Criticism, is one of the most unusual side-effects of becoming a writer. I don't mean Criticism from editors, publishers, and the book critics. -- Hardly. I have found since I have begun writing books that it has a Jeckle and Hyde effect with normal, everyday people. A person who has no interest in writing, editing, or even reading a book, will suddenly turn into an expert on the most unusual things when they find out you have written a book.
I have been toying with the writing profession since High School. This is where I first noticed the reaction of others to a writer. Since then I have begun cataloging them. To date there are four distinct groups. a) the plot twisters, b) the mock editors, c) the doubters, and d) the truly knowledgeable. It is the last that provide the criticisms you need to pull your novel to the next level; however it is hard to tell the difference between the truly knowledgeable and the rest of the critics that litter your path.
Group 1: the Plot Twisters: I like to think of Plot Twisters as the wishers of the critic group. They are the dear, sweet souls who most likely have a book of their own tucked away in a dresser drawer. While I think of them as delightful when I write this blog, they sometimes can be a bit like an unwanted fly when offering their criticism. They are the critics who want to switch the plot's path to what they would do if they were writing your book.
How can you tell when you're dealing with a Plot Twister and not a knowledgeable? The answer is simple: Do they have a valid reason for their change to occur? When you weigh their reasoning, would it make the story stronger? Does the change add to the plot? If the answer to these questions are all three yes, you are dealing with a Knowledgeable. If not, well, you've run into a Plot Twister.
For the most part I have found that Plot Twisters are the least malicious of the four critic groups. They usually phrase their questions in a "what if" form. They are usually eager and very excited at the prospect of you writing a book and will become a fan of everything you're writing. As a word of warning, I have also found that they will come to think of themselves as a co-author to your story if you are not wary of their attention.
The easiest way to deal with a Plot Twister is to encourage them to write their own book. Create a mini-writers group- The positive of the Plot Twister, their unbridled enthusiasm will still be there, yet the Plot Twister will focus more on their own project than yours giving you some freedom to work on your book.
Group 2: The Mock Editors: I feel like when I talk about the Mock Editor that a "Severe Tire Damage" sign needs to be put up. The Mock Editor can do more harm than good and they are the hardest to tell from the Truly Knowledgeable- especially if you have trouble with editing in general.
A Mock Editor will give an air of confidence when editing your writing. They will circle, add commas, remove commas, provide different vocabulary, rewrite sentences, and bloody your page just like an actual editor; however, if you are dealing with a Mock Editor, the information they provide may or may not be valid.
Like the Plot Twister they are usually very excited that you are writing a book and are eager to help. Usually the Mock Editor will be someone who was "good at English" in High School or College. They have never really written anything (except, maybe, a book that they have failed to publish) since then, but they got all A's at the time. The difference between a Mock Editor and a Truly Knowledgeable is really up to who taught them how to edit a paper, and do they really remember all the rules involved?
Unfortunately there is really only one way to tell a Mock Editor from a Truly Knowledgeable. Once they have bloodied your work you must go through the entire edit and validate what they have edited: Make sure that every comma is really a comma and not a comma splice. Look up definitions of words and validate that they are better than the word you have chosen. Check sentence edits to make sure that they are not really causing more problems.
There is an advantage to a Mock Editor. In general they do pick up most typos, and they do pick up on sentence problems. I use mock editors as a red flag not a solution to the problem. Considering that a Mock Editor is a normal everyday reader in real life, they do know when a sentence reads wrong. Their attempt to fix it may have flaws, but there was a reason they stopped reading and tried to fix your sentence.
The best way to handle a Mock Editor is to simply thank them. Mock Editors are well meaning people who want to help you succeed. Because they have taken the time to edit your work and cared enough to help you, a hearty thank-you is warranted.
Group Three: The Doubters: Ah, the wet blankets of the writing universe. Doubters are actually fewer in number than one would think. They are the group who come off supportive, but in the end make you question what you are doing and why you are doing it. Because of this, I label them the most dangerous of the Critics.
