THE EDIT

  At ATTMP, the process listed below is quite similar, some books requiring more of certain stages than others. No two edits are alike, but the process is somewhat the same.

 The Editorial Process

by Steve Laube
 http://stevelaube.com/the-editorial-process/


It is important to understand the process through which a book takes under the umbrella called “The Edit.” I meet many first timers who think it is just a one-time pass over their words and that is all that will ever happen. And many who self-publish think that hiring a high school English teacher to check for grammar is enough of an edit.
There are four major stages to the Editorial Process. Unfortunately they are called by various names depending on which publisher you are working with, which can create confusion. I will try to list the various terms but keep them under the four categories.
Rewrites / Revisions/Substantive Edit
These can happen multiple times. You could get input from your agent or an editor who suggests you rewrite or revise those sample chapters of the full manuscript. Last year I suggested that one of my non-fiction clients cut the book in half and change its focus. We sold this first time author. But the writer had to do a lot of work to get it ready for the proposal stage.
There are some publishers that will do this stage after a book has already been contracted because they saw the potential in the proposal. And note that this stage isn’t always necessary. It all depends on the quality of that final draft you turned in to your publisher. Few get it perfect the first time.
Line Edit / Substantive Edit/Content Edit
Already you can see a descriptive term repeated. This stage is where the editor, usually a senior editor, or an editor is hired by the publisher to look at the book closely. This stage can morph into a rewrite (see above) if there are substantive changes. In some ways it is like a mechanic pulling apart an engine and inspecting the parts, and then putting it all back together again.
Sometimes this stage is very light sometimes it can feel heavy handed. Neither is wrong. Trust the editor to have the desire to make your book better.
Remember that this stage can be a form of negotiation. Ultimately it is your name on the finished book. An editor should not dictate but should facilitate. It is ultimately a partnership. And if you find that perfect partner…do what you can to work with them over and over. But also do not blind yourself into thinking that you are always right.
Copyedit
This can be done in-house or with a freelancer. One friend of mine calls this stage “The Grammar Police.” The copyeditor’s job is to check grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency. If your book has unusual spellings (like characters with Czechoslovakian names) consider creating a separate document called a style sheet which should be submitted with your manuscript so the copyeditor will know you meant to spell a word that way. Consistency is the key.
This edit takes a special skill. The editor is technically not reading for content. They are looking at each word for accuracy in communication.
It can be a stage fraught with humor. Like the time a copy editor changed the phrase “woulda, coulda, shoulda” to “would have, could have, should have” because the first was grammatically incorrect.
Unfortunately this stage can also be fraught with danger if the copyeditor suddenly takes the role of substantive editor, after that stage has already passed. I’ve heard stories of character names being changed, entire scenes rewritten, etc. If you have trouble at this stage, appeal to your senior (or acquisitions) editor and see if the changes had been approved before being sent to you.
Again, remember that this can be a place for negotiation. But if you are breaking the rules of grammar or spelling be prepared to defend yourself. But please, “Never Burn a Bridge.”
Proofreading
If the line editor is looking at the paragraph for content, and the copy editor is looking at every word for accuracy, the proofreader is looking at every letter and punctuation mark for perfection.
Again, this takes a special skill. I once sat on a plane next to an amazing freelance proofreader. I proudly showed her an article I was writing. She found ten mistakes per page. Every one of them was my fault for being sloppy. I ate humble pie with my bag of peanuts.
This proofreader is the last protection you have before the book is tossed into the market.
Error Free Publishing!
With all these eyes on your book you are guaranteed to have a product with no typos or errors of any kind….oops…that isn’t true.
Despite every effort and a lot of smart people working on your book, an error is bound to slip through. I remember one book where we had the author, three of his students, myself, a copy editor, and two proofreaders go through a book. Eight people. The book was published and the author’s critics found a dozen errors within the first week. Sigh.
Do your publishers a favor. If you find an error? Make a note of it (page number, line number, and error) and write a quick note to the editorial department of that publisher respectfully pointing it out. A file is usually kept of every book and when it is time to reprint the book they can go in and correct the error. And in the ebook world the digital file can be corrected fairly easy.

SHOW US THE EMOTIONS

In this session I’d like to address ‘showing’ your characters’ emotions in dialog scenes rather than ‘telling’ the reader in what way the words are being said. Oftentimes I see writers relying on those dreaded and lame ‘ly’ adverbs dangling at the end of dialog tags, a lazy way of qualifying the ‘said’ or ‘asked’ verbs. Let’s take a look at just such a passage-

Mary sat in the breakfast nook bench across from John. “Why didn’t you bother to let me know that in the first place,” she asked pointedly.
“Because I knew you’d never believe me anyway,” he said angrily.
“So you don’t trust my ability to handle much of anything, huh?” she whined.
John said abruptly, “No, I don’t.”
“Fine,” she cried, “just fine. Be that way.” She walked quickly away, pausing at the door to turn around and hastily say, “I’m leaving for mother’s house. Bye, John.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he said flippantly.

~~~~~

Now we have been ‘told’ how John and Mary are feeling and in what kind of tone and emotion they are talking to each other. But there is no movement, very little visualization to the scene. To this writing coach, it is just plain lazy writing. Reliance on qualifying adverbs is a shortcut that results in flat, lifeless scenes. Let’s now examine the same scene being shown to the reader, with little or no need for embellished tags-

Mary sat in the breakfast nook bench across from John. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes locked on his, she leaned in, tapped a forefinger twice on the tabletop and said, “Why didn’t you bother to let me know that in the first place?”
A wince shot across John’s face. His pupils narrowed. He bit his lower lip as his face glowed crimson and he clenched his fists. “Because I knew you’d never believe me anyway.”
Mary looked down and away, pouting. “So you don’t trust my ability to handle much of anything, huh?”
John rapped his whitened knuckles on the table. “No, I don’t.”
She sniffed and whimpered. “Fine. Just fine. Be that way.” She shot out of the bench and trotted away, pausing at the door to turn around. Her parting words were fired like bullets. “I’m leaving for mother’s house. Bye, John.”
John tolled his eyes and shook his head, flapping his lips with a sigh of mock sincerity. “Yeah, whatever.”

