This week, I’m working with a client who is deep into the initial edit on their first completed book manuscript.
Lemme just pause for a moment to recognize their enormous accomplishment. They FINISHED THEIR BOOK! Cue the confetti and release the dancing dogs! That is huge!
Writing is one thing. But the edit is where the real work begins.
I know a lot of book writing coaches don’t teach their clients how to edit. They get the client to a finished first draft and then send them out into the publishing wilds, or connect them with a series of editors to bring the book into a publishable shape.
It’s easier that way.
I’m an odd peg. I actually enjoy editing — both my work and other people’s. I like taking the raw book marble and chipping away at it, then polishing it till it shines like a Twilight vampire in the sun.
I also enjoy teaching people to edit their own work.
Will their manuscript still need an editor? Yes.
Will learning the basics of self-editing help them become a better writer? Also yes.
Some things I have new authors look for when they exchange their creative writing hat for the editor’s chapeau:
Does Each Character Have a Voice?
Pay special attention how each character speaks. What attributes characterize each character’s voice? Is each voice distinctive and recognizable?
Is That How You’d Say It?
Read your pages out loud. Hearing the words lets you know if the sentence structure is correct. It also forces you to articulate any unfortunate jargon or business-speak that has crept into your manuscript. If you find yourself inadvertently “fixing” a sentence to make it flow better, rewrite to incorporate the fix so the words flow more naturally.
When Is This Happening?
If you start out writing in past tense (“I came. I saw. I conquered.”), stay in the past. Don’t flick back and forth between past and present (“She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.”) New authors routinely “time travel” in their writing. When editing, choose a tense and stay with it.
Does It Make Sense?
This is The Big One. Nevermind what you meant to say. The edit is the place to make certain your logic, reasoning, and explanations are clear. If a character’s motivation is contrived or muddy, it shows up here. Do you repeat yourself? Eliminate redundancies. Do you assume the reader knows something that’s not in the text. Now is the time to fix that.
The more you edit your own work, the better writer you will become.
When you’ve gotten the text to the point that any new edits will change it, but not necessarily improve it, then your job as editor is done!
In Other News
On Tuesday, I had the great pleasure of chatting with the fabulous Lucinda Halpern, of Lucinda Literary Agency*. I had a number of takeaways from our conversation, including:
Forget Query Tracker. Publishers Marketplace is THE resource for querying writers.
Forget those forms that send you directly to the agency slush pile. Agents never set eyes on their slush. PM gives you their direct emails. Use them.
Follow up. Follow up. Follow up.
If you have multiple projects, choose your favorite and go all in on that one when querying.
Don’t be willing to wait forever. Lucinda was appalled when I told her that I’d once had an agent request a full and then take over a year to respond to me. (I didn’t have the heart to tell her I had followed up, to no avail. Nor did I have the chutzpah to confess that I’ve had the whole year-long-manuscript-wait thing happen more than once. ::sigh::)
Comp titles are key. They need to be current and genuinely relevant. Bonus points if a comp title is a property the agent you’re querying represents.
I was 100% right to fire my last agent when they a.) encouraged us, as clients, to pitch our own things to publishers and then b.) refused to send out our materials when they were requested. [I knew this to be true, but confess, it was nice to have the validation.]
Thank you, Ms. Halpern, for the conversation. It was enlightening.
* Don’t read too much into this, Dear Reader. No, they are not offering representation. I have not even queried them, nor do I intend to in the near future. The depths of optimism required for querying ran dry after my last agented experience. But it behooves me to stay current in the world of Traditional Publishing if, for no other reason, than to be able to offer accurate guidance to my clients who want to test the waters. Also, Lucinda is certifiably awesome. Full stop.
Client Kudos
HUGE congratulations to Danielle Barnes and Christina Wodtke for the release of their exceptional book Present Yourself: Proven Strategies for Authentic and Impactful Public Speaking.
What a gorgeous book. Full color! Beautiful layout and design! Incredibly user-friendly! Danielle and Christina are phenomenally accomplished women. I am honored to have contributed in a small way to the marketing copywriting for this important project. A class act all the way. Highly recommend.
Recent Reads
I haven’t been reading as much lately as I usually do. (See above re: editing my client’s manuscript. All good things take time.) I confess: I’ve been bingewatching “Murdoch Mysteries” in my limited free time and enjoying the civility of visiting turn-of-the-20th century Toronto.
Besides, many of the books I *have* read are in manuscript format and not yet available for public consumption.
Nevertheless, I finished these two:
Get Signed by Lucinda Halpern. Did it contain any earth shattering information I didn’t know before reading it? No, it did not. However, it is always a good idea to revisit the core fundamentals of the industry from time to time. A recommended read to anyone considering diving into the query trenches. (Also, it’s bad form to have a signed copy of a book and not read it.) (Nonfiction)
Guards! Guards! My favorite Pratchett / Discworld book. I have no idea how many times I’ve read it. Yet every few years, I read it again. It’s my fiction comfort food. Its opening line: This is where the dragons went… never ceases to give me goose bumps. First published in 1989, his observation of human nature is so keen, he could easily have been satirizing events of today. (Fiction / Fantasy / Satire)
Stay Cool!
We’re on Day 4 of a week-long heat wave. Bleah. I spend most days wondering if I should bring the horses into the barn (which is hot) and park them in front of their fans, or leave them out in the pasture (which is hot) so they can enjoy what breeze there is. I have yet to come up with the right answer.
Since I post on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, my next scheduled post is for July 4. What’s your favorite way to celebrate Independence Day? Any special memories? Comment below and let me know. I’ll include them in my next post.
Till then: Stay cool and be well!
Fantastic reading your post Ami as always.
Congratulations to Danielle Barnes and Christina Wodtke on their book “Present Yourself” which I have to read.
Thanks for your continued help Ami!
Thanks, Robert, for your kind words.
Yes: "Present Yourself" is definitely worth the read!
(Now back to that client edit I mentioned... :D)