The Most Difficult Aspect to Find

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

You’ve been working on your book proposal or book manuscript for a long time. On a consistent basis, you have been at your computer crafting your words and telling your stories. Or you have been working on your business plan or book proposal for your book. After weeks of effort and work, you are poised at your computer and ready to submit it to a literary agent or an editor. In this article, I want to help you understand the most difficult factor for you to find at this juncture: something that is not there. How do you find what you are missing and make sure you add it before submitting?

For this article, I added an image of a woman looking at a map. Let’s say you were going to be the printer or publisher of that map. What would be the most difficult aspect to check in the proofreading process before you printed it? The answer is something which is supposed to be on that map but is not there. With a book, it could be the table of contents page. An editor friend who read my Pivot Driven Devotions wrote an email and called it to my attention this book does not have a table of contents page. For other books, they have a foreword but in the proofreading process the foreword isn’t added to the table of contents. In other books, the word foreword is misspelled as forward. Foreword is one of the most misspelled words in publishing. As a writer, you want to get the details right no matter what you are publishing.

Now that you understand the challenge for the author, I want to suggest several ideas to help you in this process.

1. Use a checklist. The checklist helps you see the elements which may be missing then add them into your manuscript, book proposal or any other type of submission or pitch. For example, in the book proposal area, I have a free book proposal checklist (follow the link to get it or go to this page for more information).  My book proposal checklist is a number of pages (when you subscribe to my newsletter). I’ve written two book proposals that received six-figure advances and reviewed hundreds of proposal submissions. I encourage you to read my checklist then carefully review it and see if anything is missing that you need to add before your submission. Submitting a complete document is important. Sometimes authors will notice they are missing something and ask if they can resubmit their proposal. Often with reluctance I agree to such a request but it causes more internal work and does not make the right impression on the editor or agent that you have asked. As a writer, you can to come across in a professional manner. Use the checklist before you hit the send button to an editor or agent.

2. Hire a proofreader or outside editor. Another way to find missing elements in your submission is to hire a proofreader or outside editor. At Morgan James Publishing, we have a vetted list of editors that I will send to the authors during the submission process. The list is fluid and changes from time to time if we get complaints about a particular editor. There are a number of these professionals who can help you. The Christian Writers’ Market Guide has a list of editors and resources. Make sure you use a current edition because this type of information changes from year to year. 

Before you submit, you want to make sure your material is complete and in the best possible shape. An outside editor can help you in this process--especially when you understand that an excellent submission is a great way to stand out to the editor or literary agent. Some people estimate there are millions of submissions in process at any given moment. From the stack of material I receive as an editor, I believe that statement is true.

3. Join a Critique Group.

The final way I would give you to find something missing in your query letter or book proposal or manuscript or any sort of pitch is to join a critique group or find an accountability partner. Each of us need someone with fresh eyes to look at our material and give us input and improvement. I’ve been in a number of these groups through the years and learned it is important to find the right group. That process will take some search and effort but it is well worth it from my experience. Follow this link to learn some more ideas about finding and participating in a critique group. 

The publishing process is not easy for anyone. The overall message in this article is that you do not have to face the journey alone. Use one or more of these ideas to find whatever is missing in your material--and do it before you send it. What other ideas or resources do you have in this area? Let me know in the comments below.

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week another podcast recording launched.

Want your book to be a success? Author Terry Whalin says, “Take five small actions every day.” That’s it. Repeat daily. Momentum comes from small, strategic actions over time.🎧 Hear the full strategy in the Author’s Edge: https://bit.ly/4iQuAYw

Some of My Writing In Other Places:

In recent weeks, I’ve had a couple of guest blog post articles.

Each month I guest blog at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and this month I encourage writers that The Opportunity To Publish Is Everywhere at: https://bit.ly/42AXgOL 

Once a month, I guest blog at Writers on the Move and in this article, I explain why I give away books and you should too at: https://bit.ly/3Es76KY 

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How To Handle Editorial Feedback

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It may be strange to make this admission. As a writer, I don’t enjoy getting editorial feedback--especially the most helpful kind. The most useful feedback is when your manuscript isn’t published and is still being improved and refined but will often take a lot of work on my part to adjust it.  

When I work with an editor, they often use the tracking changes feature of Microsoft Word, which in general is a standard program within the publishing community. Yes, there are other programs like WordStar and WordPerfect but in general writers who use these older programs are stuck and don’t want to learn to use Word. One of the most famous authors in this category is George R. R. Martin who writes the Game of Throne novels. Follow this link to see the extent that he is maintaining his old writing pattern. Most of us don’t have such an option. 

