My daughter refused to eat breakfast this morning, but only moments ago I found her taking bites out of playdough. What is it about playdough that children love? Because it's colorful? It's definitely not tastier than the cereal I offered earlier. Maybe she knows that, but it's just so pretty she can't resist.
Sometimes I wonder about that colorful lump of dough on the horizon: Publication. All the kids on the playground want it. I know I want it. I work hard for it, but when I get there will it be worth it or will it taste a little salty?
After years of staying up late writing and trying so hard to balance my dream with the bigger and larger and eternal pursuit of Family, will I hold my book in my hand, look back over the years, and say, "Oh. All that for this?"
Because being published is my goal. As much as I'd like to say I write for the love (and I do love writing), I'm driven forward by the possibility of having my work read. However, days I'm sleepy from a late writing night, too sleepy to be the mom I want to be, I have to ask myself, "What are you doing?"
I'd hate to come away from this venture knowing that one of my children missed out on something important because my head was busy creating other lives. Then again, I know writing is a part of me now. It forms who I am, and in many ways makes me a better mom.
I'd love your thoughts on this, especially if you have actually tasted playdough (real or metaphorical).
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
He is Risen!
Click here for President Monson's address.
He died so that we might live.
Happy Easter!
One for the ROAD:
My book, Darkspell a YA paranormal Romance has been picked
up by TreasureLine Publishers!
SO exciting! Here's me signing my contract:
(pardon the background sound, that's my hubby watching tv.)
S. B. Niccum spotted at LDSFiction!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Totally Cliché Countdown #1
So it's been a few weeks since we announced our Totally Cliché contest. Hopefully many of you have spent those weeks brainstorming about clichés or better yet, writing with one (or more) of them. If you haven't started yet, consider this a reminder. GO WRITE!
You might be wondering why in the world we would choose clichés for our theme. Well, because they're fun. But are they fun because they're what we love to write or are they fun because they are forbidden? Tricky question.
Let's talk about clichés for a moment. What makes a cliché a cliché? What qualifies a phrase for this list of banishment? Well, the reason I've heard many times is that clichés are overused. They're old. We hear them so often they get annoying. If this is truly the case does that mean that in time, after years of writers avoiding them, clichés won't be overused any more? Will they be unique, a word combination on the verge of extinction that writers will once again embrace without shame?
With that thought in mind, consider this...are all clichés worthy of reintroduction into the wilds of writing? I'm not sure they are. Now, before I dive into what I'm about to say and potentially cause confusion, let me just state how much I love clichés. Maybe it's my rebellious side but I really love them. My personal favorite is "It was a dark and stormy night." I have big plans to write a story about a dark stormy night and I'm thinking I might even start the story with that line just to ruffle someone's feathers. Sounds fun! But....
Aren't a lot of the clichés out there telling? Is that the real problem with them? Let's think about this as we look at my favorite for a moment. I love dark and stormy nights. I love loud thunder and bold lightning. I can't think of a better way to start an intense scene. Such expressive weather creates a unique mood in my mind and prepares the backdrop for a great story.
If six small words can lay the right foundation for a story's atmosphere why is their combination so bad to use? The reason goes deeper than this phrase just being overused. Why? Because the phrase is telling at its best. And if I've learned anything as a writer it's that the best of us create stories that show themselves, like a little movie, in the reader's head. These stories are painted with the careful strokes of description that cannot be rushed. Rushing them results in telling and telling is like watching movie a made fifty years ago. Compared to one of today's 3D experiences, it doesn't have a chance. Visually, there's no competition.
If I were going to send a story to an agent or editor that began with "It was a dark and stormy night" I could almost guarantee you that they would throw my manuscript in the garbage because my word choice shows what a weak writer I am. Weak, because instead of setting the reader up for a good story, I merely fill their minds with questions. Questions like these:
For most readers my favorite cliché won't paint the appropriate picture in their mind. While I might be vaguely describing a massive rain and thunder storm one reader might think of a blizzard. Another might imagine a building tornado in the distance. Instead of clarity my cliché choice just creates questions and this is a big NO NO for any writer. A writer seeking publication needs to know how to create a fantastic story that leaves the reader with no doubt what the mental movie should look like.
So now that you're thinking how crazy I am for telling everyone that we are, in essence, asking you to write a story for our contest that is filled with telling, let me explain myself.
