Category Archives: Editing

Written by Lara | Category: Best Practices, Editing2 comments

If you’re anything like me, it’s probably hard for you to step away from your manuscript-in-progress. Hammering away at the problems in our books — from flat character arcs to plot holes to uneven pacing — is what we writers do. We can’t quit! We need to press on! Right?

Maybe not.

As writers, we need to give ourselves permission to step away from the creative process for a while. We need to relax and rejuvenate, and let our minds rest.

After all, just because you’re not actively working on a story doesn’t mean it’s not percolating away in your subconscious.

Think you need a break, but you still want to feel like you’re doing something to further your writing? Here are three activities to consider:

1.) Read. Pick up a book and dive into someone else’s story for a bit. It might give you inspiration for your own tale. It will hopefully be a model of good writing. Let someone else’s hard work get your own creative juices flowing again.

2.) Start writing something else entirely. No one’s saying you have to stop writing. Just stop writing the same thing. Start something else — a short story, a poem, or even a journal. Anything! But give your brain a break from the current manuscript.

3.) Watch TV. Oh my god, did I just say that? Look, it’s the golden age of television and there are shows out there that are exceptionally well-written. Mad Men, anyone? The Venture Brothers. The Wire. The first season of Veronica Mars. Battlestar Galactica. These are good, solid stories with fully fleshed-out characters and thoughtful plot arcs. Watch them, and learn. (If you have other shows you love and have inspired your writing, please leave them in the comments!)

We writers are a hard-working bunch of folk. But it’s okay to take a break. If you step back for a bit, you’ll see problems in your book anew and be able to solve them more effectively. And that’s a good thing indeed.

Written by Lara | Category: Best Practices, Editing, Submissions4 comments

Rhonda Stapleton is the author of the Stupid Cupid trilogy and she also works as acquisitions editor for Carina Press. She sees lots of query letters and sample pages every week, and she has her finger on the pulse of what gets noticed in the industry, and why. Here, she gives us the inside scoop on what keeps many books buried in the slushpile, and how to avoid rookie mistakes.

Take it away, Rhonda!

Thanks for having me! I’ve got four tips for writers, which comprise the most common flubs I see in books, day in and day out. Correcting these things will go a long, long way to getting your story in front of editors and agents.

1.) Cliché characters. I see too many gay guys who are crazy flamboyant. I see too many crazy old ladies with cats. Writers need to think outside the box when they write their characters. It’s of course okay to have some stereotypical elements in your character, but go deeper. Look at their education, family, location, interests, careers. All these things will inform who your characters are. What’s more, writing cliche characters makes them unlikable in many instances. And we need to be able to relate to, and root for, the characters in a novel.

2.) Too much information all at once. We call this an “info drop” and it usually happens in the beginning of the novel. It’s way too much detail that we don’t need, and it succeeds in dragging the pacing and taking away all suspense. Writers forget that they don’t have to say everything at the outset. I trust you as the writer — and I believe you’ll drop in the pieces as I need them. You don’t have to front-load it all.

3.) Too many characters. Starting a story in the middle of exciting action is good, but it becomes an exercise in frustration if a.) I don’t quickly get a sense of what’s going on and b.) there are too many characters to keep track of. It’s great to have a large cast if that’s what the story calls for, but then the writer has to be extra careful to introduce them organically and at the right pace. Overwhelming the reader with people at the outset is never a good idea.

4.) Ho-hum voice. I see a lot of writing that’s clean and I suppose fine, but it’s not…enough. In order to grab me, the book needs to have an interesting voice, a character with flaws but also strengths. I need to see big stakes, something that really matters if the protagonist doesn’t succeed. People can and do over-edit their stories, taking out all the flair and all the exciting elements that keep us turning the pages.

Bonus tip! In your query, be sure to tell me why your story is different. How is your vampire different than all the other vampires? How is your romance different from every other love story on the shelves? Don’t bog the query down with extraneous information about people who aren’t the main character. Tell me about the conflict your protagonist will face, and how it’s different than everything else that’s out there.

Thanks, Rhonda! For more information about Rhonda, her books, and her thoughts about the world, check out her blog over here.

Written by Lara | Category: Best Practices, Editing3 comments

Showing your manuscript to someone — anyone! — can be a daunting experience. What if they don’t like it? What if they slam you? What if … [insert insecurity here]?

The hard truth is, when you show your work to someone else and invite their feedback, you are opening yourself up to critique. It’s never easy to hear that you need to improve, but there are three things you can do to make sure that you protect yourself and your manuscript in the review process:

1.) Show your work to someone you can trust. That new person in your writing group might look like they’ve got it together and can help you, but are you confident they’re going to really treat your manuscript with respect? Find someone who you know will be honest, but will also be kind and supportive. Your manuscript might need work, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to condescend, belittle, or badmouth you (or your pages).