Doubters confused me for a time before I created a group for them. They are the ones who seem really excited that you are writing a book, but routinely remind you of all the reasons that you are going to fail. They are the ones who say cutting comments like "It's too bad you couldn't find a real editor to look at your book." or "It's so hard to get into the publishing industry, do you really think you're good enough?" or (My favorite) "Why don't you send your book to a real writer, so they can tell you how to fix your book.
To be fair there are two kinds of doubters. The first kind is very much like the Plot Twister. They are well meaning in their words, but are oblivious to the fact that they are tearing you down rather than helping. The second kind I can only call destructive. They are the polar opposite- meaning, they are not trying to help. These are the critics who envy what you are doing and (whether they are doing consciously or not) will tear into you to aid their own self-esteem. How can you tell the difference? Really, you can't. Both types of doubters will hurt your self-esteem unless you grow a thick skin.
The best way to handle a doubter may surprise you. Thank them kindly and walk away. Because you can't tell the well meaning kind from the destructive kind- there is no other solution. It is not in your best interests as a writer to alienate anyone, so the answer is simple- don't. Don't argue with them but... don't take what they say too much to heart.
Group 4: The Truly Knowledgeable: I saved this group for last because the Truly Knowledgeable can seem like any one of the above three. Trick is... they know what they are doing. A Knowledgeable can be your best friend in the world of writing, but they are tricky to find. I remember as a child I used to play with the Seek and Find books. Finding a knowledgeable is much like trying to find the feather in the picture.
The first reason for this is: Most Knowledgeables shy away from helping. Young or newbie authors in general take editing much like its dental work. They are sometimes almost vicious in protecting their art, thus most Knowledgables who would like to help have been burned by a particularly bad author reaction. The difference between a Knowledgeable and a Mock Editor is- the Knowledgeable will step aside if confronted and tell the author to keep the sentence the way it is- knowing it is incorrect. Most Mock Editors will fight for a sentence to be altered.
The second reason is: Not many people are really Knowledgeables. It is amazing the mis-information taught by English Teachers and Professors. (Keep in mind, I'm a teacher when I say this.) Most of the time it is miscommunication that causes the problem. My favorite: "Commas go where you naturally take a breath." Actually this rule was originally created for teaching reading: "When you come to a comma take a short breath, when you come to a period hold." Somewhere in the teaching industry a group of teachers used the reading rule to explain commas- thus we have thousands of comma splices in the world today based on the idea of natural breathing. (Sigh)
How can you tell when you are dealing with a Truly Knowledgeable? Answer there is only two sure ways to tell. A) they are an Editor, Agent, or Publisher. Hands down this is a sure sign that you should listen to what they are saying and take the criticism as a building opportunity. B) Everything they do validates when you go over what they have done. There is a bit of me that looks at that statement in horror. The amount of work it takes in validating every change before you do it, seems insurmountable; however, this should be weighed against the fact that it is your book. If you truly care about your work and are not just looking for an easy fix just to say "It's edited," you must, must, must, must must, validate the edits. A) This will make your book stronger and B) as you do this you will become a Truly Knowledgeable yourself.
There is only one way to handle a Truly Knowledgable: Thank them profusely. Listen to what they say and then thank them again.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Is the editing done yet?
It's disorienting when you are editing a book for any great length of time. After the third or fourth round of deep dig in editing, you imagine that you have found every type-o and grammar problem that could possibly exist... but no upon opening the book again you find yet another hundred or so waiting to be fixed. (Sigh)
I heard once that Charlotte's Web was revised over twenty times. According to my Children's Lit professor it was one of the reasons that it is hailed as such a wonderful book. I am currently revising for the fifteenth time. What I thought was a clean copy turned out to have over a hundred errors.