Clichés are tricky. To use one effectively a writer really has to be careful. That's what we're looking for. We're challenging you to take something that could weaken your story and use it to your advantage. You could be sarcastic with your cliché. You could use it in a humorous way with the intention of making us laugh. You could be sneaky, weaving it into the story in an unusual way. You could make your MC the cliché culprit by having their dialogue contain the forbidden phrase. There are so many creative ways to use a cliché that we know you won't disappoint.
Look at this contest as an exercise to build your writing muscles. Because seriously, if you can make a cliché a little less cliché you've got yourself some serious writing talent!
Comments made to today's post will qualify for our mini-contest.
You might be wondering why in the world we would choose clichés for our theme. Well, because they're fun. But are they fun because they're what we love to write or are they fun because they are forbidden? Tricky question.
Let's talk about clichés for a moment. What makes a cliché a cliché? What qualifies a phrase for this list of banishment? Well, the reason I've heard many times is that clichés are overused. They're old. We hear them so often they get annoying. If this is truly the case does that mean that in time, after years of writers avoiding them, clichés won't be overused any more? Will they be unique, a word combination on the verge of extinction that writers will once again embrace without shame?
With that thought in mind, consider this...are all clichés worthy of reintroduction into the wilds of writing? I'm not sure they are. Now, before I dive into what I'm about to say and potentially cause confusion, let me just state how much I love clichés. Maybe it's my rebellious side but I really love them. My personal favorite is "It was a dark and stormy night." I have big plans to write a story about a dark stormy night and I'm thinking I might even start the story with that line just to ruffle someone's feathers. Sounds fun! But....
Aren't a lot of the clichés out there telling? Is that the real problem with them? Let's think about this as we look at my favorite for a moment. I love dark and stormy nights. I love loud thunder and bold lightning. I can't think of a better way to start an intense scene. Such expressive weather creates a unique mood in my mind and prepares the backdrop for a great story.
If six small words can lay the right foundation for a story's atmosphere why is their combination so bad to use? The reason goes deeper than this phrase just being overused. Why? Because the phrase is telling at its best. And if I've learned anything as a writer it's that the best of us create stories that show themselves, like a little movie, in the reader's head. These stories are painted with the careful strokes of description that cannot be rushed. Rushing them results in telling and telling is like watching movie a made fifty years ago. Compared to one of today's 3D experiences, it doesn't have a chance. Visually, there's no competition.
If I were going to send a story to an agent or editor that began with "It was a dark and stormy night" I could almost guarantee you that they would throw my manuscript in the garbage because my word choice shows what a weak writer I am. Weak, because instead of setting the reader up for a good story, I merely fill their minds with questions. Questions like these:
"How dark was it?"
"Was it a rain or a snow storm?"
"What time of night was it? Midnight? Twilight?"
For most readers my favorite cliché won't paint the appropriate picture in their mind. While I might be vaguely describing a massive rain and thunder storm one reader might think of a blizzard. Another might imagine a building tornado in the distance. Instead of clarity my cliché choice just creates questions and this is a big NO NO for any writer. A writer seeking publication needs to know how to create a fantastic story that leaves the reader with no doubt what the mental movie should look like.
So now that you're thinking how crazy I am for telling everyone that we are, in essence, asking you to write a story for our contest that is filled with telling, let me explain myself.
Clichés are tricky. To use one effectively a writer really has to be careful. That's what we're looking for. We're challenging you to take something that could weaken your story and use it to your advantage. You could be sarcastic with your cliché. You could use it in a humorous way with the intention of making us laugh. You could be sneaky, weaving it into the story in an unusual way. You could make your MC the cliché culprit by having their dialogue contain the forbidden phrase. There are so many creative ways to use a cliché that we know you won't disappoint.
Look at this contest as an exercise to build your writing muscles. Because seriously, if you can make a cliché a little less cliché you've got yourself some serious writing talent!
Comments made to today's post will qualify for our mini-contest.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Birthday Week
by Cheri Chesley
Yesterday was kind of a big day at my house. My twins turned 12, and their little sister turned 7. Some years ago, I wrote poems for each of my children. I've shared them online this week.
You can read Jeffrey's poem HERE.
You can read Daniel's poem HERE.
And I'm going to share Rianne with you now:
“Rianne”
When I gaze into your eyes,
I know God has a sense of humor.
Otherwise he would have sent you
to me long ago.
