I'll take some editing ... please...

Recently I did something that I was probably crazy to do -
my time is so limited on a normal basis that when I pondered
this idea I left out 'sleep time' on the list of calculations.
But I did it and as soon as I recoup from too many late
nights and not enough sleep I may still do the happy dance.

What did I do?
I took some previously published works and put them together
and brought them back out through Amazon.  Doesn't sound
complicated I know, but trust me I have a new found respect
for what our publishers do for us as writers.

There were hitches along the way - I didn't read html (required for some
formatting) and I'm not a cover artist - not to mention I am in no way shape or form an
editor.  In fact I cherish editors for taking my ramblings and
honing in on the good parts and weeding out the stuff that shouldn't
be there.

The result of my hard work was this : Two books. One with two related
novellas (previously published) and a third related story added to make
it a complete mini-serious under one cover.  The second book with
a popular (previously published) story and then a second story of
related topic but not connected.

I hired an editor for the two new stories, deciding that the other three
had already undergone several rounds of edits, line edits and copy edits -
and surely there would be no more editing required after all of that, after all
in reviews no one had ever mentioned a problem with it while they were
on the book shelf.  As I said before I am no editor and while I can spot the
obvious issues all the little rules still escape my attention.  I did re-read my
own stories and if I changed anything it wasn't something that would affect
it as far as editing goes.

So after four months of taking on this extra brilliant idea, I heaved a huge sigh
of relief when the second one came out a month after the first.  Then I moved onto
a month long tour for both to "get them out there".

Not all things are going as well as I'd hoped...

According to reviews, the stories are loved, plots are original and
intriguing, characters are rooted for ... but editing falls way below the
standard.   I was shocked and needless to say a little miffed by this.
I trust the reviewers would know good or bad editing, as they read
numerous books and would see when editing falls short.

Where do I go from here?  Is what I've been wondering for the last
few weeks.  If it were my car or any other product you can bet your
last dollar that I'd be demanding it be done properly - but how do
you go about demanding your words be fixed right this time?  Was it the
first editors that made the error or the service I paid quite a piece of
cash for?  I haven't determined the answer to that one yet and a part of
me doesn't want to know.  I had three people, including myself read
these works in their completed form prior to releasing them - so are we
just blind or are the reviewers extremely picky?  Again, I don't know.

Do I write a huge disclaimer stating 'editing may or may not be present' or
just chalk it up to a valuable lesson and carry on from there?   As writers /
authors we are trusted that our works are 'original' and in no where 'borrowed'
from others ... so shouldn't we be able to trust the editing that it is complete
and done properly?   I would like to think so, but again maybe I'm just
reaching too high.

This won't deter me from doing this again in the future, if the opportunity
arises - I will however have to find a way to ensure the editing has been done
...  well, I'll work on that issue when it comes around again.

For now, I am just going to focus on the crazy tour schedule, the three
contracts I signed, NaNoWriMo, polishing my two WIPS, my work
schedule and of course my family ... maybe sleep somewhere in all of that too.

*pats self on shoulder for not turning this into a rant*

:)

Importance of Editors

I've touched on this topic before. With the recent increase in self-published material, it is a important subject to discuss. All readers expect quality in the work they purchase. While it's true books will usually have a typo or two (or possibly more), less is certainly more. Several top selling authors have been flamed recently regarding the lack of edits in their work (one most notably is a huge author, at one of the large New York Publishers, who had an entire scene missing from her book due to a miscommunication during edits). Readers are starting to notice the lack of editing, and they are becoming more vocal about it.

Which is why I feel having an editor is damn important.

As I've stated before, all of my editors are different. Each has his or her own way of doing things. I'm fine with that, as I learn during the process. Some experiences are better than others. I love having an editor who enjoys my story, believes in it, and wants to make the manuscript all it can be. However, there have been occasions when I've had to relinquish control and change a story into something I didn't originally envision. It's part of being published. You listen to those far more knowledgeable than you and trust they'll make your story shine.

I cannot stress just how much I need an editor. As a writer, I don't see the mistakes in my work. Even if I wait a month and return to the book, I'll skip right past an improperly used word (it's been proven if a word begins and ends with the same letter this occurs often), fail to notice repetition in word choice, etc. That's why I rely on an extra pair of eyes to pinpoint what I cannot. Yes, I'm an author who needs an editor. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Without one, my stories would be too wordy, too lengthy, and probably a pain in the ass to read.