2.) Do a robust round of editing first. If you’ve got a reviewer you can trust, then don’t waste their time with things you yourself can fix. By taking the time to fix misspellings, loose plot points that aren’t tied up, or other easy-to-edit elements in your novel, you’re showing your reviewer that you respect their time and are doing at least some of the heavy lifting yourself.

3.) Listen to your gut. Your reviewer might recommend a change that just doesn’t resonate with you. Listen to your gut and don’t edit what you’re not comfortable changing. If yours simply has to a retelling of The Metamorphosis with Gregor Samsa escaping at night and becoming the lead in an off-Broadway production of Evita, then so be it. That’s your vision and you need to stick by it. At the same time, be open to changing what will truly make the book better. It’s a fine line to be sure, but it’s important to remain open to the right feedback.

Novel Beginnings

09
Jan
2011
Written by Lara | Category: Editing, Writing 1014 comments

Does your novel start in the right place?

Determining where — and how — to begin your novel can greatly affect your chances of getting noticed by an editor or agent. Because the truth is, many writers begin their novels in the wrong place. Which isn’t to say these novels aren’t good. They are. But if it takes 25 pages to get to the meat of the story, that’s 20 pages too long.

How can you tell if your novel is starting off right? First, do the first five pages of the story introduce a problem your main character is going to solve? It’s not enough if your main character simply experiences something. Readers must get a sense of what the crux of the conflict will be for your protagonist in the pages ahead.

For example, in Suzanne Collins’ bestseller The Hunger Games, her main character Katniss is up and out of bed in the first few paragraphs, solving the problem that will keep her motivated throughout the entire series: How can I help and protect my family?

Even the most challenging circumstances — death, abuse, poverty, heartache — will be disengaging to readers who can’t grasp the conflict and get a sense of who the main character is.

Noah Lukeman’s helpful book The First Five Pages also cautions against bogging down the action with descriptors: adjectives, adverbs, and details that the reader just doesn’t need. I’ve heard this called information dumping by editors and agents.

Another thing that can kill a novel’s beginning is back story. The early versions of Donut Days were especially guilty of this. I had a lot of information to convey, and so I front-loaded it into the story at the expense of the pacing. In my revisions, I worked hard to integrate this into the text more organically — both through the use of flashbacks (sparingly!) and by employing more “show versus tell” techniques.

It’s a busy, fast-paced world, and our books need to convince readers quickly that our prose is worth their time. Bait the hook well, and reel your audiences in quickly.

[Image source: Momentum Sports]

Written by Lara | Category: Editing, Submissions3 comments

When writers submit their best work to an agent, they usually do it with the understanding that this is the work the agent will pitch to a publisher and try to sell.

Often that’s the case, but not always.

An agent might ask you to revise your book if they can spot weaknesses in the manuscript. For example, before Donut Days ever went out on submission, I was asked to complete some re-writes. I remember thinking, “I didn’t know my agent would ask me for changes.” But it makes sense that they would  look at my work with fresh eyes and recommend helpful edits before trying to sell the book.

Some agents are also willing to recommend changes to an unsigned author if they like the manuscript and think has potential. They might write to the author and say, “I would be willing to consider this manuscript if you resubmit with X, Y, and Z changes…”

When that happens, authors often wonder how long they have to complete the changes are re-submit. The consensus is always, take your time. Don’t rush. Do a thorough job and complete the changes the agent is asking for. Generally, a good rule of thumb is to take up to six months for these changes. This helpful post by Julie Anne Lindsey talks about the re-write advice she heard from agents at a recent conference, including how an author who turns in revisions too quickly might raise a red flag as having hasty or rushed work.

This post by Upstart Crow Literary argues that there is a time when the agent shouldn’t be involved in editing — and that’s after the book has been sold and the editor from the publishing house takes over. At that point, the agent must step aside, which makes absolute sense.

Have you been asked by an agent to revise? What was your experience?

[Image source: Cartoonresearch.com]

Written by Lara | Category: EditingOne comment

When your book is with a publisher, it will go through two types of editing. First, the big changes roll in with notes like “show me more about this character’s past” or “pick up the pacing in chapter three.” When writers say they are “working with their editor” it usually means on these large-scale changes. Which are no mean feat.

These changes are usually outlined in editing letters, which are typed up notes, in addition to line edits on the manuscript itself.

Then, once you and your editor have navigated all the big changes successfully, your manuscript goes in for copyedits. This is when a second editor — usually someone the writer never meets or emails with — fixes any remaining typos, makes sure Wisconsin really is America’s Dairyland, puts in all the missing commas, etc. These changes don’t come with a letter — only marks on the manuscript.

The practice of having two different kinds of editors look at your manuscript is as helpful for published writers as it is for non-published writers. Who is looking at your manuscript and what is their skill set? If perhaps one of your reviewers is spending a little too much time on the typos and not enough time on the bigger-picture elements, or vice versa, it might be time to get a new set of eyes on your work.

How do you feel about inviting other people into the editing process? What’s worked for you?

[Image Source: Mark Watlz]

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