Writers in the Storm

by Erin Brown

You’ve slaved for months, years—perhaps decades--to finish your manuscript. You’ve tackled all-nighters, tear-your-hair-out rewrites, grueling self-imposed deadlines. You’ve grappled with creative juices that either flowed until you were drunk with brilliant narrative or dried up to leave you parched, devoid of inspiration, sobbing onto your keyboard.

You get my drift. You’ve poured your heart and soul into this baby of yours. You’ve reached the point when you want to start submitting to agents or self-publish.

Of course I might be biased, but based on fifteen years in the business, your manuscript and chances at success will only improve if you have an editor review your manuscript so that it’s grammatically clean and the plot, characters, pacing, description, dialogue, and narrative are up to par.

Remember that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression with an agent or your readers.  The writers that dig in their heels and decide not to hire or listen to their editor usually never make it out of the starting gate.

So what happens when you get it into the hands of an editor—whether it be a freelancer (like moi—the best kind, of course) or an editor at a publishing house (wow, also fabulous and just like me—at least in my past Manhattan life)? You couldn’t be happier! Finally, someone to tell you how wonderful your writing is! To affirm what you’ve known all along: that your novel/memoir/epic saga/brilliant tome will change the literary world as we know it.

But what happens when you get back the editor’s notes (insert ominous music here)?

“Hey! This isn’t what I signed up for—there’s red all over this damn thing! She’s rewritten half of chapter one! She wants me to completely get rid of the elfin king/swashbuckling sidekick/sickly grandmother/omniscient narrator/the last half of the book!”

This is a travesty and not what you signed up for, right?

Wrong. This is an editor’s job. To make a manuscript the best it can be based on years of experience, knowledge of the industry (hopefully, if you get a good one), and their honed skills of enhancing storytelling and writing.

More often than not, how a writer works with their editor makes all the difference between a good final product and a bad one. This relationship is what separates a smart writer from a—ahem—not-so-smart one.

You must have faith in your editor, in their knowledge, in their experience. If not, what’s the point of having an editor? And yes, you do need one. Everyone needs one, even the most brilliant writers, and the smartest writers embrace what their editors do for their books—which is to make their “baby” that much stronger.

Whether the manuscript comes back to you covered in red (and early in a career, most do, so don’t fret!) or if there are a few simple, but significant suggestions here and there—these edits are made in order to make your book better.

Even if you simply hire a freelance editor to clean up your manuscript in terms of grammar so that you don’t embarrass yourself when you begin the submission process, it’s almost always advisable to get someone (not a family member or friend) to review your work. And usually hiring an editor to give advice on content is even more valuable.

Here are the steps to getting the most out of your editor:

1. Throw your ego out the window.

Once you’ve written ten bestsellers, then you can pooh-pooh your editor’s suggestions (however, if you’ll read some of these bestsellers later in the career of an “Author with a Big Ego,” you’ll find yourself asking, “Sheesh, didn’t this guy have an editor?” Yes! But he didn’t listen to his editor because Mr.-Fancy-Pants-Author-Who-Got-Too-Big-for-His-Britches thought he knew everything. He didn’t.

*Note: please feel free to appreciate my double pantaloons cliché.

An editor exists to strengthen “your baby,” not tell you that you’re fantastic. You have a wife or husband, and eventually a publicist, to do that.

2. Once you’ve picked yourself off the floor after reading the edits and suggestions, dust yourself off, embrace the revision process, and get to work.

Once you begin revising and/or incorporating your edits, you will find that ninety percent of the time, indeed, the changes are strengthening your work.

You’ll experience, “Damn, why didn’t I think of that” moments. The reason you didn’t? Because a fresh set of eyes is essential. You’re too close to the work to see the flaws and what is needed to take it to the next level.

3. Learn from the editor’s changes and suggestions.

Feel free to ask “why” and “how” so that you’ll be able to give your future manuscripts a stronger self-edit. You will learn from the edits, and in the next go-round, there won’t be as many. Keep in mind, however, that even the most prolific writer needs revision work . . . and the smart ones know and welcome it.

4. It’s okay to question your editor’s suggestions if you feel very strongly about something.

You can stick to your guns in certain instances, but pick your battles. Working with a freelancer, it’s your prerogative to ignore every piece of advice they give you (although a waste of money), but in the case of an editor at a publishing house—the one that bought your book—it’s not advisable to lock horns in combat over every change.

Why? For one, your relationship with your champion at the publishing house will sour. Two, if your editor is reputable (choose wisely, my friend), they probably know what they’re talking about and your manuscript will only get better. And three, no one likes a pain-in-the-ass writer who thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips.

The most amazing and successful authors I’ve ever worked with are those who accept revisions and edits (not blindly, but because they recognize the worth of the revisions) and then embrace the revision process.

***

If you find an editor and follow these steps, I can almost guarantee that your manuscript will be exponentially stronger after a round (or two or three) of revisions. Smart and successful writers embrace their editor and recognize them as both their cheerleader and partner in the process of making a book the absolute best it can be.

