Tag: writing

If so, show

- Stacy

I’ve decided that this needs to be my new motto. It’s related to “show, don’t tell,” but it’s a specific variety of the problem.

A common problem I see in manuscripts (many, many manuscripts, not necessarily ones I’m working on now) is a “tell” later in the manuscript that ought to be developed more as a “show” earlier. A great example of this is the relationship between two or more characters. If two characters are close (or if they fight, or whatever), don’t just tell the reader at a crucial time several chapters in that they’re close–have them interact in-scene, showing that they’re close in how they relate to each other. Then those “tell” moments later will come naturally and have a lot more emotional impact, both on the characters themselves and upon the reader.

So remember: If so, show.

When do you need a freelance editor in the submission process? Or do you?

- Stacy 4 Comments

I recently updated my Critiques page. The more general question of when or if a writer needs a freelance editor feels like the overarching reasons for the changes that I made, so I thought I’d address them in a post. Bear in mind that this mostly addresses the editing of full manuscripts; submission packet critiques obviously are a different situation entirely, but the the principles of utilizing all the resources out there before submitting remains the same.

Sometimes I feel like writers are approaching me too early in the process. While I absolutely love to help new authors to succeed, I’m not sure if my paid services are the best way for me to help someone who can still benefit from the large number of free resources out there for writers. That’s why I keep this blog, after all–to help demystify publishing and to give advice where necessary (in addition to connecting with the children’s lit blogosphere and other personal reasons). Writing groups (consisting of trusted professionals, readers and writers whose feedback will fit the story you want to tell and the market you want to reach) can be a huge resource, as are blogs and Twitter streams of all the editors, agents, and authors out there (and there are a great number of them). The SCBWI is a huge resource both online (email listservs, the SCBWI website, and online writing groups–especially for people who aren’t physically near a good writing group locally) and in person (conferences, local chapter meetings, and writing groups).  Local colleges might have a class or two in children’s literature that you can take to improve your knowledge of the genre and to improve writing habits, editing skills, and butt-in-chair practice.

Once those resources have been exhausted, and you’ve done all you can do with your manuscript–you’ve revised it yourself, you’ve workshopped it with your writing group, you’ve had trusted alpha and beta readers (not your mom, spouse, or child unless you know they’ll give you solid feedback when something isn’t working) read it all at once rather than a chapter at a time like with a writing group, and between each stage, you’ve let it sit for a while, so that you can come back to it with fresh eyes yourself–that’s when a freelance editor comes in.

I freely admit my services aren’t always necessary, or even most of the time. The way that the market is currently contracting right now, I can be of most help to writers who have been submitting, but have been getting feedback from editors or agents saying that the book was good, but not great, or that they felt it needed more work that you feel would benefit from a professional editor’s opinion, after exhausting all those free or inexpensive options out there.

There have also been times when I’ve worked with writers who already have agents, whose agents are excited about the book but don’t feel it’s up to publishers’ demanding needs in this competitive acquisition market and want to be sure that the book is fully ready before sending it back to editors who expressed interest.

But the main thing I want to stress is that there are a lot of really great free resources out there to help you before you consider hiring an editor. Sure, it might seem like I’m probably shooting myself in the foot on getting paid work, but I think we’d both be able to benefit more from the experience if you felt like you were truly getting your money’s worth–and for that to happen, hopefully the tips here and on the critique page will help with that.

Once again, I’ll also emphasize that often I can tell in the first three chapters whether a book will garner my attention further and a number of major overall issues. Obviously, I can’t give you full feedback on plot development and characterization, etc., from three chapters, but I usually have  a good idea of whether a story is being set up in a way that will make me want to continue reading. My submission packet critique service, many authors have told me, have made a big difference in how they view the rest of their manuscript. So if you’re low on funds and want a professional’s opinion, that is a great way to get a feel for whether my services are right for you. (Note also that if after a three-chapter critique you decide you want me to work on the whole manuscript, that $50 fee from the first critique applies as a discount to the full manuscript.)

