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As a publisher, I discover more and more that many wanna-be authors have no idea what it actually takes to be published. Therefore, I want to give some suggestions that might help the wanna-bes become real authors.
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Write, Edit, Revise, Revise, Revise
For the past several years I’ve read and heard, “Don’t do any revising or editing until you have finished writing the whole story or book.”
What! That suggestion goes against common sense and everything I’ve learned in all the years I’ve studied, have written, have taught, and have read. The reasons I disagree are several, but a main one (and I’ve seen examples of this too many times) is if an author waits until after he finishes and then changes something toward the start, he often forgets a later part of the story affected by the change but not adjusted. A story develops from the beginning to end, and once written, any change at the beginning makes differences later in the piece, changes that are easy to miss. Thus cohesion and coherence become weak and faulty.
I know some “writers” who think any major editing should be done by an editor. Let me share something I found in the August issue of The Writer. According to Sam McCarver, the author of six John Darnell mystery novels,
In the time-intensive world of publishing, you may have only one
opportunity to intrigue an editor with your writing, your main
character and your story. And you must often do than within pages
– or the first few sentences – of your manuscript.
Editors are pressed for time and very perceptive in identifying good writing,
interesting characters and gripping stories, so they move fast through
your pages.
McCarver goes on to say that an author must write the best story or novel possible: edit it, polish it, enhance it. Then he should read and make final changes – all before ever allowing anyone else to read it. Yes, before allowing anyone else to read an manuscript, the author should have spent hours improving a rough draft.
Writing a story or novel is only half the job: Revising is the other half, a most important half, of writing. Ernest Hemingway, E.B. White, F. Scott Fitzgerald all admitted the need to revise and rewrite. Hemingway admitted he cut as he wrote, yet, he would take weeks to revise a book.
McCarver’s article “How to revise your FICTION” gives eight steps for editing a person’s work. I happen to agree with his points, especially the one which states that delaying all editing until the manuscript is finished is a mistake.
However, let’s examine this author’s ideas, as well as those expounded in many composition text books and believed by me:
1. Accept revising as the other half of writing. E.B. White stated that the best writing is rewriting.
2. Adopt good editing procedures. To produce a better first draft, one should begin revising with the first word written, making improvements as he goes. As a writer completes a day’s production, he should study what’s on the screen, if using a computer. If he sees a need for any changes, he should make them while they are fresh in his mind.. Then he should print what is finished.
According to Chang-rae Lee, winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, he tries to polish as he goes because what leads him to the next sentence is the sentence before. "I find that it's hard to move on unless I've really understood what's happening, what comes before and where it's heading."
3. Review printed pages. Writers should print out the pages finished and set them aside to “cool.” Then they should read the printout with a pen in hand, noting corrections or revisions that will improve the writing. After making changes on the computer, writers should reprint the pages, adding to the pile of finished pages. Each day’s, or period’s, work should be the same: writing, rereading, editing, and making changes as one goes.
4. Identify errors and correct them. According to McCarver, three procedures are critical in the revision process: correcting mistakes, improving content, and enhancing the story.
The first attention needs to go to spelling and punctuation errors, typos, grammatical mistakes, and inconsistencies in tense or point of view. Although such mistakes may seem minor to the author, editors expect manuscripts to be virtually free of any errors.
5. Improve content. “What you say and how you say it also must be polished to the best of your ability,” states McCarver. “Improving content also includes considering the structure and sharpening your word choice,” as well as re-examining characters for consistency, making sure the plot hangs together, that scenes are compelling and dialogue natural, and that all loose ends are tied up.
Word choice is a topic for another editorial, but it is a vital part of good writing.
6. Concentrate on enhancement. Enhancement goes beyond making corrections and improving content and style: It means increasing the quality and impact of the writing. A techniques given by McCarver are as follows:
* Inserting foreshadowing for greater event impact later.
* Increasing the emotion in dialogue and thoughts in scenes.
* Adding or strengthening subplots.
* Intensifying the consequences of actions and events.
* Adding twists to the plot.
* Shortening flashbacks, if used, and including action in them.
* Making characters seem more real, depicting their actions, dialogue and thoughts more naturally and powerfully.
7. Do that final revision. After finishing the whole manuscript, revise again.
8. Take one last look. After revising the complete manuscript again, the author should reread the printed pages before mailing them or sending a query letter. All errors and last minute changes should be made.
All authors want to impress editors by providing a story that the editors cannot put down. Each author, through a manuscript, has only one chance to make a great first impression.
Note: “How to revise your FICTION” by Sam McCarver in The Writer, August, 2005, provided research material for this editorial as did several composition text books and notes from my files. |
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Words from Our Readers
I didn't get much feedback, really, about the blogging tour article, but the tour is over and was successful. Those of us involved with the blog tour learned quite a bit, and we'll put that knowledge to use in future virtual tours. In fact, you could join me October 26 - November 2 for a blog tour for Midnight Hours, my mystery/suspense novel. The schedule will be posted in my W.Com blog and in my blog at http://vzabel.multiply.com in two weeks.
Lani 
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question or not but maybe you could direct me if it's not. I was reading on another writing website that if you have a public forum such as a blog that plublishers consider the work in the blog published. So my writings open to the public maybe already considered published? Someday I am want to write that GAN or a volumne of poems so I should or shouldn't I post here?
Lani
who is anxiously waiting you answer.
When you post something on W.Com and want to submit it for publishing, be sure you limit access so you have feedback but not full exposure to everyone with Internet access. On a blog, post only enough to create an interest in your writing. Then when it is published, you can post where people can read the complete manuscript in published form. I post in a blog or website a whole story, poem, etc. only if I do not want it to be published or if it has already been published somewhere in the past.
Pumpkin
Very detailed and instructive.
Thank you.
Thank you for joining me for this issue. I'll be back in four weeks for another peek at what will help writers prepare their manuscripts for submission.
Viv |
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For Authors: October 01, 2008 Issue [#2634]
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