A smart author has to check their ego at the door, put faith in their editor, but still be strong enough to know when to pick their battles. Allow your editor to guide and help you to be the best writer you can be. Chances are, you’ll take “your baby” from good to great.

So, it's your turn. Have you had a good experience with an editor? Have you ever considered hiring one on your own?

About Erin

Erin Brown is a professional editor and has worked for almost a decade at several large New York publishing houses.

She began her publishing career at HarperCollins Publishers, where she worked in virtually every genre, including mystery, romance, literary fiction, women’s commercial fiction, and non-fiction. She was privileged to work with numerous bestselling authors including J.A. Jance, Bruce Feiler, Elizabeth Peters, Jerrilyn Farmer, Lawrence Block, Carolyn Hart, and Mary Daheim. She was also part of the fabulous St. Martin’s Press team as an editor with the Thomas Dunne Books imprint. There, she enjoyed acquiring fabulous debut novels and editing such bestselling authors as Carole Matthews, Madeleine Wickham (a.k.a. Sophie Kinsella), Homer Hickam, Robin Pilcher, and many more.

After almost a decade in New York City, Erin and her husband returned to their hometown of Austin, Texas, where Erin began a thriving freelance editorial business with her website www.erinedits.com. Although she often misses the chaotic hustle and bustle of Manhattan, she is now free to concentrate on what she loves the most: working directly with aspiring authors to get their work into the best shape possible before submitting to agents and houses.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dietpoison/79693940/">_ambrown</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>

Before we get to the awesome Shannon Donnelly, I wanted to be sure you all saw the winner of Tiffany Lawson Inman's critique: Angela Quarles!

By Shannon Donnelly

I just finished reading a story that had a major problem—no sparkage between the hero and heroine. Even worse, there was plenty of sparkage between the heroine and a secondary male character. I started rooting for her to get together with that guy, that that started me thinking about sparkage—where does it come from, and how do you get more of it on the page?

The problem with the story mentioned is that while the secondary male character was a jerk, he was a charming jerk. He admitted his flaws, which made him more likeable. He had a past, too, and was trying to do better, which made it easy to relate to him (don’t we all want to do better?). He also had problems that put him in big conflicts with the heroine. Finally, she also didn’t start to drool and fawn over him—they had sparkage going due to rubbing up against each other's personalities.

So here’s my take away for what I like to do to get sparkage. The things I go for are:

Personality conflicts. This goes beyond misunderstandings or mild differences of opinion, or even external conflict. I’m talking  base values that are in opposition—as in the Old Couple. They had sparkage due to one being a neat-freak and the other being a slob. Of course, to set up different values, I have to know their values to start with. It’s no good just having a hero, I’ve got to know his personality (and how it sparks against the heroine’s personality) and how this gives these two different approaches to life.

Flaws that rub. These can’t be random—her flaws have to hit his, and his need to hit hers. I want these two to realize very quickly that the other person does have flaws, and that those are deal-breaker issues. (Having them mirror each other is a great way to do this, too.) This can make for a couple that spark off each other like metal on flint.

The no-way Street. Immediate attraction is overdone these days and almost always comes across as weak. Yes, we’ve all seen someone who gets a second look. But that’s not sparkage—that’s going to end up being description. So attraction needs to be overlaid with a heavy dose of no-can-do (and I’m not just talking a character thinking about the other person being off-bounds, I want to show how these two cannot have a stable relationship at the start of the story. I want them on a 'no-way is this going to work' street so the reader wants to read how this is going to work (that’s the fun.)

Proximity. It’s really, really hard to get sparkage going if you have the hero and heroine in different locales. It’s like putting that flint and the metal in different drawers—the lack of interaction means a big lack in the story. But…here’s the trick—it can’t be contrived. I always want very good reasons for the characters to be together, and those reasons have to make it to the page.

Dialogue. The secondary character in the story I mentioned above had great lines (as did the heroine) due to their conflicting goals, and their personal issues. This made them a lot of fun for me, the reader—I started rooting for them to be together because they were fun together.  The hero also didn’t get to have those great lines since the heroine was tongue-tied around him, which made them a dull couple. Too often I see folks putting all the great lines into thoughts instead of letting the characters say the stuff we all want to say—hey, this is where you want to have more fun so the reader has fun with your characters. I always want my characters talking—a lot!

Awareness. A character’s awareness of another person doesn’t have to be so much them thinking about the sexiness of the other person, but more on the awareness that the other person is a “match” for them. I like the awareness to be on the “personality” more than the “person.” As in I try to make sure my characters don’t want to lose a single point to the other person. In the story I mentioned the heroine and the secondary character were on their best game—they were out to get something, and were willing to do whatever it took to get it. When a character’s awareness is focused on getting what they want (or getting the other character to do what they want) that’s going to make for sparkage.

What all this means is my goal is to set up romantic couples as if it really is impossible at the start of the story for them to have a relationship. Thier personality, desires, and everything else I can think of clashes. It’s not that they find the other person desirable—it should be the opposite, in fact. I want characters who are certain that the other person is the last one they want to get involved with—but the sparkage makes it irresistible not to go back and get the best of that other person. That, in my opinion, is what leads to the start of a beautiful friendship—and then more.

