Diary of a Mad Editor

I Don’t Know Nuthin’ ‘Bout No Writin’

My alias, “Craig” just received lessons number #3 and #4 of Rachel Plummer’s 3-day mini-course. Despite “Craig’s” objections, I’m going to share these with you (why should I have all the fun):

Hi Craig,

Two days ago you requested

“Fail-proof Tips for Your Writing and
Publishing Success!”

I do hope you got around to reading

Secret #1: Turning Ideas into Novels and Secret #2: Writing Books Publishers Can’t
Put Down

More important, I hope you’ve been considering how to use the secrets you were
presented in the first installment

Now it’s time to take a look at secrets 3 and 4.

Notice how she reminds “Craig” about the email from day 1. This accomplishes three things:

1. It tells “Craig” that she’s really serious about turning him into a writer.
2. It reminds him, just in case he didn’t read lessons #1 and #2, that he should read it.
3. And it challenges “Craig’s” seriousness. In doing so, it reinforces in the newbie’s mind that he will fail in his quest if he doesn’t stick with her advice.

Secret #3: Writing a Credible Novel

Writing a credible novel means that your readers
believe what’s happening in the book. Whether
it’s a mystery or fantasy, the worlds you create
in your book need to be believable within the
context of your story.

That means that you must build believable
characters whose motivation is believable for
that character.

In other words, if Joan decides to play amateur
sleuth to discover what happened to a neighbor
who disappeared, and Joan is putting herself
in a lot of danger to do that, you have to
give Joan believable motivation.

Get into Joan’s skin. Why is it so important
for Joan to find out what happened to her
neighbor? Is it something that happened in
her past? Is it something the neighbor did for
her that she’s trying to repay?

(note: Perhaps Joan is just a big ole nibshit — in which case motivation is far less important to the story or to the reader than Joan’s personality)

Character motivation is the key to creating
believable novels, no matter what genre you
work in.

Keep this in mind when developing your characters
and plots, and it’ll go a long way in helping
you write novels that sell.

*******************************************

Secret #4: Let Your Book “Breathe” to Maximize
Its Impact

Writing a novel is a long-term committment.
Even if you finish the first draft in 30 days,
you’re going to have to spend time polishing
that draft. The second and third drafts, or
even fifth and sixth, are where the novel
really comes together.

The problem is, after spending so much time
with your work, it can be really difficult to
read your novel objectively. You’re too close
to the characters and plot to pick up mistakes
in pacing or know when something isn’t clear.

The best thing you can do is have someone
else look at your book at this point. But
please note, by “someone” I don’t mean
your husband or wife or next door neighbor–
unless they happen to be professional writers
or editors.

Family and friends don’t really know what to
look for in a novel. They’re usually very
impressed that you’ve written a book at all,
and can’t judge it the way an editor or publisher
will. You need someone who knows about
writing and the writing business to tell
you what’s right and wrong with your book. I’ve
been doing this for fifteen years, ten as a
professional, and I still have several writer
friends read my work before I’ll even consider
sending it out.

After the first draft, your book isn’t really
ready for a complete edit. You need a general
critique of the work to make sure you’re on the
right track and, if your not, to guide you back
on it.

(note: here it comes . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . .)

I offer just such a critique FREE with my
e-book course “5 Little Words That Guarantee Your
Publishing Success” found at <--snip-->

(Ah-ah! See there. On her mini-site for her course, she’s offering to give a “comprehensive” critique, not a “general” critique. There is a difference — a huge difference in scope but, more importantly, a huge difference in the fee a pro freelance editor would charge for this service. So her free “bonus” is nothing of the sort.)

This is really quite an astounding bonus considering the
low price of the course and what you generally
pay for a multi-page critique of your work.

(Note how she again referrences the full critique thereby, twisting the different levels of critique together as if they were interchangeable.)

If you haven’t decided on a professional critique
yet, the next best way to “see” your work more
clearly is to let it rest for a month or two. This
means you should put the manuscript away in a
desk drawer or file cabinet, and don’t look at
it at all for at least a month (longer if you feel
you’re still too close to it).

You’ll be amazed at how many mistakes and
problems you run across this way.

Before you send your book out to publishers
and agents, you want to give it the best
chance you can. The writing business is
very competitive. If a publisher or agent
sees problems with your book the first
time around, they won’t ask to see it–or
anything else your write–again.

It’s well worth the time and extra effort
to make sure you get it right. And just remember,
Craig, I’m here to help if you need me :-)!

Okay, so lesson #3 is that fiction needs to have believable characters? Really? I never would have guessed.

Of course, lesson #4 takes the prize. Letting the novel “breathe”? Okay, that might be the case for some writers, but not universally true for all writers. Some writers can and do revise as they go and are quite successful this way. Others start revising their work the moment they finish a draft. Others do let their draft sit in a drawer for weeks, months, or sometimes even years before they finish it. And yes, some do seek the help of a freelance editor — but, hopefully, an editor with noted ability and a solid track-record in that field and a reputation for honesty. I strongly suspect this “tip” is more about the dumbshits who sign-up for the full course and keeping them on the string so she doesn’t have to honor her “money-back” guarantee.

Anyhow, I can’t convince “Craig” that this is just a lot of bullshit to get him to pay the big bucks for the full-course con job, so I guess we’ll have to take a look at lessons #5 and #6, which drops on Tuesday or thereabouts.

So, until next round . . .

2 Comments to “I Don’t Know Nuthin’ ‘Bout No Writin’”

1. doogie Says:
   August 18th, 2008 at 10:24 am

   what’s the difference between a full crit and a general?

2. John Erianne Says:
   August 18th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

   A general critique just gives you the basic talking points about what you’ve written and it’s usually done based on a partial manuscript, not a full manuscript. A full critique is based on the reading of a whole manuscript and is much more detailed. For example, a general crit might suggest to you that your dialogue is weak, but a full crit would point to specific examples in your story and explain it to you — really break it down and tell you how to fix it. A full crit may or may not involve some minor line-editing w/ notations in the margins. A general crit is usually just a brief 1-page statement highlighting strengths and weaknesses.

   Freelance editors usually use the less expensive option of the general crit to highlight their skills and entice clients into purchasing more expensive services.

   Whereas a full crit of a book-length manuscript might cost you a couple hundred dollars (depending on whether they charge a flat rate, or on a per-page or per-hour rate — and not $800 as Plummer suggests on her website), the general crit would be cheap by comparison — some editors may even do it for free as part of the intitial consultation.

   Another thing you have to realize is that freelance editors offer all kinds of services — everything from proofreading and light copyediting to comprehensive book-doctoring. Some even do ghostwriting — (although, I personally frown on this and would be highly suspicious of an editor offering this service who doesn’t have a genuine track record publishing their own work in a particular genre).

   Fees vary according to the service and vary depending on the editor. Scammers generally charge more for editorial services than legitimate editors with real creds. So, you really have to shop around and know what you are looking for in an editor and whether or not that editor is good at what they do and is a good fit for you before you lay down any coin for the service. There are a lot of con artists out there and they target novice writers.

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