In a full manuscript, I get more into the nitty gritty of plot development–whether an ending is earned, whether more foreshadowing is needed, if certain scenes are necessary (and suggestions on possibilities for changes)–pacing, characterization, characters themselves (number of characters, whether certain characters are memorable enough or necessary, etc.), worldbuilding (in the case of genre fiction, this is essential), setting, and all those other things that come together to make a good book. So a freelance editor is definitely useful if you feel like your book just needs that extra something that only an informed, experienced professional opinion can give you.

But consider all your resources when considering a freelancer, so that you truly can know that it’s the right time in the life of your manuscript to get that extra help.

Interview

- Stacy

Cynthia Leitich Smith’s interview of me is up over at her LJ (and all the various mirrors of it). Thanks to Cynthia for the chance to tell her all about what I’m up to lately. Go check it out, and then if you don’t read her regularly, browse around. She interviews a lot of interesting people–authors, artists, agents, editors, other publishing people–and she’s always got the lowdown on what’s happening.

“Books to look for” page

- Stacy

I’m working on building a page of books that I recommend and that I’ve edited (which of course I also recommend!). So far, the page only has books that I’ve edited. I really love Indiebound‘s easy linking system–you look up the book, enter your affiliate number on the book’s page, and voila! A link (with cover art) is generated for you. Occasionally there’s no cover art on their site; I’ve had to do a little tweaking for the first book of Hallowmere and a random Dragon Codex, but it’s pretty easy to edit the html for that.

I need to do a little research, though, because I’d love a widget for my sidebars that generated a random recommended book (i.e., a book from a list of predetermined books) every time a page was loaded. Wouldn’t work on LJ, I suppose (though the html link is quite nice for that), but it would be great for my new site. Last I heard, they haven’t gotten widgets yet, but hopefully they will soon.

I will also have a real page today covering all the basics of my community classes with links and directions. Remember, you need to register prior to the class.

Community class and new ad

- Stacy

My sister was once an ad designer, and she has been helping me out in the last couple of weeks to design an ad for my critique services, which I’ll be placing in SCBWI newsletters. Check it out–pretty!

critique-ad-cropped

You’re always welcome to pass on the word that I do critiques to writers you know who may find it useful. The $30 an hour manuscript critique special is still on until March 11.

Community class: Writing SFF for children and young adults

Provo Library
Provo, Utah
Rm. 308 (Young-Card room)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
1-4 pm

It’s the first of what I hope will be several seminars, and if this one goes well I will probably be doing similar seminars in other local communities.

In the class we’ll talk about:

  • What an editor looks for
  • The importance of submission guidelines
  • How to write a killer first chapter so the editor can’t help but keep reading
  • Powerful prose for middle grade readers
  • Crafting a story teens won’t be able to put down
  • Writing within a speculative fiction genre
  • Current trends

To register, email me with your name, email address, and phone number, and the answer to this question: “What would you most like to learn at this seminar?” (This allows me to tailor the seminar to the needs of those who register.)

At the same time, I’ll need you to send the registration fee via Paypal ($40 for an individual registration, or $30 per person for groups of five or more) to the email stacylwhitman AT gmail.com.

Once I receive both the registration fee and your registration information email, I will confirm registration via email.

Come to class with the first chapter of your work in progress.

Also, be sure to ask me about critique discounts for registered seminar attendees.

The politics of names–on naming characters

- Stacy

As I’ve been trying to come up with a name for a particular character in my book–one who comes from a very particular culture considered to be low-class and uneducated–I’ve been pondering on the politics of naming our characters, and how that ties into our own personal experience with people from particular SESs.

It makes me wonder: as you consider names for characters, do you take into consideration the names of people you have known–marginally or closely–or real-life figures and look for names that give you the same feel of SES (socioeconomic status), or do you pull names out of a hat and they stick?

A friend recently linked to the Social Security Administration’s baby names site, which I’ve found very useful in finding out what names were popular in a given generation, and I also tend to use names from my family history if they feel right, but that only works for me for characters I like. What about the antagonist? How do you go about naming your antagonists? How do you find the name that has the right feel in class for
a character who is of a lower SES compared to an upper SES?

