Month: December 2020

The Difference Between Writing and Editing

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In this last post of the year, we are circling back to the beginning of the whole writing process: idea creation and self-editing. Before any writing can take place, you need an idea, or even just a glimmer of an idea, and then after you do some initial writing, comes the job of self-editing. In between the idea and the editing is the creative process.

The major difference between the Writing process and the Editing process is that writing is creative and editing is analytical…which is the opposite of creation. When you create, you put things together…when you analyse, you take them apart—possibly to put them back together in a different form.

Hands on Jail bars, showing locking away your inner editorEach of those tasks takes a different part of the brain…and should be done separately. If you stop writing because your inner editor is complaining about what you’ve written, you’ll end up switching from one mind-set to the other, and it’s difficult to get back into the creative mood once you start analysing what you’ve written. If you have a good, productive writing session going, you want to keep it going, not interrupt it, so keep your mind free to create by locking away your inner editor for the entire writing session. The best way to ruin a positive writing session is to break the mood…and your inner editor is the best one to do that.

Be careful of that nasty old inner editor even before you start writing. He can bring your creative efforts to a complete standstill before you even have a chance to get them down on paper.

Writing

As we said above, the first step is an idea. Unfortunately, many folks believe that’s the only thing they need to write a book…they feel that just by thinking it over, it will somehow magically happen. Thinking about writing doesn’t get anything done…actually writing does. Sitting at your desk and forming words is the only thing that will eventually turn an idea into a book.

What often happens next is that the idea stimulates words, and folks sit down to start writing, but then they start questioning what they’ve produced. That’s the ugly head of the inner editor popping up to criticize their work. The worst thing you can do is listen to him. Pack that nasty old inner editor away and just let the story flow.

If you don’t get those ideas that are floating around in your head out of there, they’ll just keep swirling around. Old ideas will clog up your ability to form new ones, so you have to get them out. Free up your mind to move on to the next part of your story by getting the existing ideas out. Committing them to physical reality lets your mind know that it is safe to wander on to other ideas.

Once an idea forms, get it down on paper…even if it’s just a note in your pocket. Always carry a small note pad to capture those momentary ideas that float through your head. Whether you’re driving around town, chatting at a party, drifting off to sleep, or suddenly become aware of something unique when watching a show, make note of it. The mere fact that you’ve written it down, that you’ve locked it in some kind of fixed form, lets your mind know that it’s all right to release that idea and move on to the next.

Just Write!

I’ve often said that I can’t edit a blank page, but if you find that blank page staring at you worrisome, then just close your eyes and type. It really works. Don’t look at what you’re typing…just keep at it. If you can’t come up with the precise word right away, just write down what the word feels like. You’ll come back to it later. Hit <enter> a few times when you’ve got a shift in your topic, but don’t concern yourself with what’s on the screen. You can clean it up later…and you will.

Editing

This first type of editing is where you are working on the story itself…not the words, rather the concepts and how they are connected. You are improving the basics of the story without regard to how the story is going to be told to your eventual readers. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or even word choice. Just ensure the story flows at least somewhat. You can do more clean up later.

This type of editing is self-editing, and it comes well before any of the services we could possibly provide. Here you are still figuring out what your story is going to be all about. Now is when Beta Readers can come in handy. You bounce ideas around with your close confidants and see how they react. There’s nothing Turner Editing can do for you at this point…you are still crafting ideas, but once you are done with this step, you’ll need a second set of eyes looking it over.

You can be your own set of second eyes if you set your writing aside for a month or two (even six if you can stand being away from it for that long). Coming back to it with fresh eyes, you’ll be amazed at how much different things seem. You’ll see things that you didn’t know were there…and you’ll discover things missing that you thought were there. Some parts may seem a bit herky-jerky, so look at the connections between scenes.

Speaking of scenes, consider each to see that your Scenes and Sequels alternate, and that each is complete with their required parts (GCD or RDC). Once you’ve achieved this level of self-edit, it’s time to seek outside assistance.

Here at Turner Editing, we hope you will continue to pin down those wonderful ideas, and we hope to read all the brilliant stories soon.

