So there are several stages to writing a full length, finished manuscript. First the ideas, then the beginning to get down the bones, add the meat... and then comes the last stage. Editing, editing and re-editing. Writers used to have editors who did some of this for them but not so anymore. If someone wants to go the publisher route, they have to present a very nearly print ready book which might get some tweaking but basically will stay as it is.
I have heard of writers who can lay down a story that is print ready from the get go. That's certainly not me. I get that story laid out (mine run from 80,000-138,000 words), have the characters and gist of it about as they will stay, check all my spelling and punctuation as I go, and then try to let it set at least a month in what I thought was finished form.
When I come back to it with fresh eyes, I do it all again because no matter how much I thought I caught, there seems to always be more. Does a computer faerie come along and insert such glaring errors? The blog also has that happen. The work of editing happens whenever I have time and I'll come and go from it as this or that gets reworked.
Then for me comes what I hope will be the final edit. I think it works best if I have a block of time to read it through pretty much in a couple of settings-- close together. The reason for this is to see the continuity that I might've missed when I was fitting it into many other activities. That isn't likely to be the last time I tweak something, but it is the time I hope I got it all as good as it gets.
This spring and summer, where I was editing a lot of my stories, I had a couple of additional pluses to this work. I got to see my body of work at one time which told me where I wasn't putting out fresh ideas, what my patterns were, where I might want to break them for future writing. I saw protagonists I liked better than others and had a chance to look at the ones that had a good story but maybe not so strong of characters with the idea of strengthening them. Working on one of the stories brought me back to the cover because I simply didn't see the face there as fitting the story. The new improved model seems better.
So basically editing is to look at the story for good writing, plot, character consistency. Does it all flow? Does it make sense that that person did that? It's when you find inconsistencies of character, names, appearance, location, etc etc.
Now if one is just writing for their own pleasure, this is the last stage. If, however the intent is to send to a publisher, there is the toughest part yet to come-- query letter, synopsis and outline. None of these are easy for me and although I did work with that consulting writer on doing them, did several times get past that stage to have an editor actually request full manuscripts before rejecting them, I never liked it. It is though part of selling.
Because my plan this time is to use EPUB, which means electronically published online in various formats, I do not need query letters or outlines. I will need instead a promotional paragraph.
The more I thought about EPUB, about not losing control over my stories, over creating covers that had meaning to them, I knew it's my first choice for getting these stories out. I still, however, have a concern about whether putting them out online would end up with the stories being ripped off as in someone else taking them and putting their own name on them. What protects the work from that?
EPUB requires more than a finished manuscript. There must be those covers, brief teasers to interest a reader in finding out more about the story. The latter means a killer sentence, as often that's all the chance someone gets, and a blurb to let a reader know what they would be getting if they bought my book. I also will write each a short essay regarding what they were about and my feeling toward them which will go into the blog devoted to promoting them-- Romance with an Edge.
Come fall, when I put out the first of my stories, a blog called Romance with an Edge is where future writings on these books will be going. It will come out about the time the first eBook goes online. It will have more about my writing philosophy as I don't want to use this blog to sell books. I've seen writers who do this, but this blog has its own purpose, one I don't want to change. The new one will though be in my blog lists for those interested in more info on those books as they come along.
Whatever a person does in the creative line there often does come a time to put it out there and take the risk that their baby will be rejected by either a publisher or today those with eReaders of one sort or another. It's painful to have that happen but equally so to do something that we put our heart and soul into but then never show another person. The sales part is secondary to the primary creative effort, but it's no less a part of it.
7 comments:
My ex-husband nearly died laughing one day when I was reading a work in progress and said, "Wow! This is really pretty good -- I wonder how it ends!" Endings are always had for me. My characters develop minds of their own and do all sorts of things I never planned.
I control my stories because I am a god to their world, and I have a plan where it will be going (only surprises might be nice additions along the way); but I have had characters that I liked a lot and ended up using them again in another story where I flesh them out more. To me life has too much of uncontrolled endings for me to let one of my stories have that happen. I am going to get that at least where I want it to be!
I meant to add one more point to this and will when I republish it in the romance oriented blog but the fact that a publisher likes your writing will not determine whether they accept the story to be published by them. I have gotten a lot of compliments along with rejections because what I wrote didn't fit the format they had for their line.
Basically publishing houses are all about making money, and they publish what they believe will do that. It is a business, and I respect that. They aren't out there to publish the best written stories. Many popular authors have had one rejection after another when they began. The thing is they kept at it.
Another funny story (to me anyway) is when I was recently sorting books to decide if I should keep them or not, a very published romance author had written one. She said in the preface it was a story that was rejected over and over before she got successful and now finally she could get it published. I scanned it a bit, put it in the discard pile, and thought its one she should have let go. It was still trite and not nearly what she later could do. However, it was her baby and she couldn't let it go. I relate to that but they aren't all good that get published or rejected.
Looking forward to reading your stories!
This is so interesting. The detail of all the work and frustration. I like how you are putting the puzzle of the whole project together.
PS I like the new profile photo.
When you say EPUB are you referring to the ebook format (.epub) or is there a publishing site by that name? I think .epub is one of the best (most universal) formats but don't forget MOBI that the Amazon Kindle can read. I've just ordered my first Kindle and really feel that it will become the predominate ereader, if it isn't already.
Will you sell them yourself through that other blog or list them with someone like Fictionwise.com that is owned by Barnes & Noble? If you go with Fictionwise and they are in Multi Format, they can be downloaded in most formats but I don't think they will have copy protection built into them.
Whatever you do, I'll be interested in buying at least one, even if I have to dig out my old Sony Ereader to use it in .epub format.
Dick, EPUB is just the word I have heard for anything electronically published with several possible formats. Farm Boss will be the one doing the changing their format when they are finally ready to go. He did try one experimentally just to put on his computer and it looked fine although might require some tweaking from one formatting system to another. He's doing research on it whenever he has the time between the shearing, coyote problems, fences and his work in the techie world. We think it will be in three formats but haven't worked that out. Most places like Kindle do accept anything that comes in the right format for a percentage of the selling price. I really don't know a lot about that end of it and appreciate your added info. I also appreciate your interest in possibly reading one of them. I will put out more info on what they are about when the time comes to actually print them. I do understand that being romances with some sexual content, they may not be everyone's reading preference. I haven't really decided which ones to put out first and whether to use my historic ones or not although more and more I am leaning toward thinking eBooks are going to be the future for reading.
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