You are such a lovely girl.
My little mirror,
I can’t accept
I was ever so beautiful.
I know I was not so quick
or brilliant as you are.
Siblings should not compete
or I’d say God saved the best
for last.
You embody the best of all
your older siblings.
Every day I wonder,
What will you think of next?
Your vocabulary may already be
bigger than mine.
You will grow, my baby,
and will excel in all you do.
I will miss you as my baby,
but rejoice in the woman you will be.
May 29, 2006
Because I have perfectionist issues, I'm going to tell you I'm not as satisfied with this poem as I am with the other two. I wanted to write something that expressed who she is, and I wrote it when she was 2--and she's become so much more since then.
I might just have to try again. :)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Stand for Truth and Righteousness
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Multiple Channels and Piercing Questions
It's the home stretch! We've reached the end of this little series of posts about the different types of self-publishing out there. Let's discuss Multiple Channels and then I'll walk you through some things to consider when self publishing.
Multiple channels is just what it sounds like. You use one company to prep your manuscript, and they distribute it to several venues all at once. So instead of formatting it JUST for Kindle, or JUST for the Nook, you can do it for as many venues as is available through the company. It still has all the trademarks of publishing single channel but the added bonus of going lots of places all at once. There are a few out there, but two of the biggies are:
Smashwords
FastPencil (this has a small fee)
FastPencil has more in common with the POD publishers, but still has the option for doing it on the cheap.
So what questions should you be asking when deciding what avenue to take to get your work published?
1. What are my goals here? Does my work need a print edition?
2. How much help am I going to need to get the job done? Do I need to consider independent editing? Do I know how to format my manuscript?
3. Will my audience prefer digital or print?
4. Once I have a product ready, how am I going to get the word out there? (None of the 4 options I've covered the past month do any publicity for you.)
I hope this will help you get on the right path for you and your writing. Not everything we write has a place in traditional publishing. Having these options available can only be a good thing in the long run for the individual author and the publishing industry as a whole.
Multiple channels is just what it sounds like. You use one company to prep your manuscript, and they distribute it to several venues all at once. So instead of formatting it JUST for Kindle, or JUST for the Nook, you can do it for as many venues as is available through the company. It still has all the trademarks of publishing single channel but the added bonus of going lots of places all at once. There are a few out there, but two of the biggies are:
Smashwords
FastPencil (this has a small fee)
FastPencil has more in common with the POD publishers, but still has the option for doing it on the cheap.
So what questions should you be asking when deciding what avenue to take to get your work published?
1. What are my goals here? Does my work need a print edition?
2. How much help am I going to need to get the job done? Do I need to consider independent editing? Do I know how to format my manuscript?
3. Will my audience prefer digital or print?
4. Once I have a product ready, how am I going to get the word out there? (None of the 4 options I've covered the past month do any publicity for you.)
I hope this will help you get on the right path for you and your writing. Not everything we write has a place in traditional publishing. Having these options available can only be a good thing in the long run for the individual author and the publishing industry as a whole.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Same Church
We moved our family from Kansas to Texas a few months ago, and as I sat in Sacrament Meeting today I thought about the sameness of our church from one state to the other (from one country to the other for that matter!) In our new ward, the people may be different, but we still have Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School. We still listen to the same Sacrament prayers and sing the same hymns. We still have a bishop and his counselors. My husband still goes to Priesthood and I still go to Relief Society. And thank goodness, there is still a Primary where my son can sing the songs he loves and attend Sharing Time and CTR 4. And he can still feel that same Spirit WHEREVER he is attending church.
This sameness has made my son's transition easier. I mean, he is ALWAYS happy when he leaves Primary--there is a little hop in his step and a big smile on his face. (And I can't resist adding my son told me today in Primary he had tears in his eyes but not for very long because he wiped them away and nobody saw because they were focusing on their jobs.)