Beta Readers

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Do you really need Beta Readers? What do they do? How do you find them? We’ll cover all that right here. Named after the second letter in the Greek alphabet, they are the second ones to see your ms. (If Beta Readers are second, then who is first? We’ll cover Alpha Readers farther down…) Using Beta Readers can save plenty of time and effort, but remember: they don’t replace a good Critique Group nor an editor. (Keep us in mind when you’re ready for that step.)

It’s always a good idea to have a second set of eyes look over your story. You don’t want to expend effort polishing a marble statue if the figure has three arms and two heads (unless it’s supposed to). Clean up the big things first, then work your way down to the details. Beta Readers consider your work as a whole. They don’t have the investment that you do, so they can give an honest assessment. Be aware that you might discover a lot of issues at this point, too many—it might be time to step back and consider whether this project is one worth doing.

You’ll want to know how they react to the story. Are there parts that interest them? Are there parts that bore them? What do they ask you after reading it? What have you left out because “it’s so obvious”, but they don’t know? Would they buy the book after it’s done? Would they urge their friends to buy it?

Beta Readers do their job because they love reading, but many authors also offer a copy of the book once released. If the author feels the input from some Beta Readers is particularly helpful, then an acknowledgement in the Front Matter of the book would be appropriate.

Beta Reader’s Job

Beta Readers are readers (preferably members of your intended audience), not writers, so although they can sense problems with your story’s overall structure, they may not have the vocabulary to describe the problem exactly. You’ll need to work carefully with them to understand what they are trying to tell you.

Acting as the first line of defense (or the initial attack), they let you know if your story is ready for the next step. Not at the level of a full critique or a Developmental Edit, their expertise lies in finding overarching problems with the story in general. They may not know it by name, but their focus is on a few key items:

  • Believability—does it sound as if it could really happen,
    or are the actions so farfetched that it doesn’t seem possible?
  • Characterization—do the characters feel real,
    or are they cardboard cut-outs being pushed around the scene?
  • Continuity—are the characters consistent throughout,
    or do they mysteriously change from beginning to end?
  • Flow—is the story revealed appropriately,
    or does it jump around, not making sense?
  • Originality—is the story unique or at least distinctive,
    or does it sound as if it’s a rehashed version of other stories?
  • Pacing—does the level of action vary from scene to scene,
    or is it all the same, causing reader burnout?
  • Plot Holes—do the characters follow logic in solving problems,
    or are there places where something seems missing?
  • Structure—does each scene flow from the previous one,
    or are there confusing gaps in the action?

Don’t expect comments on grammar, spelling, or punctuation. Save that stuff for later…much later.

How to Find Beta Readers

Although there are many sites out there that will work to connect authors with Beta Readers, we feel the requirement for honest, yet feeling, feedback is often lost in the random world of readers. On the other hand, if you think you are ready for some honest, and often brutal, feedback, you might check out a few of these sites. (Many of these are forums, so whether you are familiar with that style or not, be certain to read all their rules before you jump in.)

Our recommendation is to find folks you already know and trust to be your Beta Readers.

Alpha Readers

Long before you get to Beta Readers, there are Alpha Readers, also named after a letter in the Greek alphabet, but this time the first letter, because they get to hear your story ideas first…before you’ve even written them down. These “readers” are the friends you have lunch with, just hanging out and talking about all your interesting and clever ideas.

Those ideas…floating around in your head…need to be managed, arranged, given structure…before they can be shaped into a full-blown story. Sharing those ideas with close friends firms them up, helping you work out the details…before you even know what the details are going to be.

Alpha Readers are the friends who take your ideas and respond with, “Wouldn’t it be neat if…” urging you to consider alternatives in your story. You may not use any of their ideas, but at least you have the inspiration you need to continue.

Your cheerleaders in the writing world, Alpha Readers are important for your emotional wellbeing. They champion your cause, encouraging you to keep writing…not pointing out problems with your story. (Leave that to the Editors!) They give you some well-deserved support as you figure out what your story is going to be.

Keep them close…to your heart as well as to your manuscript.