I’m not sure I’m communicating this. Let’s try some specifics. It’s like the difference in naming Buffy vs. Faith. "Faith" the name is more commonplace–and Faith the character comes from a commonplace, much more lower-class background than Buffy does. "Buffy" makes you think (most likely) "rich, privileged white girl." But "Faith" doesn’t make you think "white trash" or anything–it’s just a normal name that doesn’t imply any particular status. It’s a much more politically neutral name. The children of movie and rock stars tend to have much more esoteric names than those of their less-privileged peers (Apple, Dweezil, River, etc.). One could probably make a case that naming conventions in black families can sometimes be more creative in spelling than those in white families–but it would probably depend upon location and, once again, SES. Heaven knows there are plenty of white people in Utah who have been just as creative in their made-up names, usually involving adding the syllable "La" to the beginning of a name or by smashing two names together.

So say you have a very stereotypical stepmother character, but you don’t want to call attention to the fact that she’s probably going to reflect a stereotype. (This may change in revision, but for now, that’s what is working for the story–she’s not a main character.) How would you go about naming her? There are so many possibilities, yet I don’t want to choose the name of anyone I have ever known for fear of offending them by the political ramifications of what that may appear to say about their names. Ideas?

And then there’s the writing end of things…

- Stacy

James Owen just pointed me in the direction of his post from a few days ago, A Career as a Novelist–In Layman’s Terms, a metaphor which those of you who are still in the throes of writing your first book will sympathize with–and those of you with published books will probably have experience with in the way James does. I read it in quick passing and was nodding the whole way through, and in taking a second look I thought perhaps others might nod as much as me. And if you aren’t nodding from prior knowledge, let this be a lesson: writing is work. Getting that writing contracted to be published is more work. And then, you have an editor that you work with
(muahahaha), and then there’s the work of marketing. It’s almost like, I dunno, a real job.

And of course, thinking of the whole process in terms of The Fellowship of the Ring makes it even more interesting. 🙂

Also related, over at , Seanan McGuire discusses the timeline of a book–which involves a lot of work, and a lot of waiting. Great reading.

And these are the *college* students

- Stacy

My cousin just shared a link with me that I had to pass on–a professor who has been collecting the worst of the worst sentences from his students.

• “The person was an innocent by standard, who just happened to be the victim of your friend’s careless responsibility.”
• “Society has moved toward cereal killers.”
• “Romeo and Juliet exchanged their vowels.”
• “Willie Loman put Biff on a petal stool.”
• “Another effect of smoking is it may give you cancer of the thought.”
• “The children of lesbian couples receive as much neutering as those of other couples." Or, when asked to use the past tense of “fly” in a sentence: “I flought to Chicago.”

And my favorites:
“People who murder a lot of people are called masked murderers.”
Some of this feels like masked murder of the English language — such as the student who explained in a note, “I was absent on Monday because I was stopped on the Beltway for erotic driving.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

- Stacy

It’s days like this that I miss living in Chicago, where they dye the river green in celebration. (Also, notice the white clock tower on the far left in the background? That’s one tower of the Wrigley Building, which I used to work in. It’s like stepping back in time in that building.

But last night my roommate and I watched Waking Ned Devine (me for the first time, she for the umpteenth time) and it was definitely a good substitute. Hilarious. I think all my favorite movies have quirky old men in them–for example, Return to Me is a favorite probably because of those funny old men.

So, let’s talk about quirky characters in storytelling, especially in books for children and young adults. How can a quirky character, perhaps an older person like in the two movies I just linked, bring life to a story while still being a story about the child character?

I can think of two main examples which show what I’m trying to talk about–Holes and A Long Way from Chicago. Let’s start with A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck. This is actually one of my favorite books, and I’ll tell you it has nothing to do with the narrator. A Long Way from Chicago is one of the best examples I can think of where the character you most connect to isn’t a child. While the narrator Joey is a child, and the story is seen through his eyes (and in the sequel A Year Down Yonder, his sister Mary Alice’s), Grandma Dowdel is the most interesting person and she’s the cause of all their adventures.

