Guest Post: An Editing Process of My Own

I'm very fortunate today to share this guest post by long time friend, critique-partner and editor, Suzi Wieland. I met Suzi through blogging about nine years ago and was lucky enough that she's stuck around to help, encourage and inspire me. She does fabulous line and copy edits and has a great sense of humor that comes out in her editing comments. It's always fun to see what she has to say when I get edits back from her. Without further ado, here is Suzi!

Trying to Figure Out How to Edit

I started writing in 2010. It seems so long ago, and I’ve learned a lot, but I still feel like I’m learning. A while back I realized that not only do I love writing, but I love editing. Except not editing my own work. I like editing other peoples’ stories, and a couple years ago I started working with some great women at CookieLynn Publishing, where I do line and copy editing.

Beta reading and freelance editing has helped my own writing so much, but it still feels overwhelming at times. But now, eight long years into this writing thing, I’m finally starting to feel like I’m figuring out my own editing process.

I can write fast and I don’t edit as I go, but that means my editing takes longer. In the past I’ve spent so much time editing, with no rhyme or reason. I read through it and revised. Read through again and revised. Repeat, repeat, repeat... with no order or nothing specific I’m editing for. I just do everything at every step. I don’t want to spend that much time editing anymore, and I want to streamline things and be more efficient. Everybody needs to figure out what works for them, but this is how I’ve been doing it lately.

After finishing writing, I’ll probably hand it off to a beta reader, and I won’t look at it again until the reader gives it back. I think it’s important to put a bit of space between you and your manuscript before diving into editing again, give it some fresh eyes.

So once the beta reader returns the story, I’ll do my first revision, including adding things like more description and emotion, which I sometimes lack. I’ll make sure all my plot issues are worked out and add more if my characters aren’t fleshed out enough. I’ll hit those big story things.

Then I’ll print the manuscript out and edit it on paper, including looking for redundancies, where I need to show instead of tell, and where I need to further develop (or cut) scenes. After I’ve made those changes, I’ll do a big search and destroy of all those unnecessary words (like JUST and REALLY and THAT and so many more) and I’ll find those filter words (like KNEW and FELT and others). I have a big list of things I need to look at, so this is where I’ll check those things off my list.

The next step is to read it on an e-reader, which I do out loud. Reading the story aloud really helps me catch stupid typos and those things that just don’t flow right. So this revision step is about how it sounds out loud but also the grammar and punctuation.

If it’s a story I’m self-publishing, my next step is to do my paperback on CreateSpace and get a proof copy, which I’ll read through again. From that I’ll format my ebook for publication, which would be my final read-through.

It seems like a lot of steps, but at least I have an order to doing things and I feel more confident about the process. This strategy is still new to me, so I will probably be adjusting as I go, but having a plan is much more efficient way to edit.

Do you have a certain editing process that you follow? Or is it an endless stream of revisions with no point, like I used to do? Also, do you like to edit your own work or is it a necessary step to publication that you hate?

Suzi has been writing since 2010 and just recently published a horror novella called Shallow Depths. She is currently working on adult thriller and horror projects, but has many contemporary young adult stories she might publish someday too. In her non-writing time, she works as an editor for CookieLynn Publishing and mostly chases after her kids and dog.

Funny Friday Photos: Appalled Cats

Happy Friday!

I hope you all had an awesome week!

My week started with deciding to be a stay-at-home mom/wife/writer for a while, unless the perfect job shows up. Maybe something like this one:

I could definitely roar and rapidly claw at people in angry velociraptor style for $15 an hour.

The thing about staying at home and pretending to be a successful writer is that I won't have a paycheck coming in. I've been working since I was fifteen years old, so it feels very weird to not be able to count on my own paycheck.

I will admit, though, I'm loving writing for several hours each morning. I've figured out a solution to some structural issues at the first part of Through the Fairy Ring. I've reverse-outlined about the first quarter of the story. Hopefully there won't be the need for more structural overhaul, and the rest of the outlining will go more quickly.Then I can go back and start rewriting. I get to pretend to be a successful writer for as long as my savings holds out, so I am going to start pinching pennies to get as much time as possible!

We didn't really have a winner for funniest photo last week, so we'll get right to the new ones.

And lately my phone battery dies really fast.

I'd say Irvine wins.

Also known as the WTF face.

The optimistic elevator.

Now I'm going to have to check out our library to see if we have any rude books.

Puns!

Am I the only one who has thought this every time they hear a dog is a Whippet?

My favorite today is the appalled cat.

What was your favorite?

Have a great weekend!

Funny Photo Friday

What a whirlwind week it's been.  I swear it was just Monday.  It's always nice to make a painless slide into the weekend.

I've been editing Finding Meara in the evenings...again.  There is a lot to consider now that I've decided to self-publish, and a lot to read.  It's a whole new world.  I think the steep learning curve and expanded task list is part of the reason this week has flown by.