Multiple POV Story

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We talked about the problem of Head Hopping a while back, but this time we’re going to discuss how to tell a story from multiple points of view…without hopping heads. Head Hopping is often an issue with romance stories because the relationship between the main characters is almost more important than the characters themselves—most readers want to know what’s going on in everyone’s head. The only way to do that, without Head Hopping, is to split the story up into sections…one for him, one for her.

Examples of Multi POV Stories

Although most romance stories are told with multiple POVs, they aren’t the only ones.

Some stories are best told from different viewpoints. For example in a memoir-like narrative about mother-child relationships, some chapters could be from the mother’s POV and others from the child’s. Readers could see the same scene from each POV and find out what each character is thinking…and therefore understand why they acted the way they did.

Another example could be a suspense story. You can tell some chapters from the Protagonist’s POV and others from the Antagonist’s. That way the readers would know what the Antagonist is planning and be worried about the Protagonist being able to work his way out of the situation…raising tension along the way.

There are some stories that start off with a new character in each chapter…and only bring all the characters together near the end. We saw one story that had a dozen chapters…one for each month of the year…and twelve unique stories. It wasn’t until the very last chapter that all the characters just happened to run into each other, and all the individual stories tied together rather well. It was an interesting way to keep the readers interested…wanting to see how these disparate stories were connected, and it worked rather well.

In any case, you need to remember to stick with only one POV in each chapter. The only catch is that some characters may not have much to do when it’s their turn in the spotlight…and you may not want a bunch of short chapters. That’s where scene breaks come in handy.

Scene Breaks

Instead of waiting for a chapter to end, you can switch to a new POV by signalling a scene change. That allows you to change time, location, or POV. (And that’s the only way to change any of those three mid-chapter!)

There are a variety of ways to show a scene break, the most common being just a double Enter. At the end of each pgph, you hit the <enter> key, so for a scene break, you just hit it twice. That’s fine for use as you are writing…but when you’re ready to publish, you need do something more. Consider what would happen if one of your double-enters falls at the end of a page…it becomes invisible! That can happen even in an ebook, so you need to do something about it.

The standard is to use a triple asterisk centered on a line by itself to show a scene break, but some authors don’t want to be so mundane as to use such a common character, so they opt for a dinkus! If you are also bored with the asterisk, here are some fancier characters you can use as scene breaks (usually used in groups of three):

  • Asterisms: ⁂ ✽ ❄ ✱
  • Fleurons: ❦ ❧ 🍁 🍃
  • Crosses: ✠ ✤ ✥ ✜
  • Stars: ✪ ✯ ✴ ✺
  • Arrows: ➜ ➠ ➢ ➳

Or, depending on the topic, specific shapes may be used, such as chess pieces, card suits, astrological signs, numbers or letters in circles, musical notes, or math symbols. Scroll through the Wingdings fonts to get some ideas.

Various fancy lines to separate text

An alternative to individual characters is to use fancy lines that stretch across the page, such as in the picture to the right. Plenty of sites offer a diverse choice of options—one of which is Vector Stock.

By controlling the scenes, you keep the reader oriented, and we all know that a disoriented reader is a confused reader…one ready to set your book down, never to pick it up again.

How to find an Agent

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So you’ve finished writing your book, and it has been all edited, and you really want to share it with the world…BUT how? You could just find a printer and publish it yourself, but how would readers find it? The easiest way to share your book is by going through a publisher because they already have the distribution and marketing skills needed, so that’s your first step…or is it?

You could spend a lot of time trying to get a publisher to check out your book, but most of them won’t even talk to authors directly…they’d rather go through an agent. The publishers know that the agents have already vetted the ms and will submit it only to publishers who want or need that particular genre. It saves the publishers a lot of time to deal only with filtered submissions.

The problem then becomes one of trying to find an agent…who will represent your book and do the work of shopping it around to the appropriate publishers. As with publishers, some agents deal only with certain story types, so it doesn’t do you any good to use a shotgun approach. (In fact, it might work against you. Many agents share info about authors, and you don’t want them talking about you in a bad light.) So, now you’re ready to find an agent…we’ll show you a few ways to do that…and help identify “publishers” to avoid.