It is this fact that makes me shake my head when I hear that a would be author has edited once and has proclaimed it done. Such a situation boggles my mind. Since I have an English degree, I feel more secure than most in my abilities to pick up errors, yet from the point when I decided to put my novel into print and publish, I have found not hundreds but thousands of errors that needed to be fixed.
Perhaps this is why the publishing industry as a whole has such a foul opinion of PODs. There are thousands upon thousands of books on Lulu.com. If the editing process of the average writer consists of only one revision, then it is a pretty sad state of affairs. If I had stopped with my first revision thousands of spelling errors, type-o's, severe grammar errors would have gone unchecked.
My English teacher colleague and I have debated often if there can be an end to editing. I have decided that it can end at a point. There is a moment where everything becomes a matter of opinion. Whether a comma really is needed in a particular place despite the fact that the rules are in favor or against it. Whether the repetition of a word on a page is style or annoying. There does come a time when everything that is found in a novel can be debated. This is the point where I feel I can stop my struggle with the errors. Trouble is, at revision fifteen, I have not found that point.
I suppose since this is supposed to be a blog on writing, that I should actually give some hints.
#1. My editing process begins with a thorough read through aloud if possible. As I read through the manuscript I circle sentences and sections that are troublesome to read. (Anything that does not roll off the tongue easily) Spelling errors are marked with a quick "sp" and I fix commas and periods as I go. In general the first revision I look for timing and pace. Once I have finished reading I return to the circled parts, spelling errors, etc and fix them or change them.
#2. The second time through the novel, I read it aloud again. Checking on the changed areas to make sure that I haven't inadvertently created a bigger problem by the change. I focus this time through again on content and pace.
#3. Now I use spell-check on my writing software. Up until this point I have been focusing on flow. I try very hard to ignore the green lines on the screen until I want to turn over the editing to the left side of my brain. Of course, misspellings I try to pick up during the actual writing process; however, I leave the grammar and punctuation alone until I'm sure the flow is there.
#4. The fourth time through the novel, my focus turns to the grammar, punctuation, and use of words. In order to avoid getting to engrossed in the story or allowing my memory to fill in the errors without my noticing, I revise the book starting at the end of each chapter and taking one sentence at a time. This starting from the last sentence and going to the first sentence is a great way to pick up run-on sentences and sentence fragments.
#5. Again I read the story aloud to check for flow. This time I underline any sentences where I stumble or hesitate when I read it. For me, this is usually a sign that I have a problem that needs attention. Once through the entire novel, I take a close look at those sentences and try to decipher the problem. If I can't figure it out, i revise the sentence completely- better safe than sorry.
#6. Passing it off to a knowledgeable friend or better yet an editor. A good friend of my mother picked up this task for me. She is a professional editor and agreed to help me. This is where you have to get thick skin.... When my manuscript came back after five edits, I thought it would be an error here or there that she found. Oh no- It made the St. Valentines Day Massacre look like a Easter Egg hunt. My jaw literally dropped to the floor. After getting over my initial shock and mother hen instinct (you know the one that reacts when it feels like someone is trying to change your story?) I changed the errors and felt pretty comfortable.
At this point I thought I would publish, send it in to contests... When I did, I found out that it wasn't ready yet... I still had a long ways to go.
#7-10. This was a four part effort. I read the story as well as three people in my family. Everyone had a pencil and was instructed to circle problems or fix errors. It was surprising that when all three copies came back the majority of each book had unique errors. The number of type-os that were missed by my editor and myself were surprising. Still I pressed on.
#11. By this time I was worried about flow again. So I did another aloud reading, to my dog. Again I found errors and problems. There were typo-s again hiding in the book. I was astounded.
#12. This was my mother's third time through the book. My father decided that he wanted to hear it aloud, so she read it to him as they traveled across country. Every night she would sit down and mark the errors she found. I in turn changed them, again marveling that there were so many. This was the twelfth time through the book after all. You'd think they would have started dwindling.
