Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart
Between family times these last few weeks and deadlines for my freelance writing, I’ve been too busy to write. But I’m back at it this morning with some edits on my WIP, getting it ready to submit to Pitch Wars. Wish me luck!
My actual work space this morning. What are you up to on this hump day?
My writing/editing buddy from college Patrick Scalisi graciously agreed to guest post on the blog today, and with great advice on the dreaded (at least if you’re me it’s dreaded) revision. Be sure to check out his book coming later this year from Hazardous Press. Welcome, Patrick!
A No-Nonsense Approach to Revision
by Patrick Scalisi
Editing is often a dirty word among writers. I myself have often used the axiom that creating is more fun than correcting, which is to say that revising one’s work is less thrilling than the sheer adventure of crafting a new story from scratch.
Like it or not, though, revision is an essential part of the writing process, the method by which you make your work truly shine. I’m not going to lie and say that editing isn’t an arduous, frustrating and time-consuming process. It is. But editing also lets you put your best self into the world when your book, short story or poem finds its way onto a bookshelf or someone’s e-reader.
As a professional editor for the past 10 years, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with writers whose work has been both very rough and very polished. Here are some insights I’ve gleaned that can help make the editing process as fruitful as possible.
Edit both on screen and on paper. Almost everyone does their writing on computers and tablets, so the inclination is strong to edit on these devices as well. For a first run-through, editing on screen can be a good idea. But make sure to print your work and edit on paper as well.
While science is still on the fence about whether our eyes can better interpret text on paper versus on screen, most studies agree that our brains work differently based on the medium we’re reading. This difference is important. Often, you’ll catch errors on paper that you missed on screen and vice versa. So no matter what you’re writing, make sure to integrate a paper edit into your revision process.
Eliminate Unnecessary Words. Your word processor’s extended search-and-replace feature (often Ctrl-F in Windows or ⌘-F on a Mac) lets you easily find problem words — like adverbs — that can weaken your manuscript.
During the revision process, I like to do a document-wide search for “ly.” This lets me identify most of the adverbs and evaluate each one to see if it’s really necessary or if it can be replaced with a stronger verb.
In addition, this list from writer Juliet Madison is extremely helpful in identifying and replacing other trouble words like “very” and “almost.”
Get HONEST opinions from people you trust. At some point, you’re going to want to share your work with someone else to get an outside opinion on the story / novel / poem’s strengths and weaknesses. These people are often called “beta readers.” Choosing beta readers, however, can be just as tricky as finding a stronger verb to replace that adverb.
Beta readers should, above all else, be someone that you trust to give HONEST feedback. Surrounding yourself with yes-men who tell you that the work is “perfect” and “not to change a thing” does a disservice to you as a writer because you’re not receiving the constructive criticism you need to make the work as strong as possible.
You’ll notice I used the term “constructive criticism.” A good beta reader will tell you what he or she both liked and disliked about your work. The very best beta readers can also offer suggestions on how to fix existing problems.
So, who makes a good beta reader? In short, anyone who isn’t going to sugarcoat it for you. Parents and siblings are often a bad choice, but some writers have such strong relationships with their families that they can count on mom or dad, brother or sister to say what they liked and what they didn’t about the work. Friends who read a lot are also viable candidates.
It’s also important that you emphasize to your beta readers that their honesty won’t affect your relationship. Make sure you mean this, too. The truth is that writers have to develop thick skin to deal with rejection, critical reviews and more. Steeling yourself for feedback from your beta readers is a good place to start.
One of the best pieces of advice that I ever got from a writing teacher is to treat each sentence like a painting that you want to make as perfect as possible before moving on to the next one. A collection of these “paintings” form paragraphs, chapters, entire works whose aim is to captivate your readers. Revision is a critical part of the writing process and the one that will ultimately make your work as rewarding as possible for both creator and audience.
About the Author:
Patrick Scalisi is a journalist, magazine editor and author from Connecticut. He has published fiction in several magazines and anthologies, including The Willows, Neo-opsis, Shadowplay and Penny Dread Tales Vol. 1. Pat also edited The Ghost Is the Machine, a bestselling anthology of steampunk-horror stories from Post Mortem Press. His debut book, The Horse Thieves and Other Tales of the New West, will be released this year from Hazardous Press. Visit Pat online at patrickscalisi.com or facebook.com/patrickscalisi.
