Crits & Hurt Feelings

Tip of the Day: Leave reviews for books you buy. They don't have to be long, drawn-out affairs - just a simple, "Loved it!" is good enough.

So I had kind of sad thing happen this week. A writer-friend, someone I trust a lot, asked me to do a crit for her. I happily said yes because I love, love, love editing.

It was a very early version of her story. I wanted to help, so I thought I'd be as brutal as possible. As a critique partner, I felt it was my job not to pull any punches. Because if I lie, and stroke her ego, what good would I be doing? The point of a critique is to make things better, not to pat someone on the head.

Things kind of spiraled out of control. In my attempt to be honest, I came off as harsh. In my attempt to apologize, I came off as sarcastic and mean. In my attempt to back off and explain, I came off as self-deprecating and pitiful.

She misunderstood me. I misunderstood her. Let's just say it wasn't pretty and I had a bad week trying desperately to scramble out of the black hole our friendship had suddenly fallen into.

This is one of the big risks we take in this profession. Writing is filled with emotional pitfalls. Our work is dear to us, as precious as a new baby. Expectations are high, but at the same time it's like balancing on a ball while holding a rod with a dish on top. No one wants that dish to crash to the floor and shatter in a million pieces. Not me, the person telling them how to balance; not the person on the ball, trying desperately to make everything perfect.

I had a talk about it with a guy friend, who is also involved in the arts. It was short, done via text, and very matter-of-fact. He told me this happens everywhere. He told me I shouldn't take it so damn personally. That was about it. Guy logic. Gotta love it. It's very grounding.

So, I put on my man pants, wrote her a simple email explaining that I hadn't mean to be mean, or sarcastic, or pitiful, and nothing I wrote was in anger. I also said I valued our friendship.

All of this lead to a great realization about myself - something I'd been suspecting for quite a long time now - I SUCK at developmental editing. Give me a manuscript with typos and missing commas and grammar issues and I am all over that baby. But taking a story and trying to help someone mold it? Not my forte. It's not a reason to be down on myself. It's simply a truth that not only serves me better as a writer, but also helps me realize where my strengths are when my friends ask me for the help I'm always so happy to give.

Want to know what happened? My friend and I made up. I hope we move on happily and put this behind us like two dudes who just beat the shit out of each other, then went out for a beer.

Moral of the story? Be kind. Be honest. Be true. Be willing, always, to say you are sorry - even if you never meant to offend.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Drowning in Edits

Tip of the Day: Check out the first installment in Isobel Lucas's Hell Bent/Heaven Sent YA serial for FREE. I read it last night and it's good-- I think she's got a hit on her hands.

It's one of those days where I'm buried in line edits and wondering how on earth I'm ever going to get all of this done. So I leave you with this fun editing comic and ask, do you worry about this every time you give your book to someone to edit for you?! I do.

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

Editing the Indie Novel, Part 3

Tip of the Day: Find your perfect critique partners through SCBWI or RWA.

So now that you know the different types of editing you need to do to your manuscript as an indie (because traditionally published authors have professional editors through their publishers to make sure, hopefully, all the bases are covered), I'm going to help you find your perfect editing partners.

When I decided to start approaching my writing as a business with an eye to getting published, versus just writing for fun, I joined SCBWI - the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. It was through this organization that I found my first online critique group. I was thrilled because two of the members had MFAs in Creative Writing.

That was equally exciting and intimidating. Luckily, the members were more than happy to take me under their wing. I didn't submit my material at first. Instead, I sat back and learned how they critiqued. It was totally mind-blowing and I am grateful to each of them for everything they taught me. After a year of critiquing with them on a bi-weekly basis, I felt like I'd learned a lot ... but I was pretty sure there was more to learn. That's when I discovered Becky Levine.

Becky wrote this incredible book, The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide.

You should buy a copy because this book will enhance any critique group situation you encounter. It will make you a better participant and a better critiquer.

Once you're able to locate some critique groups, you want to gather people around you who have different skill sets. Find people who excel in copy edits, people who can spot a hole in a story a mile away, or who can find your writing tics that no one else can see. I can guarantee you that you will not find one perfect critique partner, nor can you be everything to someone else. Make friends and start sharing your work!

Now we can talk a bit about hiring an editor. *cringes* I hate talking about this. I really, really do. Why? Because when I was querying I sent out feelers to three professional editors, people whose names you'd recognize and who are well-respected editors. I sent each of them a sample to edit, so I could get a feel for their style. I purposely filled the document with errors, some subtle, some obvious.

All of the samples came back with a cursory edit. I was crushed. These were the most well-respected editors and the illusion had been broken. I spent seven years as a journalist. Had I ever turned in an article that poorly edited, I can guarantee you I wouldn't have received new assignments.

If you do decide to go the professional editor route, here's what I want you to do:

1. Figure out what kind of edits you need. Not every editor does all kind of edits.
2. Get referrals from friends. Read some of the work they've edited.
3. Send them a sample edit with known mistakes.
4. If you like the way they edited, make sure their style jives with yours. Make sure they understand your voice.
5. If you go ahead with the edit, don't assume their edit was perfect. Go over your manuscript again and again and again.

I've never claimed my books are perfect. There definitely are advantages to having a traditional publisher and their massive editing machine behind a book (though we've all seen mistakes in trad pubbed books too), but indies can get their books up to par too.