In Holes, the story of Kissin’ Kate, while not about an elderly person, is a story set in another time-
–and a story that is also integral to Stanley’s journey, though we don’t know how until much later in the story.

Waking Ned Divine doesn’t really fit in this category of older people helping drive the story of the younger—Jackie is the instigator and main character all along—but it did make me think of how often in children’s literature we focus on the child to the exclusion of older adults. It’s important to get the kids away from the parents, for example, to help them have autonomy enough to do whatever the story requires. Don’t get me wrong—I love this plot device, and I know that kids love it. But I do think that there’s a place for amazing stories that include older people and people of previous generations, and that those two books are perfect examples of how that can be done while preserving a narrator that the child reader will identify with.

You have to admit: Grandma Dowdle rocks. That’s one hilarious story, and not just because she reminds me of both my grandmas and my great-grandma, with a shotgun thrown in.

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On self publishing vs. trade publishing

- Stacy

I’ve had conversations with a few friends outside the publishing industry lately who tell me that they think self publishing is the way to go for their fiction. They’ve got a lot of reasons for it, but the one that stands out is that they think they can make more money by self-publishing, because writers make so little per book that unless you’re a hit, publishers don’t pay any attention to you and you’d be better off hiring a PR firm to market your book.

There are so many things I’d like to dispute in this thinking about the industry, not least of which that you only get PR attention if your book is already big (not true). While self publishing can be quite successful for very particular purposes–for example, independent comic artists tend to do better by self publishing (see my friend Howard at Schlock Mercenary for a great example)–and it can definitely serve writers who only have a limited audience in mind–as a family historian, I can tell you I’m looking forward to using LuLu or a similar service for several personal projects for which the only audience would be my family, and I know one friend who wrote a picturebook for her daughter and wanted to have it published in time for the daughter to be able to enjoy it, and felt that any other sales she might get would be a bonus–in general, for fiction, self-publishing is a sure way to ensure you spend a lot of money and that few people will ever see your book.

If you’re okay with that and have money to spare, go for it. But if you want your book to sell to a wide audience, especially if you’d like to make a living at your writing, self-publishing is definitely not the way to go, even if you know someone at a PR firm who would do some google-bombing and social networking for you. There are some very few exceptions—very few. Out of the several thousand self-published books every year, about 5, tops, break out enough to actually make a profit for the writer and/or get picked up by a trade publisher, and few more are actually well-written*. That’s not really very good odds, especially if the author is paying out of pocket for the PR and marketing.

Let’s break it down and talk about why this is. I’m pretty sure the majority of my readers will have heard this kind of thing before, especially if they frequent blogs like Writer Beware. But let’s assume a lack of basic knowledge of publishing for this post, because that’s where these friends, most of whom fall into the ‘would like to write someday” category, are coming from.

What’s in it for me?

Such prospective writers might think that a publisher is just plain greedy and is hogging all the money to themselves. Why not just get a bigger piece of the pie by publishing the book themselves—then even if it’s just a little bit more money, they’d still be making a better margin than the small percentage an author makes in a deal with a publishing house.

But there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes on at a publisher that a writer might not be aware of until he or she starts talking to people already in the industry, going to conventions and conferences, and just in general learning what it takes to get that lovely story from manuscript to beautiful, hardcover or paperback, finished book on a bookstore shelf.

What a good publisher contributes so that you don’t have to

While I agree that what most authors make per book can be harsh, that’s the reality of the book business. Most publishers don’t make that much, either–overhead of editors, art directors, and designers (and don’t discount the importance of a good editor, let alone somebody to make the book actually look good) takes up a small chunk, and then there’s the illustrator or photographer for the cover, and then there’s the overhead of production staff (typesetters, prepress staff), and then there’s the cost of printing the book–the price of which goes up all the time, due to the cost of freight, paper, etc.–and that all depends on the length of the run. Smaller runs (for example, self-published runs, which rarely go higher than 2000 books) are usually exorbitant because the cost per unit is smaller with increasing volume.