Do you need an Agent?

Before we figure out how to find an agent, we need to consider whether you actually need one or not. It turns out that many books out there don’t need agents…and agents don’t want them. Agents make their money only when your book sells to a publisher, so if there’s little chance of that happening, agents aren’t interested in helping you. A few reasons you won’t need an agent are if you:

  • self-publish (such as through Amazon’s KDP)—you are the publisher
  • write for artistic reasons—little regard for profit
  • have a niche audience—sales won’t make enough money
  • write for education or academic fields—publisher probably commissioned the piece
  • write non-fiction articles or essays or cookbooks—agents won’t touch it

On the other hand, you do need an agent if you:

  • want to get published by the Big Five—only accepts agented queries
  • write novels (including children’s)—most successful novels are published by the Big Five
  • write general interest non-fiction (including memoir)—to get a publisher with marketing skills
  • want to see your book in bookstores—bookstores buy their books through distributors
  • expect a large market—health, diet, cooking apply to large numbers of people

If you’ve determined that you do need an agent, then by all means consider the steps below!

Where to find Agents

Finding an agent is similar to finding a spouse. You’ll be working directly with them as a business partner, so personalities need to mesh well. All we can do is identify some of the many lists out there—it will be up to you to research and pick the few agents you’ll then contact. We suggest keeping a list in a table or spreadsheet. That way you can easily compare details and keep track of when you’ve sent queries and how they’ve responded.

  • Agent Query is free and is searchable by key words or genre, either fiction or non-fiction.
  • Two versions of the Wish List exist: MS Wish List is a Twitter-like listing, whilst Manuscript Wish List is searchable by both fiction and non-fiction genres.
  • Query Tracker requires a sign up to search, but has a good reputation.
  • Publisher’s Marketplace charges $25/mo, but you might need access to their info for only a couple months, so it could be worth it to subscribe for a short time.
  • Writer’s Market used to be a good source, but until they finish their transition to Penguin Random, the site is unavailable.

Agents often move around from agency to agency, so once you have a list of potential agents, be certain to check the agency website to see that they are still open to submissions. Follow their guidelines as accurately as you can. Some want first page, some first chapter. Some want synopses, some outline. Pay attention to formatting, too. Although with electronic submissions, it only takes a few seconds to change to Times New Roman, double-spaced, size 14 font, if an agent gets two submissions…one already formatted to their liking and one that requires “just a few seconds” to fix up, guess which they’ll read with gusto and which will be set aside.

Agents (and Publishers) to Avoid

You’ve got the good news…now comes the bad. There are agents and publishers out there who make their money by selling “services” to authors, as opposed to legit agents and publishers who make their money by selling books to readers…and sending money to authors. Fortunately, there are groups out there who have tracked down many of these “vanity” presses, so you can watch out for them.

Remember: The money should be coming to you. When the publisher sells books, royalties get sent to your agent, who then takes 15% and sends the rest to you. Agents only make money when you do. Avoid agents who charge a “reading fee” (sometimes called “professional development fee” or “editing costs”). Your book should already be edited before you submit it—you need to submit your best work, so an editor is a required expense (unless you have a really good Critique Group!). Once you’ve been picked up by a publisher, most expenses are covered, though you may need to put in a few hours doing marketing.

Here are some lists that will clue you in to who to avoid:

  • Absolute Write has a discussion board that often discusses agents and publishers to avoid.
  • The Alliance of Independent Authors has a colour coded list, ranging from Excellent to Watchdog Advisory.
  • The Association of Authors’ Representatives vets their list, requiring all agents to adhere to a rather comprehensive Canon of Ethics.
  • Writer Beware has one of the largest and best maintained lists. They’ve been around for many years, and although the list exists on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) website, they are supported in their efforts by the Mystery Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, so don’t let their address deter you.

It’s up to you

Narrow your list, follow the guidelines, keep track of submissions…and sooner than you think, you’ll have representation…and a chance at the big time. Good luck!

