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Tips and Strategies for Line Edits

Jul 29, 2013 | publishing, writing | 18 Comments

Before I get started, if you’re trying to decide which idea to write next, check out this post I wrote over at the MiGs on how to develop your ideas.

I’ve been doing a series on the editorial process of what happens to a book after it’s been acquired by the publisher. Today I’m going to talk about Line Edits. Once a writer has turned in their revision of their manuscript based on the editorial letter, their editor will in turn send them line edits. This could be in digital or handwritten form.

Mine were given in digital form. Using track changes, my editor marked out words, suggested changes to sentences, added in proper punctuation, and made comments suggesting ways to strengthen a particular line or paragraph.

In this edit, my editor and I were no longer looking at the big picture of the book like we did with the editorial letter. Now we were scrutinizing the sentence structure, word choice, and how to make the structure of the book stronger and smoother. She gave me the option to accept her changes or write a comment on why I wanted to keep this as it was.

I appreciated my editor’s comments because not only were they extremely helpful, but I didn’t feel as if she were ripping my book apart or was telling me I had made stupid mistakes (I had a couple of those *dies*).

Instead, I felt she was committed to making my book shine. This was huge for me as a writer.

*A good editor will never take your ‘voice’ from your manuscript, just develop it.*

Tips to keep in mind when working on your edits:

Your editor bought your book because he/she loves it. Remember this.
Read through the whole manuscript first to get the big picture of what your editor is looking for in this revision.
Go ahead and accept all the changes that you agree with.
Think through your editor’s suggestions. If you don’t agree with them, take your time to really make sure of your reasons and why.
Some of your line edits will ask you to explain a character or strengthen a segment of dialogue. Be wary of the quick fix. Think about how you can make the characters stronger by your changes.

Here’s an example:

In my initial draft for GILDED, I wrote:

Then Dad holds my face between his hands, staring at me with such intensity. “At least you are safe. I couldn’t bear losing you, too.”

My editor’s comment was: Do you think he’s also talking about Grandfather here? It could work both ways!

Hmm… that’s a good point! So I reworked the paragraph to this:

“Not everything,” Dad says. “The two of you are safe. That’s what matters.” Then he holds my face between his hands, staring at me with such intensity. “I couldn’t bear losing you, too.”

The most important part of the line edit is to remember it’s one more step to making your manuscript an even stronger story, and more enjoyable for your readers so they feel like this:

Photo Credit

And of course, if it gets too tough, I recommend a healthy dose of dark chocolate.

More on the Publishing Process:

You can go here for an explanation of the editorial letter.

Here for how to deal with an editorial letter.

Here to look at the editorial letter from the editor’s point of view.

And here for advice on the editorial letter from other writers.

Writers Share Advice on the Editorial Letter

Jul 11, 2013 | editors, publishing, revising, revision, writing | 12 Comments

For the past few weeks, I’ve been doing a series on the publishing process, starting with the editorial letter. Today I’ve asked my writer friends if they could share their advice on how to deal with the editorial letter. I think they’ve got some great tips.

R.C. Lewis, author of STITCHING SNOW tells us:

Take a moment to enjoy the positive things your editor points out, but only a moment, before you embrace the gnarly, suggestion-y guts of the thing.

S. J. Laidlaw, author of AN INFIDEL IN PARADISE says:

Never lose sight of the fact that you and your editor both want what’s best for your book.

Drawing of Carmella created by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Carmella Van Vleet, author of ELIZA BING IS (NOT) A BIG FAT QUITTER says:

I like to read an editorial letter once, all the way through, and then let it all simmer for a while; don’t jump into revisions right away.

Robin Constantine, author of THE PROMISE OF AMAZING, Balzer + Bray, December 31, 2013 says:

Read it with an open mind, and don’t be afraid to voice your concerns or disagreements with your editor. Don’t act on the letter immediately. Give it a day or so to process everything!

Andrea Mack on revising for an agent says:

Think hard about what’s at the heart of an agent or editor’s recommendations, because there are many ways to accomplish the same thing and you need to be sure to find the right way for your story.

