ederyn (ederyn) wrote in writing_101, @ 2008-11-11 16:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | publishers, writing tips |
Publishers and Resources
No, I'm not back at IJ yet. But I set up an asylum filter so I can visit my comms while avoiding the pompous proselytizing about the election still going on in my flist. Yayzors! That being said, I stumbled upon a couple things that might be helpful to anyone at the editing stage of their novels. One is an editing forum recently set up at the NaNo site here with some helpful remarks. If you have an account there, you might want to join the discussion. Another is a RedRoom.com contest where you can win a $2,000 professional editing consultation for free just by signing up and creating a blog. Full contest rules are here. This was an eye-opener for me, as I didn't know you could get paid 2 grand just for three hours of sifting through someone's book. Doh! And apparently you don't need a license or anything to do it, simply a desire to.
With that in mind, let's make it less painful for any future editors. I'm sure no one here is guilty of these, but it never hurts to repeat them. Apollo16 at the NaNo forums is correct, in my opinion, when she says the days of the Big Publishing House whipping your novel into shape are long past. Publishing firms today have gotten rid of as many of the middle men as they can in order to cut costs, so you're expected to edit your own writing before submitting your manuscript to them. When they see a manuscript they like, they want to be able to send it directly to the printing press as is and know there are no embarrassing errors in it. That puts the burden on the writer to either hire a copy editor to clean up the book for her or else do it herself. Waaaaaah! What an editor will be looking for are all the familiar elements of badfic:
▪ grammar, punctuation and spelling errors
▪ clumsy, lumbering sentences and poor flow
▪ poor sentence structure
▪ wordiness and purple prose
▪ awkward transitions
▪ improper pacing
▪ overused phrases and clichés
▪ failure to show, not tell when necessary
▪ Mary Sues
▪ pointless repetition
▪ inconsistencies
▪ faulty logic
▪ stiff and unrealistic dialogue
▪ POV flip-flops
▪ failure to use contractions when necessary
▪ A Shortcut to Stronger Writing
▪ Tips for Proofreading Your Manuscript
▪ How to Edit Out the Clichés in a Manuscript
▪ Show, Don't Tell
▪ Elements of a Good Writing Style
▪ Sentence Structure: The Fab Four
▪ Every Writer's Resource
▪ Fiction Factor
▪ What is a Mary Sue?
▪ How To Rite Reel Gud
▪ Show, Not Tell
▪ Writing Tips