~~~~~

See how much it opens the scene up? There is seldom any need to add anything other than ‘he said’, ‘she said’ to a dialog tag and, indeed, quite often there is no need for any tag if your writing is done in such a way as to reveal the moods and emotions of your characters through their motions and expressions.

Marvin D Wilson, multi-published author and editor with All Things That Matter Press, using the pen name “Professor Old Silly,” posts writing tutorials on his blog each Tuesday. The above tutorial is a re-post from the archives of his blog at: http://theoldsilly.com.

Show and Tell by Marvin Wilson

An important element in effective writing in fiction is knowing when you are telling the readers your story and when you are showing it to them. There is a place in any good book for both methods, but the shown passages are always more illustrative, while the told passages are more narrative. They create two entirely different effects. Instead of telling you the difference, I will show you. Here is a short paragraph, an example of a story being told to the reader.

***

Bob walked over to the door. He turned the knob, opened the door and started to walk outside. It was an icy cold winter day so he hurried back inside and put on his coat.

***

Now, if I’m the reader I haven’t missed anything, I know what’s happening, but the passage doesn’t draw me into Bob’s world. It doesn’t let me feel or sense much of anything. Now I’ll rewrite the same passage showing you the story.

***

Floor boards creaked underfoot. Step by step, across the room. The chill of cold brass felt smooth in his palm as the knob turned. A ‘thunk’ sound nudged against the quiet as bolt released from its locked position. Squeaky old hinges cried “please oil me” to Bob as they pivoted. A final push, swing and a step. Whistling arctic wind whipped his face as shivers crept all over him.

Wow. Cold. Bob thought better of his choice of clothing.

Slam!

Nippy fingers worked their way through the dark foyer closet, feeling for heavy suede.

***

In the second example, we see, hear and feel Bob’s world. It’s a much sexier read. In fairness, I did not try very hard to write a powerful narrative in the first passage, because I was trying to emphasize a point. There are cases, lots of them, when narrative prose is just the right thing. A fist, knife or gunfight, for instance, often demands a fast, even hectic pace and needs to be told in a hurry. Short sentences. Slam bang. Hit me again and hard. It depends on the speed (pace) with which you want your story to move … but that will be the subject of another post.

Marvin D Wilson, multi-published author and editor with All Things That Matter Press, using the pen name “Professor Old Silly,” posts writing tutorials on his blog each Tuesday. The above tutorial is a re-post from the archives of his blog at: http://theoldsilly.com.

Just Tell the Story, Please by Marvin Wilson

In this post I’d like to discuss using restraint in your writing. A sure-fire indication of an immature, novice writer, is the tendency to overwrite; to use extremes way too often in the descriptions of what is happening as the plot moves along. Think of it as ... let’s use parenting as an analogy. You, the writer, are the parent, and your readers are the children.
If you are a parent who is quick to high emotion, easily excited, uses loud, harsh language and outrageous threats all the time to control your kids, well what happens, eventually, to your children? They become immune to the loud decibel levels, the constant haranguing, and all that … to the point where you have to hit them over the head with a frying pan to get them to sit up and pay attention.
If, on the other hand, you parent with controlled emotions, use an even, soft voice the vast majority of the time, and only threaten to exact punishment or disciplinary measures when the real intent is there and then follow through on your word, well … those children, when you raise your voice just a little, will sit up with perked ears and exclaim, “Wow! Better pay attention … Mom almost never uses that tone of voice.”
Get my drift? Here’s an example of unrestrained, loud writing …

~~~~~

John ran out the door as fast as he possibly could. Never in his whole entire life had he ever seen anything so horrible, so awful and terrifying. His blood pounded in his ears like it had never, ever, done so before as he raced with all his might down the street, demanding his legs to carry him away from the hideous scene as fast as they possibly could.

~~~~~

Trust me, I’ve edited books for freshman authors who shout out their prose just like that. So stop chuckling at my blatant overwriting over-exampling. (wink) And imagine an entire book where everyone and everything happening is the mostest, greatest, fastest, unbelievably this or that ever in the whole world or lifetime of the character. It makes you numb. There’s no room left to kick it up a notch, no gas left in the tank when you really need to accelerate your story, hmm?
Okay. Here’s the same passage, toned down, but still getting the point across.

~~~~~

John fled out the door. Never had he seen anything so terrifying. His blood pounded in his ears as he raced down the street, commanding his legs to top speed, distancing him from the hideous scene.

~~~~~

Much better, hmm? Did we miss any story? No. Do I have room left to up the intensity later? Yes. Remember, as you write, the old truism, “Less is more.” Leave room in your prose for acceleration and heightening of intensity when it is necessary, and keep your lead foot off the gas pedal when it isn’t.

Marvin D Wilson, multi-published author and editor with All Things That Matter Press, using the pen name “Professor Old Silly,” posts writing tutorials on his blog each Tuesday. The above tutorial is a re-post from the archives of his blog at: http://theoldsilly.com.