A Guide For The Overconfident

There are many different types of writers. Some writers are petrified to be rejected so they never send in their work. Years ago I was in a critique group with one of these types of writers. He had a drawer filled with full-length novels which he had written but never submitted. As we read his work, we learned the stories were well-crafted and encouraged him to get his work out into the marketplace. Thankfully most of those novels have appeared in print with traditional publishers.

Then you have writers at the other end of the spectrum who are constantly submitting (and getting rejected) yet have little craft or writing technique nor do they study the market for a particular publisher or magazine or literary agent before they send off their project. The editorial piles around the country are glutted with these types of submissions. Most writers fall somewhere between these two extremes. Their work would profit from some feedback from an editor or another pass or two to edit through it.

Now Carolyn Howard-Johnson has created The Frugal Editor, Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. In a straight-forward style, Carolyn guides writers in how to prepare their manuscript for submission. It's anything from learning how to use the tracking changes feature of Microsoft Word to grammar tips on getting rid of adverbs and passive tense sentences complete with examples. She walks writers through the entire publishing process including galleys and gives some seasoned advice. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, you can get some solid insight from this new book. I recommend it.