Enthusiasm is one reason why new writers get anything written at all. Misconception of what else is involved is what usually rattles their enthusiasm. It doesn’t have to be this way, though.
One reason I wrote the e-book, “Write, Get Published, and Promote,”** was because my clients who are new writers (most of them) believe the only thing needed is to get their piece written and have someone proofread it, then a publisher will grab it and . . . maybe you know the rest of the story. Thank goodness for such innocence because it’s what allows them to write until they’ve completed a first draft . . . a true accomplishment. Once we connect, it’s my responsibility to give them additional information and guidance. What follows is an excerpt, in the most part, from the e-book.
Plan to put in your time on anything and everything you write. If you don’t desire to do this, know that if you pay someone to do it for you, that person will have to spend the hours on it that you haven’t. They may be faster at it than you might be, but it will still take time.
It’s also okay to arrange for the person to edit/rewrite a segment (a paragraph or two) and return it to you as a sample of what may be done with your material, and their skill. In fact, I recommend this. When I got the manuscript for a client’s novel, I was surprised to learn he’d previously worked with (had paid) editors to work on it prior to our connecting. (By the way, readers call his first novel a real page-turner, can’t-put-it-down experience. How thrilled do you think he feels?) He’s not the only client, though, I’ve worked with who had one or two editors work on their piece prior to connecting with me.
Also know that one revision will not or should not be enough, at least not for a manuscript (and probably not for a short story). If you get a publish-ready novel or non-fiction book with one revision, please make sure I get your e-book on how to do it.
When I get a client’s project, the first thing I do is print out a copy and read it with pencil in hand. I have to see where the client is attempting to go, see what’s needed, and make notes along the way. Then I make the changes and re-read it. It’s a matter of getting rid of what doesn’t belong there so I can see what really is there. No stream can flow smoothly if its path is littered with debris.
Depending on our arrangement, I either make the changes or use Track Changes and insert notes to the client who makes the changes. You may find that once an editor has revised or made notes about what you’ve written, more material or plot development comes to you.
Note: It will make both an editor and writer insane to use Track Changes for major rewrites. I never use this function for such a rewrite (also known in the industry as heavy editing).
What I’ve described here is not just so you know what I do; it applies if you do the work as well. It’s better to take more time to create what you really want to present to the public than less.
Note: When you make changes, always, always, always check your changes. Always.
The way I know a client’s work is ready is when I read it and get so caught up in the content, I forget I’m supposed to be proofreading or editing. This is a good thing because it means the hiccups have been taken care of. However . . .
People self-publish books and e-books with lots of errors but valuable information. Sometimes mistakes are left in due to human error (it happens to every author, it seems, with the exception of Tom Clancy). Sometimes the writer is lazy (or tired) or doesn’t know better, and sometimes it’s deliberate.
Yes, I did say deliberate. If you ever study sales letters (copywriting) and how to write them, certain “mistakes” are intentional. And sometimes they’re deliberate so you make your content read a certain way (e-books) or for characters to speak a certain way (novels, short stories).
Motivator and best-selling author Mike Litman shares that his first book sold enormously well without ever having been proofread. He wanted to get it going and worried about tweaking it later. However, I suggest you aim for excellence, give the material all you’ve got at the time, and forget about perfection.
People tend to be more forgiving about “certain mistakes” if your non-fiction piece really does help them solve a problem. Readers will be less forgiving about fiction riddled with so many typos, punctuation problems, and plot flaws that these take their attention away from the story; though a poorly-written non-fiction won’t thrill them either.
Just be careful not to copy others’ mistakes, intentional or not, if doing so will negatively impact what you aim to accomplish or your integrity as a writer in the minds of readers.
Another option is to get a critique done. Again, find someone you feel will give you results you will actually benefit from. When clients contact me for editing, I always request a sample chapter to see what’s involved. If I see a piece that needs a great deal of work, I communicate this honestly with them and recommend a critique rather than an editing job. This serves two purposes: 1) It helps them become better writers and 2) Reduces the cost of working with an editor once their piece is closer to the mark. If someone approaches me to edit a manuscript with a budget of $200, and I know it’s going to take far more hours for me to help them create a quality read (like around 30-40 hours or more), it’s not a win-win situation.
As a writer, you don’t have to know absolutely everything, but you can always know more. Your obligation to yourself is to share your story, information, or creativity. Your obligation to your readers is to make it the best read possible.
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