I also love that we can band together on the Internet as sisters in Zion and talk about the same Relief Society lessons and the same gospel principles and same General Conference and essentially...the same goals. I participated in the second annual LDS Writers Blogfest last week, and it was fantastic! 23 LDS writers blogged about their favorite conference talk. Here is my the link list if you are interested in checking them out:
Annette Lyon: “Desire”
Annie Cechini: “The Spirit of Revelation”
Ben Spendlove: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Chantele Sedgwick: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Charity Bradford: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Jackee Alston: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Jenilyn Tolley: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Jennifer McFadden: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jessie Oliveros: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jolene Perry: “It’s Conference Once Again”
Jordan McCollum: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Kasey Tross: “Guided by the Holy Spirit”
Kayeleen Hamblin: “Become as a Little Child”
Kelly Bryson: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Krista Van Dolzer: “Opportunities to Do Good”
Melanie Stanford: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Michelle Merrill: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Myrna Foster: “Opportunities to Do Good”
Nisa Swineford: “Desire”
Sallee Mathews: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Sierra Gardner: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Tamara Hart Heiner: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
The Writing Lair: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
We are such a power out there! There were only 23 particapting in this blogfest but there are so many of us. And given that we are all one day going to be published (you know it is true) what a mark we can leave on the world!
This sameness has made my son's transition easier. I mean, he is ALWAYS happy when he leaves Primary--there is a little hop in his step and a big smile on his face. (And I can't resist adding my son told me today in Primary he had tears in his eyes but not for very long because he wiped them away and nobody saw because they were focusing on their jobs.)
I also love that we can band together on the Internet as sisters in Zion and talk about the same Relief Society lessons and the same gospel principles and same General Conference and essentially...the same goals. I participated in the second annual LDS Writers Blogfest last week, and it was fantastic! 23 LDS writers blogged about their favorite conference talk. Here is my the link list if you are interested in checking them out:
Annette Lyon: “Desire”
Annie Cechini: “The Spirit of Revelation”
Ben Spendlove: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Chantele Sedgwick: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Charity Bradford: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Jackee Alston: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Jenilyn Tolley: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Jennifer McFadden: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jessie Oliveros: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jolene Perry: “It’s Conference Once Again”
Jordan McCollum: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Kasey Tross: “Guided by the Holy Spirit”
Kayeleen Hamblin: “Become as a Little Child”
Kelly Bryson: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Krista Van Dolzer: “Opportunities to Do Good”
Melanie Stanford: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Michelle Merrill: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Myrna Foster: “Opportunities to Do Good”
Nisa Swineford: “Desire”
Sallee Mathews: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Sierra Gardner: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Tamara Hart Heiner: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
The Writing Lair: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
We are such a power out there! There were only 23 particapting in this blogfest but there are so many of us. And given that we are all one day going to be published (you know it is true) what a mark we can leave on the world!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Talents
 |
| source |
We all know of the story of the master and his servants with the talents, right?
We are charged to use our resources to find our hidden talents. How would we know if we don't possess them if we don't try it?
The Lord has given us the gift of writing. We express our inner thoughts, emotions and fears through writing.
Journals. Poems. Novels.
If there is a seedling of desire to go beyond the boundaries of comfort, let us do it! It is no coincidence that you are writing that book.
We won't become published unless we push ourselves into that direction. The Lord does not set us up for failure!
Friday, April 15, 2011
How Much is Heredity?
by Cheri Chesley
When my twins were 6, they delved into their new-found writing ability with relish. And a little mustard. The results were little homemade books so adorable, I actually submitted them to Lisa Mangum at Deseret Book for consideration. Yeah, I know--but a mom's pride can be blinding at times. Jeffrey wrote this adorable story called "Little Sam and the Big, Mean Fish" that I just thought was the best. (can you tell my word for the day is adorable?)In it, Sam went fishing and got tormented by a big fish that tried to eat him, but, as the last line states, "Sam, he got away."
Of course, Lisa sent back this great rejection letter--she's awesome with rejection letters; I've gotten a few from her now--where she suggested I continue to encourage them in their talents, and that will go far to help them develop.
Lately, Daniel, now a 6th grader and turning 12 in a week, has been writing things in school so fantastic the teacher reads them out loud. Just before Christmas, the teacher challenged his class to write a paper to convince him not to give them any more of a certain kind of assignment. He read Daniel's essay out loud and told the class they can thank Daniel, because he's now convinced. This is the kid who wants to be a doctor when he grows up.
I find myself wondering how much of a certain talent is heredity and how much is exposure. I mean, my kids--by default--have respect and, in most cases, adoration of the written word. My oldest is dyslexic, but he has found a hero in Rick Riordan and can't get enough. My oldest daughter has barely reached a phase where she acknowledges she can read books longer than 70 pages. Fairy books are her thing, lately.