One note before we get to the guest post: Just wanted to remind you all I’ll be signing Elixir Bound at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT tomorrow from 2-4 p.m.! And now back to the show…
Returning guest Erin Albert and I both have a lot in common. Aside from being short and writing YA fantasy, we also both have experience working with books as an author and an editor, which I think gives us an insightful look at the book editing process. Let’s give Erin a big welcome as she shares what it was like editing her YA fantasy The Prophecy.
When I first got my contract on The Prophecy, I thought I had submitted a pretty tight manuscript. I am, after all, a grammar freak. Given that, I honestly had no idea what to expect from my editors. My publisher, MuseItUp Publishing, assigned Katie Carroll and Susan Davis to be my content and line editors, respectively.
I received an email from Katie about a month or so after returning my contract. That day, I happened to be at a carnival and couldn’t see her changes from my phone. I spent the rest of the afternoon distracted. Upon arriving home, I raced to the computer to see what comments she may have made. Imagine my surprise when I noted she made nearly 100 comments on the first chapter alone. Talk about a reality check!
I poured through her notes. In the process, I learned a great deal about the publishing process. I discovered adverbs—my near and dear friends—receive no love in the writing world. When I studied as an English major, my professors encouraged the use of adverbs. But Katie told me to take out as many as I possibly could. Oh, my heart ached as I chopped adverb after adverb. Next, she mentioned my point of view shifts—those subtle moments when I’m in one character’s head but show a brief thought from another character’s. I learned to recognize the times I made those slips and correct them.
Katie and I went back and forth on edits for several months, and each time, I watched my story transform, getting better and better. When Susan took over, I again had no idea what to expect. The work Katie and I had done appeared complete, yet the line edits came back with even more corrections. Susan showed me I overuse certain wording like “she knew” and “she saw.” I watched in wonderment as the story improved yet again.
Thanks to Katie and Susan, I learned a great deal about myself as a writer and about the writing world in general. I’ve taken those lessons and combined them with my own grammar freakishness to become a line editor myself. And my personal writing has made leaps and bounds. I am about to enter my second editing cycle with Katie and Susan for The Outlanders, sequel to The Prophecy. I hope I’ve addressed the problems they discovered the first time, but I’m sure a host of new changes will present themselves this second time around. I will continue to grow, hopefully improving with each round. And that’s really the biggest lesson I learned from my editors—never stop honing your craft. Never hang up your hat and say, “It’s the best it will be, and I have nothing left to learn.” You always have something left to learn. Your work can always be better. So, don’t shy away from the assistance of others. Instead, embrace it and watch your mind expand.
The Prophecy blurb:
Growing up on a small farm in the kingdom of Vanguard, seventeen-year-old Layla Givens lives a deceptively tranquil existence. But her carefully constructed life quickly falls apart when she’s abducted by a religious zealot who proclaims her The Fulfillment of an ancient peace prophecy and whisks her away to marry her greatest enemy.
Wilhelm, Prince of the Ethereals, is reluctant to meet his new bride. He’s grown up believing Vanguards are evil, an enemy to fight and fear…not love. Can he set aside his prejudices and work alongside Layla to bring lasting peace after centuries of war?
Nash, a loner who has never fit in, carries a huge secret, one big enough to destroy both kingdoms. When he accidently meets Layla, he’s no longer content to live in the shadows, but he must resist his growing attraction—for her safety and for the longevity of the two kingdoms.
When Nash’s secret is revealed, a firestorm sweeps through both realms, with Layla at the center. Now she must choose between duty and desire while the fate of two nations hangs in the balance.
Purchase The Prophecy at the MuseItUp website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other ebook retailers.
About the Author:
Erin Albert is an author and fitness trainer. Since she picked up Morris the Moose Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the “Grammar Police.” In her free time, Erin enjoys acting, running, kickboxing, and, of course, reading and writing.
Find Erin online on Twitter (@ErinAlbertBooks), on Facebook, at her website, or on Goodreads.
Today I’m doing an interview over at the new MuseItUp Young and YA blog. In my absence, please welcome fellow Muser Kai Strand, author of the middle grade fantasy Beware of the White (check out my Goodreads review), as she discusses her editorial process.