Several years ago, I was contracted to write a book. This particular book involved working on a short deadline and multiple editors reviewing and making editorial suggestions on my manuscript. If you have a single editor, the Word changes appear in a single color. If you work with multiple editors, each editor has a different color and the manuscript looks like a rainbow of colors with many things to address in each paragraph. Multiple editors and a short deadline to review and return this material made this book a challenge. At that time I was not just a freelance writer but also working a fulltime day job at a publishing house. With a dose of persistence, I completed the book and it was published but the editorial process was grueling.

When you get editorial feedback, there are basically two ways to handle it. Initially when I get this feedback I fume and mutter to myself that I don’t want to do it. I’ve learned not to respond but to give myself a day or two to think about it. Usually during this cooling off period, I determine the truth in the feedback and the need for revision. I decide to do what the editor asked me to do.

Because I’ve worked in publishing for many years, I’ve seen the opposite reaction. Authors write lengthy retorts about why they wrote something the way it was written. Some authors will battle over every single word changed in their original work. These authors do not endear themselves to the editor or publisher or agent. Instead of an author you want to help, they become someone to delay, avoid and reject because of their lack of teachability and being coached. 

The editorial process is designed to produce an excellent work for the reader. Some authors forget this important detail in the back and forth process. Admittedly the process is subjective and has room for dialogue and discussion but at the core is the search for an excellent book.

One of the best ways for every writer to get editorial feedback is to join a critique group. Early in my days as a writer, I joined a small group of four people who met every month for breakfast. We wrote something each month for the group. Maybe it was a short magazine article, a query letter, part of a book proposal or a chapter in a book. Each person got the manuscript at least a week before our meeting date. As a member of the group, your task was to print the material and mark it up with editorial suggestions for improvement. During the meeting, we quickly ordered our breakfast, then took 15 minutes with each person. The focus of our time was not to visit or chat about anything other than the work that we were critiquing. At the end of the meeting, each person went home with three versions of their work.Then you can take the input and see if you agree (make the change) or ignore it. 

As writers, we grew in our writing and learned from each other in this editorial process. I found it gave valuable insight. If you are not in a critique group or want to improve your group process, I have much more detail in this article. 

As an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, every day I’m involved in this editorial process. Recently the feedback for one of my novel authors was she needed to get a developmental editor then resubmit her work before getting a contract. This particular novelist had published a number of nonfiction books but this manuscript was her first novel. She needed some professional help before the foundation of her story would be excellent for publishing. It’s not easy to tell authors such decisions and encourage them to move forward to get an excellent book--yet it is all part of the process of producing excellent books. 

Another option for writers to get editorial feedback is to hire an outside editor before sending your material to an agent or publisher. If you use this option, it can be an expensive way to get an excellent manuscript but if you learn from the editor as they make suggestions, it can be a valuable part of your growth as a writer. 

It’s not easy or straightforward for any writer to handle editorial feedback but it is a necesary part of the process of producing an excellent book. How do you handle this process with your writing? Tell me about your experiences in the comments.

 

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Writers Need Editors

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It may surprise you to hear this statement: No writer creates a perfect first draft. Each of us have to get the stories and information out of our head and on to paper (or computer). Some of my writer friends will talk their writing into the computer then edit from that draft. They use a program like Naturally Speaking. Even when you use such a tool, your first draft will need additional work.

 

While I've been writing for publication for decades, I still need an editor.  In the writing process, I try and write enough ahead that I can let it cool for a few hours (or days) then I read through my writing and edit it. Each of us need to self-edit. Another process is to read your work aloud to yourself and edit it as you go through it. The ear is less forgiving than the eye and this process will help improve your work.

 

Yet s writers we can only take our writing to a certain level on our own. We need editors. A good editor will ask probing questions and force you to clarify areas that don't make sense or are incomplete. A good editor will push you to do more showing in your writing than telling. The editor can also react to the structure of your piece and push you to have a stronger conclusion. These various elements are just a few of the skills an editor will bring to your writing and publishing process.

 

There are numerous freelance editors who perform help many writers in this process. If you don't have such an editor, ask other writers and get some recommendations. Then check out that editor's references and even have them edit a portion of your book (often they will do this process without charge) to see if their work will be a good fir for what you need and are looking for with your work.

 

Another resource some writer use for the editing process is their participation in a critique group. In the early days of my publishing work, I was active in a critique group and it was a great help to propel my writing. If you don't have a critique group (in person or online), I recommend you read this detailed article that I wrote about critique groups (follow the link).

 

Do you believe every writer needs an editor? What tips do you have for finding a good one? Let me know in the comments below. 

 

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