And don’t underestimate the contribution of a talented editor and design/art team to making your book more marketable and enjoyable. (Don’t get me started on the so-called “editing” of a vanity press. And the horror that is the covers and interior design of most self-published books… *shudder*) Few authors are able to bring forth a manuscript that needs no editing whatsoever—writing groups can be helpful, but the partnership with an editor who knows the particular market is an entirely different thing. It is an editor’s job to take that manuscript and shape it, mold it into the best story you have ever told. We’ve been trained in education and job experience to know what the market needs and to help you perfect your style and all those other things that a second pair of eyes can do. The different perspective of a like-minded professional makes such a difference, and it’s one that pretty much no self-published book I’ve ever seen benefits from.

Young readers especially are not even going to bother to pick up a book if it’s not packaged well. That means quality binding, beautiful artwork, nice finishes on the paper, clean and beautiful interior design, perhaps interior artwork. Who will illustrate your cover for you? Who will buy the fonts and design them? Do you really have either the money to hire an illustrator or photographer and know how to negotiate a contract for that, or the ability to illustrate or photograph and design your own cover? Do you own InDesign or QuarkXpress and can you make your book look as beautiful as the books on the shelves of the bookstores?

We’re living in a golden age of children’s and YA literature, and if a book’s cover doesn’t measure up, few kids will pick it up to know whether it’s worth reading or not.

So here’s our list so far:

  • editor
  • copyeditor
  • proofreader
  • illustrator (dust jacket, interior art)
  • designer/typesetters
  • art director
  • prepress staff (prepare book for printer, get quotes from printer, and other business-related liaising with printer)

Add to that other behind-the-scenes staff that you might not think of right away. How do you get a book listed in the Library of Congress? Most publishers have someone who submits the book for cataloging in publishing data. Did you know that the Library of Congress will not catalog self-published books?

And what about legal protection? If you self-publish, you will be the one legally responsible for what’s in your book. The legal team at a publisher usually reviews books as they head out to press to be sure that copyright and other legal information is correct, that contracts are in order, and all sorts of things that I can’t even begin to list because even I don’t know them all—but I do know that our legal team is always working hard and helping to make sure that all the legal details are considered. A contract between the author and publisher affords the author some legal protections—not a lack of responsibility, obviously, but it’s a partnership.

So we can add to the list:

  • legal/contracts
  • Library of Congress

But wait! There’s more!

Just the fact that the book can get printed by a printer who has access to higher-end paper, cover paper with nice glosses and varnishes and foil—these are things that few who self-publish could afford. When it’s right for a book, a trade publisher is more able to fit these kinds of things into the budget (not always of course—there are always sacrifices that have to be made—but it’s definitely more in the realm of possibility).

  • better printing

The publisher’s connections

Now let’s take this book out of the printer and off to the market—to the influencers. While the marketing and PR budgets for a publisher vary greatly depending on the book, they’ve got the force of a whole catalog list behind them, not to mention the publisher name, sales force contacts with each and every bookstore in the nation, especially the ability to get it into the chains, which have one buyer they have to convince for a whole network of bookstores.

If you’re self-publishing, it’s pretty rare to get your book into a bookstore unless you have connections at a local independent, and getting a self-published book into the chains is nigh on impossible unless you’re Christopher Paolini or one of the other five breakouts I referred to above. Few bookstore buyers want to deal with self-published books because they don’t give a discount like the big publishers will and won’t take returns.

That doesn’t even get into the review side of things, which are tough all over, too. Google-bombing and social network sites only do so much–you have to have a quality site to link to, which requires money to build, and you have to have people running that site with content. Perhaps this is where a PR firm might come in handy, but from my experience, you’d rather have your PR firm getting you in local media, getting interviews with your local radio stations and with bloggers in your field, getting press releases out to widely-read news outlets, and most importantly, getting your book the attention of the trade press such as PW or Kirkus, in either reviews or articles (as it applies). Few reviewers will review self-published books—and that includes bloggers with any kind of influence. Your PR is the way you reach booksellers, librarians, teachers, parents–all those gatekeepers that are between the publisher and the book. A good PR firm knows what influences each of these parties in their different ways, because each has particular needs and agendas.