Basically, I guess I'm wondering how much of this I can reasonably take credit for? :) It happens, but it's by no means commonplace, for authors to turn out kids who are also authors. But, Daniel writes brilliant stuff, and even my beautiful, genius stepdaughter (now in college and has never lived with us longer than 4 weeks at a time) has written a novel and come to me for publishing advice.
Check out this LINK to my personal mommy blog where I share Daniel's poem that he wrote last week. I've never even thought of describing the journey of a paper airplane with such vivid enjoyment.
For the record, I always tell the kids I will support each one of their dreams--within reason. I want them to do what they love in life, provided "being a bum" and living in mom's basement is not their life's goal. :)
When my twins were 6, they delved into their new-found writing ability with relish. And a little mustard. The results were little homemade books so adorable, I actually submitted them to Lisa Mangum at Deseret Book for consideration. Yeah, I know--but a mom's pride can be blinding at times. Jeffrey wrote this adorable story called "Little Sam and the Big, Mean Fish" that I just thought was the best. (can you tell my word for the day is adorable?)In it, Sam went fishing and got tormented by a big fish that tried to eat him, but, as the last line states, "Sam, he got away."
Of course, Lisa sent back this great rejection letter--she's awesome with rejection letters; I've gotten a few from her now--where she suggested I continue to encourage them in their talents, and that will go far to help them develop.
Lately, Daniel, now a 6th grader and turning 12 in a week, has been writing things in school so fantastic the teacher reads them out loud. Just before Christmas, the teacher challenged his class to write a paper to convince him not to give them any more of a certain kind of assignment. He read Daniel's essay out loud and told the class they can thank Daniel, because he's now convinced. This is the kid who wants to be a doctor when he grows up.
I find myself wondering how much of a certain talent is heredity and how much is exposure. I mean, my kids--by default--have respect and, in most cases, adoration of the written word. My oldest is dyslexic, but he has found a hero in Rick Riordan and can't get enough. My oldest daughter has barely reached a phase where she acknowledges she can read books longer than 70 pages. Fairy books are her thing, lately.
Basically, I guess I'm wondering how much of this I can reasonably take credit for? :) It happens, but it's by no means commonplace, for authors to turn out kids who are also authors. But, Daniel writes brilliant stuff, and even my beautiful, genius stepdaughter (now in college and has never lived with us longer than 4 weeks at a time) has written a novel and come to me for publishing advice.
Check out this LINK to my personal mommy blog where I share Daniel's poem that he wrote last week. I've never even thought of describing the journey of a paper airplane with such vivid enjoyment.
For the record, I always tell the kids I will support each one of their dreams--within reason. I want them to do what they love in life, provided "being a bum" and living in mom's basement is not their life's goal. :)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
E-books and Editing
I'm really getting into this e-book thing. I love being able to find free or less expensive books at the touch of a button. What's even better is that I don't have to leave my house or search aisles and aisles of books to find what I'm looking for. I simply click and start reading. I didn't think I would like e-books. I was reticent to even try them, but try them I did and now I'm in love. Now don't get me wrong, I still love to hold a real book and see it's beautiful spine on my shelf. But with e-books, I can read a book and then decide if it's one I want on my bookshelf at home. I don't have an e-reader, I have an iPad. I enjoy it because I can download the apps to all the bookstores including Borders, Nook, and Kindle. I also discovered that Deseret Book just launched their own bookshelf app as well. The e-store hasn't launched yet, but the bookshelf came with eight free books right off the bat! I'm not sure how people with e-readers would access this app, but for those that don't live near any Deseret Bookstores, this new app could really be convenient.
