Authors Anonymous discussion

Here is a little something to help all the writers out there.

How to Find an Editor Without Going Insane

http://bit.ly/12FA8gk

Have fun.
Gamal

First of all (and no disrespect towards you, Gamal), I think many of Hemingway's quotes are overrated. He was a caricature of himself in a lot of ways and that's probably part of the reason he killed himself. Sure, no first draft is perfect, but I wouldn't go so far as saying it was total shit. I've seen some writers over the years crank out some amazing stuff at the first crack because some people are just born gifted in certain areas.

Secondly, I'm happy for you that you found an editorial service that you are happy with. I think the price is reasonable but the lack of personal contact would bother me greatly. On my first novel, I worked with an editor who was a friend of mine for nearly thirty years and the personal rapport between us was invaluable. Our discussions about my draft were usually not very technical, but holistically he helped me to shape my narrative, knowing that I had the necessary skills to finish the job. Till The Moon Falls has gotten four and five star reviews as a result and started me on a prolific frenzy of writing which has finally subsided after four years. That's the kind of gatekeeper I needed.

Finally, I've hear stories about writers who have had their books picked up by agents and the editors have practically rewritten their entire drafts to suit the market. Sometimes it's paid off and sometimes it hasn't. Just like anything else in the world of arts and crafts, it's all very subjective and fluid.

"The best writing is rewriting." You gotta love E.B. White, a great storyteller. I recently went over my manuscript a dozen times. Was it fun? NO! It was very hard, but satisfying in the end. There were still two little nits that I will live with. The good news is it didn't cost $1200 dollars to have it gone over by an Editor. Not every one has that kind of money lying around in their sock drawer?

There are newbie writers who throw a piece together without putting enough time into it to see even the obvious errors. They could have left it alone and gone back after a while and read it over. The word perfection doesn't have to be a dirty word. I have to be happy with my work, and I aim to entertain the reader. If it makes me laugh or tear up, then I've succeeded. My best story so far is "Sad Clown Day". This is just one of my stories in my Nightfall Horror Anthology that is posted at Createspace now. https://www.createspace.com/4305679

Cheers, Don (Greywolf) Ford

I never thought about using Createspace for editing services. I had an editor, but now it seems I have to find a new one. My paperback was done with Createspace and I'm pleased with that whole process. My book is considerably longer than 75,000 words, so that price would break my bank so to speak. In the end, I'm afraid it might end up costing that much or more anyway, so I won't write them off entirely. It was a good article.

Conrad wrote: "First of all (and no disrespect towards you, Gamal), I think many of Hemingway's quotes are overrated. He was a caricature of himself in a lot of ways and that's probably part of the reason he kill..."

No worries sir. Most quotes are innacurate or manipulated out of context. I was merely making a point.

I agree with you about the lack of personal contact, but I don't have any long standing friendships with editors, so even if I did get to talk to or even drink with an independent editor, I would be giving my book to a stranger. This course of action was the lesser of two evils.

I also have heard of massive rewrites by publishers. That's one of the things that led me to independent publishing. I will feel bad if my book doesn't do well in the market, but I would feel worse if someone else rewrote it and it didn't do well. I would always wonder how the book would have done if they left it alone. I also wouldn't feel that great if they rewrote it and it did well, because the success wouldn't feel like my own.

Does that make sense?

Hope you're feeling better.

Have fun.
G

Don wrote: ""The best writing is rewriting." You gotta love E.B. White, a great storyteller. I recently went over my manuscript a dozen times. Was it fun? NO! It was very hard, but satisfying in the end. ..."

Thanks Don. Do you edit all your own work purely because of the cost or is editorial control also a factor?

Have fun.
Gamal

Mary wrote: "I never thought about using Createspace for editing services. I had an editor, but now it seems I have to find a new one. My paperback was done with Createspace and I'm pleased with that whole proc..."

Thank you Mary. CreateSpace charged me based on word count (I think it was $.016 per word) but other editors who charged me per page or per word came down in the same ball park. I don't know what kind of book you are doing, but have you considered breaking it into multiple volumes to make sure you don't have one huge editorial bill but maybe one or two or even three managible ones?

Have fun.
Gamal

Thanks, Gamal,

As it is, my book is broken up into two parts. Part one could go as a book alone, but part two wouldn't. I had to do it this way. I definitely did consider breaking it up in the beginning though. Editing cost and time will probably both kill me. Thanks again.

Gamal, I do editing for others, so I thought I ought to be able to handle my own, if only I could afford me. I'm a bit harder on my own work, and might go over it numerous times. At some point, I need to say enough is enough. I'm convinced I could edit mine to death if I let myself.
Cheers, Don