I recently stumbled across an interesting Amazon thread discussing a very popular author and the fact she has written a "no-edit" clause in her contract. The notion baffled me. Who wouldn't want to have an editor to clean up grammatical mistakes, search for holes in a story, and make sure you don't land on your face because you call a character the wrong name (something I'm guilty of, I confess) or forget to dress a character after a love scene. Not me, that's for sure.

So yeah, I'm all for pimping my editors. Skyla Dawn (Mundania), Mary and Serena (Loose Id), and Ann (Ellora's Cave) you rock my world. Thanks for making me a better author, for helping me hone my craft, and for inspiring me to create bigger, better stories. My books wouldn't be the same without you.

Now for your weekly eye-candy. Happy Hump Day!

Conquering The Edits Monster

While I like having edited, I'm a not a huge fan of edits. At first. Reason being, they usually make me feel like I…well, suck. This goes for critiques as well. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a perfectionist or a pantser or what, but it always requires a deep breath and crossed fingers for me to open that document from my editor or CP. It's kind of like getting reviews. We all have that idea in our head of the meaning behind our work. Then you receive, in black and white, someone else's thoughts on what you've created when you're not around to explain to them what you really meant. Your words rise and fall on their own and sometimes it's distressing to see how far you've missed the mark.


That saying, I usually don't look at my edits or critiques right away. I usually need a couple days to build up my courage. Probably if I wasn't so used to getting massive edits - or at least what I term massive edits - they wouldn't vex me so much, but alas that's not the case. I'm on my sixth contracted book at this point - and have one self-published - and I can honestly say I'm not much less intimidated by receiving that first round of edits now than I was at the beginning. A little bit, yes. And I also calm down from my customary freak out a lot faster. I can do what's required. I know that, because I've done it before. That experience does help when I'm fighting a serious case of "I'm not worthy"s.


But still…I always love the finished product once the edits are done! Editors and CPs are wonderful people and help you take your story places you might not have been able to on your own. Heck, maybe one day I'll even get excited when I get edits/critiques instead of nervous!


How do you approach edits and/or critiques? Do they freak you out or have you found your zen about them? And if so, can you tell me where I can find some?

Back to Basics

I'll admit I'm not one for rules. I don't like following them though I do usually attempt to find out what the rules are before I try to break them. But the past few weeks I've discovered a couple things I've ignored as "not for me"…well, they kind of are. Things that will make my writing tighter. Things that also take a lot of time, but them's the breaks, I guess. Part of doing what you love includes putting in a lot of hours to ensure your words come across the way you intended them to.

Some rules still confound me, I'll admit, and I worked as an editor for an e-publisher for two years and so far, as a proofreader at a newspaper for eleven. So I thought I'd share two tips for tightening your writing that I've been confronted with in my latest batch of edits
.
1) Get rid of words you don't need. Even ones you like, such as "even." I love "even". We're bff's. I'm also quite enamored of "little", "always", "exactly", "all but", "besides", "though" and probably a dozen others I repeat without knowing it. Clean writing is the goal and cluttering up your sentences lessens their impact. It also leaves you with a ton of edits from your editor. *waves hand*

2) Break the "was" habit. It's not always passive voice, but that doesn't mean you need them all the time. I like "was" almost as much as "even." One thing I've noticed while doing my many edits recently is that I tend to drop into "was" territory when I start telling and not showing. You need some of them in your story for sure, just don't them overpower the soup. Sometimes you can replace was with a more active construction. Example: She was jumping rope. Becomes this: She jumped rope. Fewer words, punchier sentence.

What crutch words do you find yourself returning to again and again? Do you have any tricks to make self-editing less painful?

Recently a NY Times bestselling author that I very much admire had a release and not long after, comments were left on her forum regarding this latest work. I'm not going to name names because (1) I can only imagine she has been hurt enough by what has been said and (2) it isn't the point of this blog. What was all the hoopla about, you are wondering? Editing.

Now I will agree on some of the things that have been said. There were errors throughout the entire book, things a good editor should have caught. Since I have never been NY published, I do not know firsthand the editing process at the Big Six but I can't imagine it is that different from places like Loose Id or Samhain. There are multiple rounds of edits, line edits, post-proof reviews, and for print, galleys. Multiple eyes comb through a manuscript before it goes on sale.

What I did find interesting and completely unfair was the castrating of the author on both Amazon and Goodreads and I'll explain why. It is very easy when going through your manuscript to miss things. Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you, substituting the correct word for the error written on the page. And sometimes you are just too close to the ms to see the flaws. That is why we have crit partners and editors. To lay the blame on the author alone is hardly fair.