Now on to another train of thought. My friend Sarah Eden has a podcast with Robison Wells and Marion Jensen called "The Appendix". I was listening to one of their podcasts about self publishing. And since our blog will be self publishing an anthology soon, (featuring YOU!). I thought I needed to pay special to it. The one thing that stood out to me when they talked about self-publishing (and e-publishing) is that the editing needs to be good. They even suggested that you may want to spend the money on professional editing services. I'll get to that later. But I thought about my Nanowrimo book I wrote this past November and how daunting the task of editing feels. I'm much better at helping other people fix their books than I am at fixing my own. It's been difficult for me to even begin. This is where a wonderful writer's group comes in. My local ANWA chapter had Aprilynne Pike, author of "Wings", (which is free on e-book format for a limited time! I've seen it on both Nook and Kindle!) come talk to us about editing. She showed us the edits her editor sends and even showed us a manuscript that had edits in the margins. It was interesting to see that the editor first sends pages of suggestions before she ever starts with inline edits. I asked April how I could apply this to my own edits. She said that after working with her editors these past few years she has learned a new method for her editing process. She writes the outline, then writes the book. After the book is written she checks it against the outline and makes any changes. Then she reads her book and without making a single change, she takes notes. Hmmm, that sounds kind of easy to me. You mean the first step is just reading my book and taking notes? It sounds simple enough for even me! Then she takes the notes and categorizes them by things such as voice, plot, character development, etc. When she goes back through her story, she checks off each bullet point as she completes it, then she does it again if needed. This system really sounds like something I can do and I dove right in. I have already read my story while taking notes. Now I will be writing an outline (because I'm a panster and don't start with silly things like outlines!). I will be categorizing my bullet pointed notes as well. For the first time ever, I'm actually excited about editing a book! I can visualize the final product and am ready to do the work to get my book there! I don't know yet if I want to e-publish or traditional publish, but the step of editing is necessary in both choices.
I'm excited to edit my book and get it to a product that I will be very proud of. Once I do that, I will have to decide if I will send it to agents or think about e-publishing. If I do entertain e-publishing, I think I will want to pay for editing services to help me polish my book. One such service that I know of is Precision Editing services. Heather B. Moore is one of the founders of this service and other LDS women are part of it as well. Do you know of any other editing services out there? What services would you pay for if you were e-publishing? What system do you have for editing? I really would like to get a discussion going, for some reason I'm missing all my virtual friends and need some stimulating conversation! So be sure to drop me a line in the comments! Oh, and I can't wait to see all the stories you will all be submitting really soon! Be sure to pass along the contest to all your writing friends!
Now on to another train of thought. My friend Sarah Eden has a podcast with Robison Wells and Marion Jensen called "The Appendix". I was listening to one of their podcasts about self publishing. And since our blog will be self publishing an anthology soon, (featuring YOU!). I thought I needed to pay special to it. The one thing that stood out to me when they talked about self-publishing (and e-publishing) is that the editing needs to be good. They even suggested that you may want to spend the money on professional editing services. I'll get to that later. But I thought about my Nanowrimo book I wrote this past November and how daunting the task of editing feels. I'm much better at helping other people fix their books than I am at fixing my own. It's been difficult for me to even begin. This is where a wonderful writer's group comes in. My local ANWA chapter had Aprilynne Pike, author of "Wings", (which is free on e-book format for a limited time! I've seen it on both Nook and Kindle!) come talk to us about editing. She showed us the edits her editor sends and even showed us a manuscript that had edits in the margins. It was interesting to see that the editor first sends pages of suggestions before she ever starts with inline edits. I asked April how I could apply this to my own edits. She said that after working with her editors these past few years she has learned a new method for her editing process. She writes the outline, then writes the book. After the book is written she checks it against the outline and makes any changes. Then she reads her book and without making a single change, she takes notes. Hmmm, that sounds kind of easy to me. You mean the first step is just reading my book and taking notes? It sounds simple enough for even me! Then she takes the notes and categorizes them by things such as voice, plot, character development, etc. When she goes back through her story, she checks off each bullet point as she completes it, then she does it again if needed. This system really sounds like something I can do and I dove right in. I have already read my story while taking notes. Now I will be writing an outline (because I'm a panster and don't start with silly things like outlines!). I will be categorizing my bullet pointed notes as well. For the first time ever, I'm actually excited about editing a book! I can visualize the final product and am ready to do the work to get my book there! I don't know yet if I want to e-publish or traditional publish, but the step of editing is necessary in both choices.
I'm excited to edit my book and get it to a product that I will be very proud of. Once I do that, I will have to decide if I will send it to agents or think about e-publishing. If I do entertain e-publishing, I think I will want to pay for editing services to help me polish my book. One such service that I know of is Precision Editing services. Heather B. Moore is one of the founders of this service and other LDS women are part of it as well. Do you know of any other editing services out there? What services would you pay for if you were e-publishing? What system do you have for editing? I really would like to get a discussion going, for some reason I'm missing all my virtual friends and need some stimulating conversation! So be sure to drop me a line in the comments! Oh, and I can't wait to see all the stories you will all be submitting really soon! Be sure to pass along the contest to all your writing friends!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