  • marketing team
  • sales team
  • PR team

Granted, a lot of this kind of publicity is harder to get for a midlist author nowadays, but authors who are willing to work with their trade publishers at publicity will find that they don’t have to do it all. Authors need to get involved in the publicity of their books through reaching out to their community—school visits, library activities, local bookstore signings, throwing a launch party, talking to your local paper, etc. (I’ll have to do a post on author promotional tools sometime!)—and should be willing to attend conventions and conferences. This kind of grassroots publicity will then be a support to whatever marketing and publicity a publisher is able to give, and the author doesn’t end up having to do her job plus the job of a whole team of professionals. They can work in concert with each other, supporting each other’s efforts.

The market

One argument I’ve heard is that an author might be more successful in a niche market with a targeted web site than having a bookstore presence. While this may be true if you already have a built-in following (see my webcomic example), for most authors if you’re not already a household name to at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands, of people, then it’s a pretty hard sell.

Few people buy fiction through websites other than the standard bookselling ones. From what I understand, Amazon itself only accounts for 5% of the bookselling market. Those booklovers who do buy from Amazon tend to buy in large quantities, but those quantities usually consist of books they’ve looked at in a brick and mortar store or the library, and/or read reviews of in reputable review outlets. And as we already discussed, it’s very, very hard to get a self-published book reviewed by a reputable outlet. With something in the neighborhood of 2000-5000 children’s books published by publishing companies every year (I’m not sure of the exact number, as it fluctuates), it’s hard enough to get those reviewed, let alone the self-published books. Many reviewers won’t even review original paperbacks but even if they do, they often draw the line at self-published works.

Beware scam artists

If none of this daunts you and you’re thinking of self publishing, then you need to be extra cautious. Check out Preditors and Editors, Writer Beware, and the Writer Beware blog to ensure you’re not sucked into a scam vanity publisher.

What it costs

All of this costs money, capital that most authors don’t (and shouldn’t have to) possess. That is the strength of a traditional publisher

Have you ever seen a P&L for a publisher? That’s mostly a rhetorical question, since most are proprietary. What it comes down to is this: given the cost of all those services I listed above, and add in the author’s royalty, compare that to the list price, expected sales, and however many returns and discounts a publisher might be giving to a bookseller, and what you come out with are margins that are *extremely* low.

None of us are in it for the money, and there are definite market advantages to what a real publisher offers.

*And believe me, I see a lot of the other kind in my slush pile. (DO NOT think that self-publishing will get you the attention of a real publisher. In fact, it will ensure that book will never see the light of day from a regular publisher in most cases except for the very rare exceptions.)

Also, one reader asks:

No doubt you don’t need anyone to tell you this, but I wish SP folks realized that the places to advertise their book are not 1) editors–since if it’s already published they don’t need an editor (see Editorial Anonymous), 2) agents, since you can’t rep a book that’s already been published, and 3) boards for writers to discuss craft and traditional publishing. SP is not for me, but maybe a few pointers on where it IS appropriate to plaster your ads would be helpful to those who want to do it?

This is a very good question. Anyone want to tackle this in the comments? I’d say stay out of my inbox, stay off my Myspace, and please don’t market to me as an editor, period. I don’t want to see previously published stuff in my slush pile because I can’t publish previously published work.

I do think that especially if you’re writing science fiction and fantasy, you should be going to as many fan conventions as possible to market to actual readers. Sometimes school visits work. I know that Eragon did so well because his family packed up a van and traveled across the country selling it–I don’t know where. Was it at flea markets? Something like that–someone correct me, as I don’t have time to google it. Whatever it was, they did a great job and it ended up being successful for them. But just know that it’s going to be a big, uphill battle if you go the self-publishing route, and that when you act as your own publisher, you’re going to have to fill all the roles of the people I listed above, or hire them out yourself. That’s a lot to juggle, and for most people, they’d rather just be in charge of their writing, period. They’re willing to do the self promotion because it’s a necessary evil in this market–and because it connects them with readers.