A big thanks to these writers for all their advice! For more on the publishing process, check out these links:

Next week, I’ll be talking about line edits! Questions? Thoughts? Ideas? Feel free to share in the comment section.

The Editorial Letter from the Other Side

Jul 2, 2013 | books, editors, publishing, writing | 15 Comments

Photo Credit: frabz

I’ve been doing a series on the editorial letter, beginning with these two posts:

1. What is an editorial letter?

2. An how-to on tackling an editorial letter

Today, I am so excited to have my critique partner and associate editor at Entangled Publishing, Kate Fall, here today to talk to us about the editorial letter from an editor’s perspective.

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I’d love to hear about your process in writing your editorial letter.

Basically, before I write an editorial letter, I read through the manuscript and annotate it as I go. Sometimes I find myself writing a really large comment and think, hm, that’s better off explained in a letter. When I’m done with the whole novel, I think about it for a while, usually a day so while the manuscript is still fresh in my mind but I have something coherent to say.

What would one of your writers expect from your editorial letters?

My letters are about 5 pages long. It’s not a rule, it’s just what seems to happen. I don’t have a set breakdown of character, voice, setting, etc. that I address. Every novel is so different. But I find that I usually have to address telling vs. showing. I think this is normal. I think it takes a lot of drafts to dig the telling out of a manuscript. But different authors tell different things. Some people tell emotion, like “he was sad.” Some people tell characterization, like “she was a loyal friend.” And some people tell plot connections, like “that was in the letter he read yesterday.” So showing vs. telling isn’t a boilerplate response.

Writing an editorial letter must be difficult. What is the hardest part about writing it?

The hardest part about writing an editorial letter is worrying about how the author will receive it, especially if the manuscript needs a time-consuming revision. In the end, it’s not my name on the cover and it’s not about me. But I really, really want my authors to get five star reviews. On the other hand, I don’t want to change their stories or imply that I don’t like their voices. I angst over it a lot. My job is mostly delivering bad news, and some authors take it better than others. But it is my job to communicate it well, so if the author feels bad, I’m doing something wrong.

What frustrations do you encounter as an editor during this publishing process?

I’ve worked with a lot of awesome authors! I don’t mind being questioned or having my suggestions pushed back. It actually makes me nervous when people seem to accept everything I say. Like, really? I was totally perfect and understood everything and my opinion will be shared by everyone? It’s very hard to walk the line between what bothers me and what readers will like. I just hope my authors know I’m trying my best to think like a reader and get them those glowing reviews and fans clamoring for the sequel.

Tell us about some of the books that you have been working on and what we have to look forward to.

I have some fantastic books in the works, and I don’t want to leave any out. LUCK OF THE DRAGON by Susannah Scott just released from Entangled Covet, and that novel is a lot of fun, a great read. I’m so excited for her reviews and sales. Her hard work paid off.

Kate Fall, Associate Editor
Kate Fall is an editor with Entangled Publishing. She previously interned at Rhemalda Publishing, is a member of SCWBI, and has been writing and editing professionally for 14 years. She loves novels with humor, settings that come to life (whether historical, contemporary, or futuristic), and main characters with what the Irish call “a good person’s faults.” She is especially looking for sweet romance for any age group with a well-rounded cast of characters, a love interest down on his luck, unusual American town life, or a unique twist on a time-honored plot. Follow Kate on Twitter at @KateFall.

Deconstructing the Editorial Letter

Jun 27, 2013 | books, revising, revision, writing | 14 Comments

I’m doing a series of blog posts chatting about the publishing process. Today, I want to share how I tackled my editorial letter. As I mentioned here in this post, editorial letters are all different in some way, but essentially they have the writer revamping core areas of weaknesses in their manuscript. This might send a writer into some serious panicking, weeping, or maybe even a complete nervous breakdown.

Source Unknown

Okay, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.

Possible areas might include:

Plot structure
Characterization
World Building
Weaving in subplots or taking them out
Solidifying voice
Even major plot restructuring

For me, the areas I needed to focus on were characterization and solidifying world building- specifically how the magic works in my book.