#13. This was again a reverse edit. I was starting to get impatient at this point. After all I was an English teacher and I have an English degree. In general I knew what I was doing. I must admit that I was getting a bit angry at myself. Revision 6 on Lulu was a hard one to do. At the end of the reverse edit I found yet another hundred errors that needed to be corrected.
#14. The Aunts picked up the mantle of editing this time. My mother's sisters decided to read my book. I'll admit more out of pity than a desire to read it. (They also have a poor view of self-published authors.) To my joy they truly enjoyed the book, one staying up all night to finish it. Unfortunately, they also found errors in my manuscript. Things that should have been picked up by, if not me, the army of people reading my book- Things like "Solid" being spelled "sold" or "Silver" being spelled "Sliver."
#15. Thinking I was almost to that point in the book, I felt a desire to have someone other than family read and edit my book. Perhaps it was the pity gesture of my aunts that sparked it, but I took a copy of my book to my English teacher co-worker and gave her explicit instructions to make the book bleed. I told her to be vicious and really make the book suffer. Between my Aunts' editing and my teaching friend there were at least another hundred errors to be fixed.
So here I am at revision fifteen. I am currently waiting for a copy of the book I ordered as a proof to arrive and I must admit, I'm a little nervous about opening the cover. Sixteen seems like such a long walk. I'm hoping I'm finally finished with this arduous task.
This is why I shake my head at my co-authors at Lulu who after one edit happily send it off to the world, thinking that it is a perfect book. I suppose that E. B. White, Author of Charlotte's Web might have felt the same when he faced revision after revision with errors still cluttering his book. It is this and only this thought that keeps me plodding through the wasteland. I keep waiting for that glorious moment when the sun brakes through the clouds and I can scream, I'm done.
Perhaps it's time to read the book aloud again...
Cheers,
Katie
I heard once that Charlotte's Web was revised over twenty times. According to my Children's Lit professor it was one of the reasons that it is hailed as such a wonderful book. I am currently revising for the fifteenth time. What I thought was a clean copy turned out to have over a hundred errors.
It is this fact that makes me shake my head when I hear that a would be author has edited once and has proclaimed it done. Such a situation boggles my mind. Since I have an English degree, I feel more secure than most in my abilities to pick up errors, yet from the point when I decided to put my novel into print and publish, I have found not hundreds but thousands of errors that needed to be fixed.
Perhaps this is why the publishing industry as a whole has such a foul opinion of PODs. There are thousands upon thousands of books on Lulu.com. If the editing process of the average writer consists of only one revision, then it is a pretty sad state of affairs. If I had stopped with my first revision thousands of spelling errors, type-o's, severe grammar errors would have gone unchecked.
My English teacher colleague and I have debated often if there can be an end to editing. I have decided that it can end at a point. There is a moment where everything becomes a matter of opinion. Whether a comma really is needed in a particular place despite the fact that the rules are in favor or against it. Whether the repetition of a word on a page is style or annoying. There does come a time when everything that is found in a novel can be debated. This is the point where I feel I can stop my struggle with the errors. Trouble is, at revision fifteen, I have not found that point.
I suppose since this is supposed to be a blog on writing, that I should actually give some hints.
#1. My editing process begins with a thorough read through aloud if possible. As I read through the manuscript I circle sentences and sections that are troublesome to read. (Anything that does not roll off the tongue easily) Spelling errors are marked with a quick "sp" and I fix commas and periods as I go. In general the first revision I look for timing and pace. Once I have finished reading I return to the circled parts, spelling errors, etc and fix them or change them.
#2. The second time through the novel, I read it aloud again. Checking on the changed areas to make sure that I haven't inadvertently created a bigger problem by the change. I focus this time through again on content and pace.
#3. Now I use spell-check on my writing software. Up until this point I have been focusing on flow. I try very hard to ignore the green lines on the screen until I want to turn over the editing to the left side of my brain. Of course, misspellings I try to pick up during the actual writing process; however, I leave the grammar and punctuation alone until I'm sure the flow is there.