Good luck!!!!

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Editing the Indie Novel, Part Two

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Today I'm going to touch on content edits. A book that ignores this step is probably doomed to failure.

First you should tackle editing content. This is where my friend Angela Carlie comes into play (as I referenced in my last blog post). Yes, she tells me if my commas are in the wrong place or if I misuse a semicolon, but the bulk of what she does is examine my style choices and plot.

Let's talk style first. Characters have their tics, just like we do. They tend to talk in ways that are indicative of their personalities, or react physically in certain ways. Bella, in Twilight (y'all have heard of that book, right?), was really, really clumsy. It was a character tic.

Where could that tic have gone wrong? If Edward was always walking into walls or Jacob stubbed his toe every time he turned into a wolf. Then it becomes an author obsession with clumsiness and not a character trait that makes Bella special. Just imagine how silly it would have been for both Bella & Edward to be in a cast at prom!

I know, I know, you think that's so obvious and no writer would ever do that. THEY DO. It happens. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's subtle. That's why you need fresh eyes to read your book.

Okay, let's jump to plot. In Chapter Two the author introduces a character named Jimmy Joe. He interacts with the main character, indicates he has a piece to the mystery she's trying to solve ... then she solves the mystery on her own and Jimmy Joe never makes another appearance.

This requires editing. It's very common for a writer (especially a pantser like me) to introduce characters, get swept up in the story, and then forget they totally exist. This is another huge issue that content editing picks up on. Someone who isn't intimate with the story will notice it right away and let you know before you publish your book. Imagine if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduced Watson to Holmes, then never mentioned him again. Lame, right?

What else goes into content editing? Sentence structure (make sure it's varied and interesting), chapter-to-chapter flow (end with a cliffhanger, start with a bang), continuity (make sure the facts in a sequel agree with the facts from the previous novel), word repetition, etc. I could go on for ages - but there are books dealing with this topic. Read them.  (Manuscript Makeover by Lyon; Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King; The First Five Pages by Lukeman to name a few.)

Bottom line: Don't stress about punctuation until you've done a full and complete content edit of your book. Why? Trust me, when you revise those big issues, you'll flub up your punctuation again. You'll type 'first' instead of 'fist' and your 90-year-old grandpa will find it when he reads it (yes, that happened to me). Deal with the content - then deal with copy edits.

Go forth and revise! (Then do it again and again and again!)

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber

Editing the Indie Novel, Part One

Tip of the Day: Going indie doesn't mean you should go it alone. Surround yourself with a tribe of talented writers.

Okay, I wasn't going to do this right away, but it feels like a discussion of editing should be the next step. The reason I hesitate to tackle this topic is because nothing in e-publishing leads to more anger and arguments than editing.

Self-published novels have a bad rep for being poorly edited. In some cases, it's deserved. As epubbing has evolved over the last couple years, editing has taken on a whole different face. I wouldn't recommend anyone ever epublish without extensive editing.

Just. Don't. Do. It.

Today I'm going to tell you a bit about my editing practices

Here's my process:

1. I write the whole novel
2. I edit & rewrite
3. I edit & rewrite again
4. Then I send it out to Angela Carlie, who is the ying to my editing yang. She has a deep understanding of all of my writing foibles and she's not afraid to tell me when I've royally screwed up. She points out every zit, every freckle, and every stoopid mistake in my manuscript. Getting back any less would be a disservice to me. I WANT to be aware of every problem. Otherwise, what's the point of editing? (note: I just wish I could learn not to repeat the same mistakes over and over - I'm trying)
5. I cry, debate quitting writing, and eat a lot of chocolate
6. Then I edit & rewrite
7. I send the manuscript out to several more readers
8. I edit & rewrite
9. Then I start my proofreading chain - I send the first third of the book to one person who proofreads it. Any mistakes s/he finds, I correct. Then I send that segment to another reader while sending the first reader the second third of the book. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I run my proofreading through at least three readers in this fashion so by the time the last person gets the book, it's hopefully squeaky clean.

Oh - each one of these readers is different. I never ask the same person to read the same manuscript twice. It's so easy to become comfortable with a book. I want my editors & proofreaders to come at my work with 100% fresh eyes. (My love & thanks to Karly, GP, Magan, Kim, Margaret, Tim, Marcia, Mark, Kate, Cherie, Teresa, David, Eugene, and OMG I know I'm forgetting people - if I forgot you, please email me and tell me and I'll add you in!)

Do I claim to be perfect? No. Do I think everyone will 'get' my style? No. I've been trashed by some readers for editing - while other readers praise the exact same style choices. Again, it leads back to the idea of subjectivity and enjoyment when a reader reads.

I think sometimes the casual reader with little experience in editing doesn't understand the difference between style choices and poor editing. When I edit other people's work, I am heavy into editing of punctuation and grammar. I don't often touch on style unless it's something that's glaring, like an author's tic versus a character's tic (which is something Angela taught me to find). Then I will say something. I usually try to let the author's style shine through because I feel that's what makes indie novels so special.

Okay, I could go on for years on this topic. Check out me & Ang below. The longer you're around me, you'll learn I have a slight obsession with FaceinHole.com. Ang & I haven't met in real life, but we've been internet friends for years now. :D

(Pssst....my first novel, Anathema, is free right now on the iBookstore - go download it if you're interested)