How about you? What do you use to make your characters spark?

Shannon Donnelly’s writing has won numerous awards, including a RITA nomination for Best Regency, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, RWA's Golden Heart, and others. Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully written."

Her Regency romances can be found as ebooks on all formats, and with Cool Gus Publishing, and include a series of four novellas.

She also has out the Mackenzie Solomon, Demon/Warders Urban Fantasy series, Burn Baby Burn and Riding in on a Burning Tire, and the Urban Fantasy, Edge Walkers. Her work has been on the top seller list of Amazon.com and includes Paths of Desire, a Historical Regency romance.

She is the author of several young adult horror stories, and computer games. She lives in New Mexico with two horses, two donkeys, two dogs, and only one love of her life. Shannon can be found online at sd-writer.com, facebook.com/sdwriter, and twitter/sdwriter.

Her Urban Fantasy, Burn Baby Burn, is free on Amazon.com from September 1 to the September 5.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverdragonfly/6262629758/">©SilverDgfly</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Just a quick reminder: Laura is teaching a class at Margie Lawson's Writers Academy for the month of September - Submissions that Sell!  If you need help on your submission, check it out!

Now, here's Lori!

By Lori Nelson Spielman

I typed The End and did a little happy dance in my office. I’d finished my manuscript and could hardly wait to query Agent X. How quickly would he sell it, I wondered? I’d been writing the entire story with him in mind. He had, after all, read my previous manuscript and liked it. He called me a talent. He invited me to submit future projects. So naturally, he’d scoop up my new project, right? Wrong.

Agent X’s rejection—an impersonal form letter from his assistant just one day after the query was sent—stopped me cold. The easy path to publication I’d hoped for was starting out exactly like my previous attempts—with rejection.

I knew landing an agent was a vital first step on the path to publication, and arguably the most difficult. I didn’t have friends in the industry. I didn’t have writing credentials. I was a teacher, not a journalist. What I had was a story I believed in. But was I willing to repeat the past, submitting query after query and collecting rejection letters? No, I wasn’t. This time, I had to do something different. But what?

After much deliberation, I decided to make an investment—a fairly hefty investment at that. I hired a professional editor.

I didn’t want anyone to know. Hiring an editor seemed like cheating to me. Shouldn’t a genuine writer be able to see her mistakes and fix them herself? Would it still be my story? And if the manuscript wasn’t already good enough to gain representation, then maybe I didn’t have the chops to be a writer.

I was afraid I’d be judged--the girl who had to attend remedial writing class. Can you imagine a teacher being expected to teach for free, sometimes for an entire school year, all the while being critiqued by a supervising teacher? Or a doctor, providing medical care under someone else’s supervision before venturing out on her own? What about a cook, offering free samples from his test kitchen before actually serving it to his patrons?

Um, well, yes, we can imagine these scenarios. Of course other professions require consultation and internships and residencies. Why should writers be any different?

Through the recommendation from a friend, I hired Erin Brown from Erinedits.com. Erin had worked as a women’s fiction editor at two major publishing houses, so she was a perfect fit for my manuscript.

Now, here’s the hard part…professional editing is expensive! Most editors have a variety of packages available, ranging from a complete manuscript evaluation and feedback, to simply a query letter and/or synopsis review and edit. A complete manuscript evaluation and feedback can cost upwards of $3,000! That’s right, not exactly chump change. And query and synopsis reviews are typically a couple hundred dollars each. So, whether it’s your last stop before publication, or you simply want to take your manuscript to the next level, it’s important to proceed cautiously when hiring a professional editor.

1. Unless money is no object, make sure you believe in your project whole-heartedly.
2. Ask other writers for referrals.
3. Scour editor websites. Make sure the site and the editor look professional. Does s/he belong to editor guilds or associations? Who are their other clients? Can you contact them?
4. Ask the editor for a sample edit, either one s/he has available, or a sample page or two of yours.
5. Check out the editor’s credentials. Does s/he have writing or publishing experience?
6. Look for an editor who specializes in your genre, if possible.
7. Ask about a payment plan.
8. Try negotiating a discount if you choose to purchase a combined package.

Since selling the book, I’m no longer embarrassed to admit that I used an editorial service. I’ve learned it’s actually quite common among published authors. Today, publishing houses expect a polished manuscript, not a work in progress. And so do agents. The onus is on the writer to find, and pay for, outside editing.

I have no way of knowing whether The Life List would have sold had I not invested in an editorial service, but I’ve never once second-guessed my decision. Having someone with expertise read my work, provide feedback and suggest changes was invaluable, and very likely made the difference between a pass and a purchase.

So, what do you think? Would you ever consider using an editorial service?

A former speech pathologist and guidance counselor, Lori Nelson Spielman currently works as a homebound teacher for inner-city students. Her debut novel, THE LIFE LIST, has sold in 16 countries and Fox 2000 has purchased the film option. Lori and her husband live in Michigan.