DO THE HARD WORK
Hi everybody! I’m Kai Strand, author of the newly released middle grade fantasy adventure, Beware of the White. I’m thrilled to be on Katie’s blog. Katie was my content editor for Beware of the White and she helped me SO much!
I have a love/hate relationship with editing. I cannot stand the initial revisions, the first pass review that follows the creative high of the first draft. As painfully boring as those revisions are to me, I understand they are crucial to the process. I have great critique partners and I don’t want to jeopardize our working relationship by sending them work I haven’t done due diligence in. It is disrespectful of their time and expertise to send sloppy work.
Once I get their input, I enjoy the editing process again. I like to see how they suggest improvement to the storyline or character development. I love to see where they melt over a character or shake a fist in frustration. I even find the occasional question mark (the ‘what-exactly-do-you-mean-here’ question mark) challenging. As an author, it isn’t my job to defend my work, it is my job to make the story and characters clear to the reader so that no defense is required.
After that, I usually go into another funk of ‘this is so boring’ as I prepare the manuscript for submission. Once I get an editor assigned from the publisher I fall back in love again. I love when an editor really challenges me to improve the book. I love wanting to tear my hair out because it feels like so much work after having put in so much work already. Because I know that will make it a stronger story that will resonate with the reader.
So here comes my last hateful relationship with the editing process. The hard work. Ah, you thought I already mentioned the hard work above, huh? There is one more crucial step. When a content editor reads your work, she examines the story for logic, gaps, motivation. She notes if the pace falls off, mentions an awkward dialogue exchange, points out where your heroine suddenly jumps out of character. You fix the things she mentions and the two of you exchange the manuscript a few times to tweak and refine your words. The line editor points out all of your misuse of commas, grammatical errors, and tweaks to the formatting.
But wait…who is making sure that after all these changes, the words still flow? OH! The author. Before those final edits are turned in, do the hard work and read your story aloud. When you are micro-editing it is so easy to edit in duplicate words or phrases, awkward transitions or a different writing voice. The only way to make absolutely certain the edits are a success is to start at the beginning and read all the way to the end. And do it OUT LOUD! Don’t cry. I know it’s a lot of work, but your story will be stronger for it. I promise.
About Beware of the White:
As is tradition, Terra learns on the Saturday past her twelfth birthday that she is a Natures Spirit. It is her legacy to serve in the peaceful underground city of Concord. Learning she is named in a prophecy and being threatened by the leader of the death tribe…that part breaks tradition.
The Trepidus are the death janitors of the Underworld, responsible for delivering fatalities with a smile and cleaning up after themselves until Blanco, recent leader of the Trepidus, decides the day of reckoning for his species is coming. He begins organizing the creatures and leads them toward an uprising. The prophecy says there is one person who can stop him. Terra.
With Spirit of Security, Frank, protecting her, Terra attempts to complete her training and discover her Spirit talents. Together, they go on a rogue investigation to learn how to defeat Blanco. In the end, it comes down to a battle of the minds. The future of Concord is at stake. Will Blanco, the older, more experienced being win? Or will Terra, the young, new Spirit earn back the peace of the city?
Buy It:
To celebrate the launch of BEWARE OF THE WHITE, Kai Strand has awesome book related prize packages. Be sure to enter to win. And return again and again to claim entries as you qualify. Kai will also have Spontaneous Giveaways during her book tour. Those giveaways won’t be announced so be sure to follow Kai’s tour. Only virtual stalkers will have the opportunity at all the fun!
About the author:
Kai Strand writes fiction for kids and teens. Her debut novel, The Weaver, was a finalist in the 2012 EPIC eBook Awards. She is a (very lucky) wife and the mother of four amazing kids. The most common sound in her household is laughter. The second most common is, “Do your dishes!” She and her family hike, geocache, and canoe in beautiful Central Oregon, where they call home.
To find out more about Kai’s books, download companion documents, find links to her published short stories and discover all the places to find Kai both virtually and in person, visit her website: www.kaistrand.com. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to send her an email or visit her facebook page, Kai Strand, Author.
© 2024 Katie L. Carroll
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