#4. The fourth time through the novel, my focus turns to the grammar, punctuation, and use of words. In order to avoid getting to engrossed in the story or allowing my memory to fill in the errors without my noticing, I revise the book starting at the end of each chapter and taking one sentence at a time. This starting from the last sentence and going to the first sentence is a great way to pick up run-on sentences and sentence fragments.
#5. Again I read the story aloud to check for flow. This time I underline any sentences where I stumble or hesitate when I read it. For me, this is usually a sign that I have a problem that needs attention. Once through the entire novel, I take a close look at those sentences and try to decipher the problem. If I can't figure it out, i revise the sentence completely- better safe than sorry.
#6. Passing it off to a knowledgeable friend or better yet an editor. A good friend of my mother picked up this task for me. She is a professional editor and agreed to help me. This is where you have to get thick skin.... When my manuscript came back after five edits, I thought it would be an error here or there that she found. Oh no- It made the St. Valentines Day Massacre look like a Easter Egg hunt. My jaw literally dropped to the floor. After getting over my initial shock and mother hen instinct (you know the one that reacts when it feels like someone is trying to change your story?) I changed the errors and felt pretty comfortable.
At this point I thought I would publish, send it in to contests... When I did, I found out that it wasn't ready yet... I still had a long ways to go.
#7-10. This was a four part effort. I read the story as well as three people in my family. Everyone had a pencil and was instructed to circle problems or fix errors. It was surprising that when all three copies came back the majority of each book had unique errors. The number of type-os that were missed by my editor and myself were surprising. Still I pressed on.
#11. By this time I was worried about flow again. So I did another aloud reading, to my dog. Again I found errors and problems. There were typo-s again hiding in the book. I was astounded.
#12. This was my mother's third time through the book. My father decided that he wanted to hear it aloud, so she read it to him as they traveled across country. Every night she would sit down and mark the errors she found. I in turn changed them, again marveling that there were so many. This was the twelfth time through the book after all. You'd think they would have started dwindling.
#13. This was again a reverse edit. I was starting to get impatient at this point. After all I was an English teacher and I have an English degree. In general I knew what I was doing. I must admit that I was getting a bit angry at myself. Revision 6 on Lulu was a hard one to do. At the end of the reverse edit I found yet another hundred errors that needed to be corrected.
#14. The Aunts picked up the mantle of editing this time. My mother's sisters decided to read my book. I'll admit more out of pity than a desire to read it. (They also have a poor view of self-published authors.) To my joy they truly enjoyed the book, one staying up all night to finish it. Unfortunately, they also found errors in my manuscript. Things that should have been picked up by, if not me, the army of people reading my book- Things like "Solid" being spelled "sold" or "Silver" being spelled "Sliver."
#15. Thinking I was almost to that point in the book, I felt a desire to have someone other than family read and edit my book. Perhaps it was the pity gesture of my aunts that sparked it, but I took a copy of my book to my English teacher co-worker and gave her explicit instructions to make the book bleed. I told her to be vicious and really make the book suffer. Between my Aunts' editing and my teaching friend there were at least another hundred errors to be fixed.
So here I am at revision fifteen. I am currently waiting for a copy of the book I ordered as a proof to arrive and I must admit, I'm a little nervous about opening the cover. Sixteen seems like such a long walk. I'm hoping I'm finally finished with this arduous task.
This is why I shake my head at my co-authors at Lulu who after one edit happily send it off to the world, thinking that it is a perfect book. I suppose that E. B. White, Author of Charlotte's Web might have felt the same when he faced revision after revision with errors still cluttering his book. It is this and only this thought that keeps me plodding through the wasteland. I keep waiting for that glorious moment when the sun brakes through the clouds and I can scream, I'm done.
Perhaps it's time to read the book aloud again...
Cheers,
Katie
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