Shaggy Dog Story

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Although we enjoy a good story, there has to be some point to it or it just disappoints. The problem with Shaggy Dog stories is that there isn’t any point, and that’s pretty much the definition. Many Shaggy Dog stories go on and on…full of irrelevant details that never add anything to the story, finally ending “Not with a bang but a whimper” or even worse, a poorly placed pun.

When you start writing a story, you have to at least have some kind of message in mind…otherwise, you’ll just wander around never getting anywhere, even if you’re a pantser. There’s a problem when you get to the end of your story and don’t even know it. How would you know the story is over if you don’t have some kind of goal or end in mind?

Stories exist because of the end…not the middle. Yes, they need the middle to build tension, aiming for the climax, which will reveal the final change, but it’s that change, that Transformation, that is the real essence of the story. That’s what the readers look for when they first pick up your book. Give them a good ending, and they’ll shout your praises far and wide.

Examples

There are many instances of Shaggy Dog stories, but two stand out as historical examples.

Mark Twain and Jim Blain

Mark Twain wrote about encountering a Shaggy Dog in Roughing It, a book covering his travels throughout the west. In chapter 53 he recounts meeting Jim Blain, who was apt to tell a story about his grandfather’s ram. Jim’s problem was that once he started off telling the story, he got side-tracked: first leading off into a tale about the family where his grandfather had acquired the ram, which then branched off into details about a man who, when he was thrown out of church, landed on an old lady with a glass eye. That is then followed by a long convoluted narrative about her glass eye…and her borrowing a wooden leg “because crutches were too slow.” A dozen or more barely linked stories later, over 1600 words, Jim suddenly falls asleep, never finishing the story about the ram.

It seems no one around had ever heard more than a brief mention of the ram at the beginning of the long account, but they all wanted Mark Twain to experience it for himself. Twain’s story ends with, “What the thing was that happened to him and his grandfather’s old ram is a dark mystery to this day, for nobody has ever yet found out.”

Nikolai Gogol and Captain Kopeikin

Another famous Shaggy Dog story appears in chapter 10 of Nikolai Gogol’s novel Dead Souls. As the characters attempt to identify the main character of the novel, Chichikov, someone misidentifies him as Captain Kopeikin. No one has heard of this Captain Kopeikin, so we get a story of almost 2000 words detailing all the adventures and goings on of Captain Kopeikin after the war. In the middle of the tale, someone interrupts, pointing out that Chichikov couldn’t be Captain Kopeikin. He reminds everyone that at the very beginning of the diversion, Captain Kopeikin is described as having lost an arm and a leg, and the mysterious Chichikov is whole. This makes the whole discussion of Captain Kopeikin null and void.

This Shaggy Dog story works well in this situation because the reader can sit back and laugh at the characters who spent all that time listening to a long involved story that turns out to be worthless. It also gives Nikolai a chance to develop some of the characters, allowing the reader to understand the general situation in that time and place.

Hidden Shaggy Dogs

Shaggy Dog stories are fine if they are in a story, intentionally put there by the author to create sympathy for the characters, explain the setting, or allow the narrator to poke fun at others. We only have a problem when the Shaggy Dog is the whole story…often not intended by the author.

Occasionally, we’ve seen a ms where the author didn’t have a clear vision of his story. He just wrote down whatever came next in his mind…barely linked ideas, similar to Jim Blain’s story. It’s difficult to critique or edit such a story, as often none of the Five Plot Points exist, there is no Logline to guide the flow, and no tension builds…just more and more extraneous details. In fact, many Shaggy Dog stories are identified by having an anti-climax, where the problems just go away—not necessarily with a Deus ex machina, but rather by coming up with a simplistic solution after all the anticipation.

Intentional Shaggy Dogs

Similar to Mark Twain’s friends who wanted to see him frustrated by Jim Blain’s story, if you are ever in our area, we’d like to introduce you to Roger. Known for stopping on the side of the road at public events to tell a story, he’ll draw a crowd. He then holds them entranced, blocking the pathway, for over twenty minutes as he goes on and on. Then he suddenly ends the story with a terrible pun, eliciting a groan from everyone expecting some big ending. We love to see how big of a crowd he can get…and how long he can keep them captivated…just so we can laugh at them.