Anyway, let's move on to the photos! 

This is what my hair looks like around mid-winter.

There are some emoticats who resemble these expressions...

Snagged, right out of the air!

Dog torture.

I've been meeting a lot of people lately that make me feel like this.

Nothing I can say...

What have you been up to this week?  Which photo is your favorite?  I personally think the Cat News is hilarious!

Special Edition: Why I've Decided to Self-Publish

Photo Courtesy of Freedigitalphoto.net

Let me start by saying it's not because I don't think I'll ever get an agent or a publisher.  I haven't thrown in the towel of traditional publishing because I believe I will fail at the process.  I queried Finding Meara approximately four months and received eight rejections. Because all but one of the queries were just the query letter, I feel like my query was rejected, rather than my story or my abilities.  Obviously I didn't query long enough to feel like my story is a lost cause and I should slink off with my tail between my legs.

In that four months of querying, I did learn some things about myself, though.

Quick backstory.  If you remember several months ago I wrote a post about what writing is to me.  What I didn't relate in that post is how I realized that writing was not going to be the replacement career I'd been hoping it would be.  I understood that, even if I did become traditionally published, the likelihood of sales ginormous enough to quit my job was pretty slim.

Another epiphany is that Finding Meara is incredibly hard to define.  It's not because it doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up, but it's because I tend to write unusual, genre mixed stories. I've had feedback on a couple of different short stories where the editors asked me what exactly the story was. Is it romantic comedy? Horror? Thriller?  When I pitched to Lou Anders at the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference last April, I believe he requested my manuscript solely because he wanted to see what a novel described as Janet Evanovich meets Roger Zelazny looked like.  He cushioned me for the rejection he knew would occur before my pitch session was over because he knew it wouldn't be something Pyr could publish.  I've been told by editors my stories are well-written, enjoyable and intriguing.  In traditional publishing today, that's not enough.

Finally, I have never been thrilled with the idea of having an agent, but because I wanted to try traditional publishing I bit the bullet and started drafting a query letter.  Initially I viewed it as a challenge.  Then the new wore off and I started really resenting the process.  I don't want to be nasty, so I won't tell you all the unkind thoughts I had about writing a query letter, sending the query letter, and then getting rejected off of the crappy query letter I'd written.

Because I was now dialed into different agents and their websites/twitter feeds, I became increasingly disillusioned with how many of them treated aspiring authors.  The attitude of superiority many of them appear to have left me with a nasty attitude of my own. I know there are lots of wonderful agents out there, but I seemed to be finding the not so nice ones.  The only exception is Russell Galen, who is known as the kindest agent in the business for a reason.

Last Wednesday I was watching the twitter feed of a small press editor I had sent FM to in July.  He was tweeting, not so kindly, about the queries he was reading.  There were two Urban Fantasy queries he mentioned, either of which very well could have been FM.  He was dismissive, obnoxious and entitled.  He didn't even care that he was publicly humiliating people who had tried very hard to "get it right."  It was the proverbial last straw.

When my husband came home, I told him I wanted to self-publish.  He's actually been pushing me to self-publish since I started writing short stories. I kept holding off because my personality wants that outside approval of the "experts."  I have changed my mind.

Photo Courtesy of Freedigitalphoto.net

Instead of sending my story to people who want to find a reason to hate it, I want to get my story out in front of people who want to find a reason to like it.

I wanted a traditional publisher to help me make my story the best it can be.  Now I will hire people to help me make the book the best it can be.  It feels really nice to have my future back in my hands, instead of waiting for someone to notice me.

Yes, I know it's possible I won't sell any copies.  I know the statistics for how many books are self-published a month.  I know how hard it is to get noticed in the sea of self-published books.  I know all the bad stuff about self-publishing.

But, I have to tell you, for the first time in five months I'm excited about writing again.  My story--which I really think is a good one--has the chance to be seen and enjoyed by people again.  I don't feel like I'm locked in a hole where I can't seem to find the key to open the door to get out.  Because that's how I've felt the last five months--like what I write, blog, tweet...none of it mattered because no one was going to see my stories, anyway.

And I write stories for people to enjoy.  I really do.  I've never understood people who say they write for themselves.


Besides that, I also had an epiphany regarding the fact I'm going to be fifty in nine years.  I don't have a lot of time to waste, first with trying to find an agent, next a publisher and then to get the darn thing out.  In nine years I could be sitting with nothing if I wait for traditional publishing to take a chance on me.  Or, if I keep a budget of $500 dollars, and sell ten books a year at a $4.99 price point, I might have made back my investment.

So, I'm entering the ranks of those who self-publish.  I know it's not the choice for everyone, but I am very confident it's the best choice for me.