1. First it’s important to go for a long run. Or maybe eat lots of chocolate and ice cream. 🙂

2. Then I got to business. I categorized each area that my edit letter focused on and color coded it. Like this:

Plot structure- blue
Characterization- yellow
World Building- green
Weaving in subplots or taking them out- red
Solidifying voice- purple

3. Next, I highlighted the areas with these colors in my edit letter.

4. After my colored representation was finished, I put the general ideas into columns which looked something like this:

World Building

Romance

Characters

Solidify Hameosu’s powers

Explain how shape-shifting works

Create a greater connection between Marc and Jae

Develop Dad’s relationship with Jae

Flesh out Michelle’s role in 2^nd half of the novel

5. Once I had everything compartmentalized, I dealt with each category one at a time.

I started with world building, and chapter by chapter using the comment feature, wrote myself notes of things to deal with in each chapter and ideas of how to fix those.

6. After the plan was in place, I could start writing new scenes, delete sections and rewrite other parts.

Photo Credit: i-write-my-thoughts

The key to remember is that each change creates a domino effect. Every subsequent sentence thereafter has to be checked and made sure it fits with the changes. And don’t forget all the typos that love to creep in during those revisions!

7. Finally, you need to give yourself plenty of time to think and imagine.

Daydreaming allows you to think outside of the box. When I came to an area that I knew needed changing or adding, I would make a list of at least three ways of how I could change that scene. Then I choose my favorite. Just be careful that it’s the best way to make that scene change, not the easiest way. Slapping on a Band-Aid isn’t going to help you book.

It’s important to go into this whole process with an open mind and a willingness to change anything. Because if you don’t have that freedom, it can hinder your end goal. In fact, I believe the real magic in revising your manuscript at in this stage is seeing the world and characters you’ve created in a whole new light.

octopussoir-.tumblr.com

Next week, I will be interviewing an assistant editor on her thoughts on how she writes her editorial letters.

I’d love to hear any questions as well as thoughts or tips you have on plowing your way through an editorial letter!

The Editorial Letter Explained

Jun 24, 2013 | GILDED | 8 Comments

Photo credit: Bing Ramos (Creative Commons)

Many of my friends and co-workers have been asking me why is it taking so long for my book to come out. Why does it take over a year to hit the shelves? Why can’t we just buy it now!?!

There are actually a lot of reasons for this, but the most important reason is the book must go through several rounds of professional editing. Sure, when my editor bought GILDED, my agent and I worked on it to be in the best possible shape. But there is nothing that can replace a good editor who can take what I’ve written to the next level.

So before I got my letter, there was a level of anxiety and excitement. What will my editor ask me to change? Will I agree with her suggestions? Will I be able to actually do what she wants me to accomplish? Yeah, panic that looks something like this:

Credit: tumblr: hautestofbois

The first stage in this whole book publishing process is my editor sent me what is called an editorial letter. These can range in length from 1-50 pages, depending on the editor and the shape the manuscript is already in. They also can range in style from editor to editor.

For instance, some editors prefer general overarching themes to tackle and allow the author room to determine how to fix those issues. While other editors may be more specific and perhaps even get into line comments in this first stage.

In my case, my editor sent me via email a letter that highlighted the general overarching issues of GILDED. She posed questions and pointed to areas where the characters could be more developed and asked for me to flesh out some of the world building.

From her suggestions, I created a plan on how I would tackle each of the problematic areas of the book. Later this week, I’ll do a break-down for you on how I did this more specifically.

As far as how a writer will receive their editorial letter, some authors receive theirs in the mail while other’s receive it via email, depending on the editor’s preference.

I’m planning on doing some posts on each stage of the publishing process, so if you have any questions, feel free to post them below.

Acting Out Scenes from GILDED

Jun 21, 2013 | archery, GILDED, Korea, taekwondo | 12 Comments

Over on the OneFour Kidlit YouTube channel, I’m acting out some scenes from GILDED. Two of the scenes were actually shot in Seoul, South Korea. One was from my orange belt test where I had to break a board and the other is when I learned how to shoot a Korean horn bow.

Check it out here:

If you were to act out a scene from a book, which one would you want to act out?