And this author is not alone. I have noticed, especially recently, the decline in editing at the Big Six. Now have these problems always been there? Or am I just noticing them because I have been through the editing process myself (with a quite wonderful editor, I might add)? I am curious. What do you think?

The same word!

It occurred to me that many times we’ve mentioned editing, proofing and polishing but there hasn’t been a great deal of pointers diving a little deeper into it.  I am not fabulous at self-edits, so anything I suggest in this area I have learned the hard way in the last few years.

One thing to watch for beyond the spelling mistakes and comma mishaps is over using the same words.  It might seem completely necessary to use the word ‘smile’ as often as you do or ‘look’ while you’re writing the story but when it’s finished it distracts or possibly bores the reader to see the same words close together.

A quick way to check for this in MSWord when going through your manuscript is to do this:

Click Ctrl F and then type in your word.

 Put a check in the box that says “Highlight all items found in:”   

Click <More>

Check the box that says “Find whole words only”

Click <Find All>

Choose a highlight color on the top right of your menu.  

Close your Find box and look through your document to see how often you have used the same word.

I was completely thrown the first time I did this.  After proofing the ms ten times I thought surely I’d found all the words that appeared too often.  I was wrong.  

   

Pre-editing Part Two

In last weeks post, I talked about some of the more obvious things to look for when editing your manuscript. Now I'll point out some of the issues that can be harder to spot or seem to go against how as children we were trained to write.

First off, all the unnecessary wordage that when cut can clean up your manuscript:

1. Directionals: up, down, and out; words that imply direction aren't needed. Example, she sat down should be she sat. These can be overused.

2. Could: She could hear change to she heard.

3. Redundant words: she nodded her head, he shrugged his shoulders, her heart beat in her chest. These are all obvious when you think about it but it is something you might have a tendency to automatically add without giving it any thought. So, she nodded, he shrugged, her heart beat.

4. Wandering body parts: these can be a little harder to spot. Body parts cannot move independent of the character. Eyes can't roam, hands can't move, etc.

5. Dialogue tags: first time writers especially can be susceptible to the pitfalls of overusing said and asked. Instead of he said, have the character perform an action to show he is the one speaking. And if you end the sentence with a question mark, it's kind of self-explanatory. Also watch for impossible dialogue tags. Voices don't shout, people do.

6. Felt, heard, know: you might find yourself relying on these words to express POV. Here is a wonderful example from my editor, Heidi:

She could hear the sound of rain pattering on the roof, a relaxing chorus that lulled her to sleep.

She heard the rain pattering on the roof, a relaxing chorus that lulled her to sleep.

The rain pattered on the roof overhead, a relaxing chorus that lulled her to sleep.

The last sentence is the tightest with the deepest POV and practically drags you into the scene.


Lastly, keep a lookout for repetitive words or actions in a scene or throughout the manuscript. Does your heroine like to toss her hair a lot? Or your hero fold his arms while arching his brow? And does she giggle or he drawl through half of the book? Correcting these simple and common mistakes can tighten your story and hopefully help you get that publishing contract you've been striving for.

Stop back by next Thursday. I'll be going over some of the tricks in using Word that might make your writing experience easier.

Pre-editing Part One

Before I started the editing process with my editor at Samhain, she sent me a pre-editing guide of common mistakes. I thought over the next couple of weeks, I would share with you some of them because getting published is difficult enough. Why make it any easier for them to reject you?

1. Numbers within the manuscript should be spelled out. This includes chapter headings.

2. Garbage words: so, that, then, and then, just, really. These tend to get overused. I know I have to keep an eye out for just, I seem to like it a lot.

3. Watch for multiple as, and, then, and while phases in a sentence.

As Jack turned away, Judy frowned, folding her arms across her chest and watched him move across the room as if he were mad at her while she could think of nothing to have drawn his anger.

A sentence like that has too many actions happening simultaneously; therefore, they lose impact on the reader.

4. This leads to one of my favorites, the simultaneous action.

Walking across the room, Jack opened the door and drove downtown.

You might see this quite often, especially in much older romances, it is a big no-no.

5. The use of he's and she's: when you have more than one person of the same sex, you need to be really careful it is obvious of whom you are speaking. The last person mentioned is the one who gets the pronoun attributed to them. If you have more than two individuals, you should probably stick to using their names.


Well, there are a few. Next week, dialogue tags, redundant actions, and the dreaded wandering body parts.