Oops. I guess it’s not so secret anymore, is it? But I couldn’t help writing a piece about a whole new way of novel writing/editing. An out-of-the-box approach, if you will. And it all started when I purchased my Kindle Touch in the fall of 2011. (Note: Everything I share here will work with the newer Paperwhite and Kindle Fire—really, any of the models that feature a touch screen.) Anybody who knows me well knows that I love my Kindle. At first, of course, I loved it only for reading books, mostly novels. But soon I realized it’s features were especially helpful in other realms. Some may not know that my day job is book editing. Some days I literally sit at my desk for eight to ten hours. Literally. Yes, I do take standing breaks, but I can’t always avoid the occasional back or neck ache. Well, one day I got a…
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I live in a very tiny but blessed minority. For some reason, known only to God, I get to work from home and do what I love most: work with words. Over the last few years, I’ve worked more with novel writing than with anything else, and I’ve seen a lot of common mistakes. Here are a few of the most common ones, along with solutions. 1. The Info Dump Often insecure authors feel they need to dump a lot of back story at a novel’s beginning before readers will “get” the main story. It’s logical thinking: “Before you get this, you need to understand this.” But the problem is, they tend to give the info dump in the first five pages or so, those precious pages acquisition editors look at first. (Check out The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman.) While back story is often important for character and plot…
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See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6. #7: Once I publish my novel, I’ll just be able to keep cranking them out. Oh, if only it were that simple, especially in today’s economic climate. The fact is, publishing a well-crafted novel is no guarantee of future publication. Oh, if only novels could be published based on their own merits. Stepping into publication, I had a lot to learn. I naively thought getting my first novel published basically guaranteed long-term publication. After all, if my first novel was good enough to be accepted, why not future books? Being a Salesperson What I learned is that getting a novel published is only a small part of the equation. The other part is the almighty dollar. Publishers take a big financial risk on first-time novelists. They spend a lot of money on editing, graphic design, and printing. They put their necks…
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See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. #6: Once my novel is accepted, my publisher will take care of the rest. The “rest” as in . . . what exactly? The printing? Yes, you don’t need to worry about that. The editing? For the most part, though you will be involved in final edits of some kind. Perhaps even a revision. And of course you’ll have a last look before the printing. The marketing? No, not all of it. This truth was one of the biggest surprises for me. After my first novel was accepted, I was amazed by how much I was expected to do myself. Once upon a time, authors could (for the most part) write their books and not worry too much about marketing. Those days are long past, especially after this nasty economy walloped the publishing world across the side of the head. Publishers must work extra…
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