Interview with INSOMNIA author, J.R. Johansson

May 29, 2013 | author interviews, authors, book launch, contest, YA, YA books | 13 Comments

Today I’m thrilled to bring you an interview with YA author of INSOMNIA, J.R. Johansson. After watching the interview, don’t forget to enter to win a NookHD 16GB tablet w/blue case!

Blurb from INSOMNIA:

It’s been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.

Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.

Check out the interview here:

Stalk Jenn here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JennJohansson

Blog: http://www.jennjohansson.blogspot.com/

Site: http://www.jrjohansson.com

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Pre-order INSOMNIA at any of these book outlets!

Finally, enter to win a NookHD 16GB tablet w/blue case!

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The Soundtrack for GILDED

May 17, 2013 | GILDED | 11 Comments

Today I’m sharing with you a peek into the music that I listened to while writing GILDED. In the video below, you’ll find me at Disney’s Music resort. I talk about the song that inspired GILDED’s first chapter, the songs that portray Jae’s emotions throughout the book and the songs that would make a great fit for GILDED’s soundtrack.

You can also click on my extra page to listen to the full playlist.

Do you listen to music while you are reading or writing?

Cover Reveal for Once Upon a Darkness

May 15, 2013 | contests, cover designs | 2 Comments

Once Upon a Darkness by Aria Kane will be available from Entranced Publishing June 17!

Gretchen and her twin brother, Hank, were abandoned to a zombie horde when they were five years old. Intended to be a sacrifice by their zealot parents, they were instead rescued by The Company. Raised to become soldiers in the war against zombies, they now provide safe passage through danger zones, one contract at a time.

Clint’s only skill is war, but he’s weary of killing other men. When his contract with the Marines runs out, he takes a job on Gretchen’s team, hoping that the search-and-rescue life will suit him better.

On Clint’s second day, their four-man team is attacked, drugged, and taken to a prison full of frightened civilians. The only way in or out is by helicopter and, here, their enemies are human. One by one, the captives are culled from the holding area. Rumors say the facility director uses the prisoners as experimental subjects for the testing of a zombie cure.

When Hank is taken, Clint and Gretchen must put aside their personal feelings and find a way out of the prison, surrounded by thousands of starving zombies, before Hank becomes just one more disposable guinea pig in the hands of a twisted mad woman.

Add Once Upon a Darkness on Goodreads!

About the Author

Aria Kane is a recovering mechanical engineer and romance writer. She lives in sunny Florida with a 60 lb mutt who thinks he’s a Chihuahua. You can learn more about her at ariakane.com or on Twitter @aria_kane.

Giveaway

To celebrate the Once Upon a Darkness cover reveal, Aria is giving away a $20 giftcard and an ecopy of an Entranced book of the winner’s choice.

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Book Reviews of 3 Lucky 13 ARCs

May 5, 2013 | authors, books, The Lucky 13s | 6 Comments

One of the fun things about being a member of the Lucky 13s is I get to read some of the ARCs of the Lucky 13ers. Each author sends their ARC (advanced reader copy) in the mail to the first person on a list. That person reads it, signs it and then passes it onto the next person.

Think of it as a yearbook for authors!

I thought it might be fun to do a vlog on my experience of three of these ARCs and share it with you. The books I read for this video are: IN THE SHADOWS OF BLACKBIRDS by Cat Winters, THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER by Megan Shepherd, & INK by Amanda Sun.

If you think this is something you’d like to see more of, let me know and I’ll continue videoing my experiences. Since my book was bumped to 2014, I’m also part of the OneFour KidLit group and I’m thinking of doing videos on some of those books too.

Have you read any of these books yet? If not which book are you looking forward to the most to read?

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News

Tips and Strategies for Line Edits

Writers Share Advice on the Editorial Letter

The Editorial Letter from the Other Side

Deconstructing the Editorial Letter

The Editorial Letter Explained

Acting Out Scenes from GILDED

Interview with INSOMNIA author, J.R. Johansson

The Soundtrack for GILDED

Cover Reveal for Once Upon a Darkness

Book Reviews of 3 Lucky 13 ARCs

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