends at www.critiquecircle.com, and I recently discovered that it is impossible to hold a hardback book when you are in the middle of an arthritis flare. I was literally in too much pain after reading five pages, and suffered all the next day while trying to type at my day job. That made my pity party even bigger...reading has always been my escape and now it's been denied to me. Perhaps when I get an electronic reader it will be better. The one I want weighs only six ounces so I'm hoping I can easily hold it.
Guilt got the better of me last week, and I decided to reach out to my crit partners and tell them why I haven't been critiquing their work...and to apologize. It's funny, I call them my crit partners, but they have come to mean so much more than that. It reminds me of when I was in band in high school...it's a family of sorts. An odd kind of family, but still a family. I've never met any of them in person, and yet they have become great friends. I love them all and I am so grateful for their support!
I also have a wonderful family. They've stepped up to the plate, doing more around the house because they know I can't right now. My parents listen to me cry or whatever I need to do, sitting on the phone with me and helping calm me. I have a lot to be thankful for, and the pity party won't work indefinitely.
I'm usually a glass-half-full kind of person, and hearing everyone's support and ideas helped me realize I need to get a move on it. I have a book to edit, I have a life to live. My doctor said with the medication, I will likely have twenty to thirty years before I am unable to type so I need to work on the books I want to write in the meantime.
I will do a blog post soon on my adventures with editing. My copy editor did a wonderful job, and I'm surprised by the amount of information I have learned from her!
For anyone suffering with a chronic disease, I have a little advice--look for actual support groups on your disease, get information that will help you cope and improve your life. I spent weeks reading personal blogs and just depressing myself. All hope isn't lost as long as you have the desire to try. Of course, we are all entitled to the occasional pity party!
For more information on diet and lifestyle changes, gentle exercises that can help, and a place to start looking for a support system if you have been diagnosed with RA, I recommend www.risesupport.com I've heard water aerobic classes made for arthritis can help out, and I am starting on Tuesday (I think I've adequately explained how much I love the water, so I'm really excited about this).
They always say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well...I love lemonade! Time to get to work and squeeze those lemons!
Have a terrific week, everyone! I'm off to edit my book!
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis around the end of April. I've kept mostly to myself and shut out the world for a while with the exception of my family and one very good friend (I can't thank them enough for all they do for me). I read a lot of blogs from other people, and that was a mistake. Let me tell ya, it's dang depressing to hear how horribly tired they are all the time and how much pain they are in. I'm tired, I have the pain. I already know about all that.
In the midst of this little party I had for myself, my son graduated from high school - yes, I know I'm way to young to have a son graduating high school :-) My children aren't biologically mine, but I've had the pleasure of raising them for the past 14 years. We threw a huge party for him and a lot of family members came. It was great, and I'm so proud of him. He's going off to college in August to become a police officer. His ultimate goal is to join SWAT, which scares me to death, but I'm really proud at the same time.
Guilt got the better of me last week, and I decided to reach out to my crit partners and tell them why I haven't been critiquing their work...and to apologize. It's funny, I call them my crit partners, but they have come to mean so much more than that. It reminds me of when I was in band in high school...it's a family of sorts. An odd kind of family, but still a family. I've never met any of them in person, and yet they have become great friends. I love them all and I am so grateful for their support!
I also have a wonderful family. They've stepped up to the plate, doing more around the house because they know I can't right now. My parents listen to me cry or whatever I need to do, sitting on the phone with me and helping calm me. I have a lot to be thankful for, and the pity party won't work indefinitely.
I'm usually a glass-half-full kind of person, and hearing everyone's support and ideas helped me realize I need to get a move on it. I have a book to edit, I have a life to live. My doctor said with the medication, I will likely have twenty to thirty years before I am unable to type so I need to work on the books I want to write in the meantime.
I will do a blog post soon on my adventures with editing. My copy editor did a wonderful job, and I'm surprised by the amount of information I have learned from her!
For anyone suffering with a chronic disease, I have a little advice--look for actual support groups on your disease, get information that will help you cope and improve your life. I spent weeks reading personal blogs and just depressing myself. All hope isn't lost as long as you have the desire to try. Of course, we are all entitled to the occasional pity party!
For more information on diet and lifestyle changes, gentle exercises that can help, and a place to start looking for a support system if you have been diagnosed with RA, I recommend www.risesupport.com I've heard water aerobic classes made for arthritis can help out, and I am starting on Tuesday (I think I've adequately explained how much I love the water, so I'm really excited about this).
They always say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well...I love lemonade! Time to get to work and squeeze those lemons!
Have a terrific week, everyone! I'm off to edit my book!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Writing Tip Wednesdays ~ 4/4
Editing
The most helpful editing tip a critique buddy told me was to try not to use the word "was". Every class I took said - show, don't tell - but I didn't really understand what that meant. However, if you are using was, were, is, or are in your writing, you are probably telling. Another way this is stated is passive writing. The action isn't happening, but instead the narrator tells the reader what happened.
Consider this group of sentences: The pedestrian was hit by the car. The car tires were screeching when the vehicle came to a halt. A spectator was running around screaming. 911 was called and the ambulance soon arrived.
Horrible to read, right?
For more action and less passive wording, consider what happens when I take "was" out of that group: A car slammed into the pedestrian. The vehicle's tires screeched in protest as the acrid scent of burnt rubber issued from beneath the car. A spectator ran around, uselessly screaming. Within minutes of the 911 call, an ambulance zoomed onto the scene.
One of the easiest ways to get rid of was is to look for any was -ing word constructions: was running, was singing, was eating. Change these to the past tense form (which will automatically give your writing more action): ran, sang, ate.
The trickier ones to find have a word between was and the -ing word: was seldom trying, was always teasing, was still shouting. These should be changed: seldom tried, always teased, still shouted.
You can't always get rid of was, but taking out as many as possible, restructuring sentences with "was" in a more action-oriented way, will definitely give you an edge on the whole "show, don't tell" philosophy.
A great resource I use all the time for more editing tips A-Z can be found here.
Happy writing! Have a wonderful week!
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