Have you ever considered self-publishing?  If you have self-published before, do you have any tips or suggestions to share?  Anyone know of a good line editor who isn't insanely expensive?

 

Acting Like a Writer



The way my head feels right now.  Photo by Freedigitalphoto



I totally forgot to do a blog post for today.  I remembered yesterday morning, when the power went out for two hours.  I remembered Sunday night when I was up until one o’clock, editing.  I just forgot yesterday, when I could enter a post.

Yes, it was the editing again.  I wanted to finish the third draft yesterday, and when the power went out, I fell behind.  Once the power came back on, all I thought about was getting the d%*n thing done.  Twelve o’clock rolled around, I finally finished editing (Yay!) and I realized I didn’t have a post to schedule. I also realized I needed to go to bed so I could get up at and go to work this morning.

All that backstory comes down to a desperate need to get something together.  I’m writing this at work.  Shhhh – don’t tell anyone.  Since editing has been the only thing on my mind for the last month and a half, I’ll talk a bit about it, and then let you go, if you’ve made it through my rambling beginning!

I’m not going to talk about the mechanics of editing, since so many of you have been there before and can run circles around me with your processes.  No, it’s the completion of my editing that I thought about yesterday.

I can not believe I have finished my second and third drafts in a month and a half.  For the last two years I have bemoaned the fact that I go to work, and have kids, and how the heck can I compete with people who write for a living.  I’ve complained that I am a slow writer, and it takes me forever to write even 500 words.  I’ve felt pleased when I write for half-an-hour without interruption.  I guess I’m pretty whiney, when it comes down to it.

And then I finished my second and third drafts in a month and a half.  I carved out two hours a day to write.  While I did the minimum on the rest of my goals and responsibilities, I disproved all my whininess.

I sat down, figured out what it took to get my stuff together, and then did it.  I acted like a writer.

Did I have support.  You bet – and I am so grateful to Kelley for double checking that I actually made sense in the manuscript, my husband for being wonderfully supportive, and my Mom for watching my kids an extra day on the weekends so I could focus on getting my manuscript finished.

Would I want to do this all the time?  No!  My house is a wreck.  My kids are celebrating that they’ll get their mom back tonight. (I still have some things to tweak, but I plan on doing it all after they go to bed.)  I’ve gained three pounds.  My husband is thrilled he can concentrate on his classwork again.  My social media time came to a standstill, and my comments and page views show it.  I’m excited I might get to go to bed at ten o’clock again.

But now I know.  I won’t be able to whine anymore.  I’m a writer. I just have to act like it.

Have you ever surprised yourself with your accomplishments?  What lessons have you learned that help you be a successful writer.

Know the Difference Between Writing & Editing by Leigh Covington

We continue on with Guest Post May by welcoming Leigh Covington to Motivation for Creation.  Leigh is known to be one of the most supportive bloggers on the web by pretty much everyone who knows her.  She has a great sense of humor, which often finds its way into her blog posts.  She also is an inspiration and her blog, Leigh Covington, is one that I make sure to read every post.

I am so happy to have Leigh over to guest post, because I know we’re in for a treat!  Take it away, Leigh!

Hey Lara! Let me just begin by saying, “Thanks!” I’m so excited to be here today and I appreciate the opportunity to share on your blog! You’re awesome, girl!

For those of you who know me, you know that I like to keep my posts short and sweet. I will try to stick with that today!

At first I was so discouraged as to what to write about, but while I was at my latest conference, something hit me and I knew that’s what I wanted to post about. It’s simple really, but there are a few points I want you to think of.

(Bits of this are taken from Kevin J. Anderson’s talk on 11 Tips to Increase Your Writing Productivity.)

Know the Difference Between Writing & Editing

Or better said… Know when to write and when to edit! Okay, we all talk about wanting to shut off our inner editor, but guess what? It really does delay the process. Anderson has written over 50 books! I think he knows what he’s talking about so I think it’s important to listen to what he has to say.

Here are a few points that he made.

1.       You’re using different parts of your brain!

Yeah, we use one part to write and another to edit. Why complicate thing by switching back and forth?

2.      Use your writing momentum!

This totally makes sense, right? Don’t slow down when you’re on a roll. Don’t move back while you’re moving forward! Kevin J. Anderson

While he was talking about this… something from the movie, Finding Forrester came to mind. It’s short and awesome to watch, so take a second to check it out. I promise you won’t regret it!

This is one of my favorite parts of the whole movie! But listen…

“You write the first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head.”

Doesn’t that make sense to you? It does to me. I don’t think we should slow the momentum of our writing because that is what’s coming from our heart. Let your brain work out the details later.

I think you’ll find you like your stories better and you’re getting more accomplished!

Thanks again Lara! And thanks everyone for checking this out.

What is your opinion on this? Agree or disagree?

To get more of Leigh, hop on over to her blog, or follower her on twitter at @LeighCovington.