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Why is it that I have to read a manuscript 89 times before I notice this:

Three little dogs yipped and yapped and raced in circles and threw themselves against the door, snapping at the air and scratching at the screen.

"Stop it, y'all!" Tiny's mother snapped from somewhere inside the house.

When signing the first contract, authors will always ask what's next, what's the next step in the publishing process, and usually it's edits. While certainly every publisher and every editor is different, here's what you can typically expect.

Revisions: These usually come from your acquisitions editor, the editor who made the offer and "bought" your book. Revisions can be as intense or as simple as the editor feels is needed, and how revisions come can differ from editor to editor. Some might print out a copy of the manuscript and make marks all over the page, while others could send a simple two-paragraph email explaining what needs to be done. Personally, I always fear the shorter revisions, they usually contain the most work. Things like "The entire second half of the book isn't working," instead of specifics like "Tone down the character in this scene."

Line Edits: Once revisions are turned in, and the editor finds them acceptable, she'll do line edits. This is where she scrolls through the manuscript to make sure there are no other problems or inconsistencies. She'll look for things like a change in dress color and make sure that a plot change is carried through. Sometimes line edits will be sent back to the author, but more often they'll simply be made and sent to the copyeditor so that you can look at line edits and copyedits at one time.

Copyedits: These are done by a freelance copyeditor. This is when the nitty-gritty of the book is taken care of. The copyeditor's job is to check grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency. If you have a lot of odd spellings or characters in your book, I would always recommend a style sheet be submitted with your manuscript to the copyeditor so that she knows the spelling of names, or the spelling you choose, and can keep things consistent from book to book.

Proofreading: This is when the book has been taken to the printer and designed into final pages. You have one final chance to review the book, to proofread, and make sure no errors were made in the printing, layout, and design. At this point you cannot make major plot changes, but simply correct small, minor errors.


Jessica

I'm in the midst of reviewing the copyedited manuscript of On the Road to Mr. Mineo's.

This part of the book creation process can be frustrating but eye-opening.

I'm always surprised at the mistakes I make consistently and the things I learn.

For instance, every time I used the following, I wrote them as two words instead of one:

barbershop
livelong
flowerpots (but flower boxes is two words)
shirttail
cornfields
hayloft
toolbox

I always write lawn mower as one word instead of two.

I forget that the following are hyphenated:

gol-dern (to prevent confusion for kids who don't know the term and might think it should be "golden" ??)
barn-owl (although a copyeditor missed it in one spot, where I had two words. HA!)
chicken-wire
run-down

I gave up on trying to use the expression "pure T". Copyeditor thought I meant "purty."

Those guys don't miss a thing.

On p 2 I wrote "empty doghouse in the yard"
On p 73 I wrote "empty doghouse in the front yard"

On p 2 I wrote "stamped her foot"
On p 42 I wrote "stomped her foot"

I wrote "screened door."
Was changed to "screen door. " (hmmm)

On p 17 I wrote "dern fool bird"
On p 118 I wrote "dang fool bird"

I had written: "greasy car parts and paint cans"
Was changed to "Paint cans and greasy car parts" since the paint cans aren't greasy.

And then, there is the constant inner battle between "diddly squat" and "doodly squat."

Writing is such hard work.

Land a Publisher & Sell Tons of Books?
Guest Expert: Laurel Marshfield

Is professional editing worth it?

The answer depends on just one thing: Where, in your development as an author, you currently are.

If this is the first book you’ve ever written and you’re mostly self-taught, professional editing is most likely not the only step you need to take between banging out your very first manuscript and landing a publisher.

In fact, for a first-time author with no formal training, I wouldn’t recommend professional copyediting at all.

Here’s What Authors Really Need

Copyediting (not the same as developmental editing or book-doctoring) is one of the last steps before submission. And if the basic elements of fiction (or nonfiction) are only half-realized, or missing altogether, no amount of editing for errors of spelling, grammar, and syntax; no amount of querying the absence of meaningful transitions, the presence of redundancies, or violations of consistency will matter.

An unrealized book manuscript with perfect spelling, grammar, and syntax is still a manuscript that’s not yet ready for publication.

What is needed — when that is the case — is practice: writing one book after another to learn the nuts and bolts of craft, as well as how to coax the magic of art onto the page.

Most successful authors produce between two and ten practice books before their “first” book is awarded a pub date. To snag the brass ring of publication, an author must first be a longtime student of the form.

But many otherwise sensible people don’t see the need. “I’m a fan of So-and-So,” they say. “I see how his fiction formula works. And I can do that, too – only a thousand times better.”

Every Author’s Path to Publication

The thing is, books are far easier to read than they are to write. Even the most clichéd genre fiction requires a surprising amount of skill – skill that its author worked to acquire. Realizing this fact — that practice will get you where you want to go — is the ultimate encouragement. It means there’s a path to this place (though each path is individual, with its length, twists, and turns unique).

Is It Time for a Manuscript Evaluation?

Let’s say you’ve done a bunch of practice books, cultivated your skills for a number of years, and you’re solidly at the next stage of your development as an author — what then?

You might be ready to hand your manuscript over to a developmental editor for a written manuscript evaluation. An eval will tell you where you’ve succeeded and what you’re especially good at — as well as where you need to think things through a bit more and do some additional work.

With your evaluation in hand, you can nurture the less well-developed parts of your manuscript, learn new skills, restructure if needed, and rewrite — perhaps several times more.

After that, you may be ready for a developmental edit, if other issues remain; or, you may be ready for the final polish of copyediting. It all depends.

I’ve scheduled my next free teleclass for writers! If you’re interested in getting free teleclass announcements via e-mail, please subscribe to the mailing list. I’ll never share your e-mail with anyone else, and I’ll never send you spam.

Succeed as a Freelance Editor with Jennifer Lawler

Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 8:30-9:30 pm ET (Note that this is East Coast time; please check for the correct time in your time zone. Also note that this is PM, not AM!)

Topic: Succeed as a Freelance Editor with Jennifer Lawler. This teleclass will cover the various kinds of editing jobs that are available to freelancers, in print and online, including work as a developmental editor, a copy editor, and a managing/assigning editor for books, magazines and Web sites. Jennifer will briefly cover what each of these types of editing involves, how to develop your skills, and how to market yourself to clients. There will be time after the lecture to ask your questions about becoming a freelance editor.

About Jennifer: Jennifer will be teaching the e-course Freelance Editing 101 in July. Jennifer currently teaches copyediting classes for the University of California, San Diego. She spent five years freelancing as the editor of ATA World, the quarterly publication of the American Taekwondo Association, where she was responsible for all aspects of editorial, including conceiving the lineup, recruiting and working with freelancers, editing all copy, developing layout and design in conjunction with the art director, and working with the production team to ensure timely publication. She has worked as a freelance developmental editor and copyeditor for book, magazine, and online publishers, including Barnes and Noble, Inc. Custom Publishing, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Collectors Press, and the Art Center College of Design, among others.

Jennifer is also the author of many books and magazine articles, including the award-winning Dojo Wisdom series.

Conference number: 218-895-0763

Passcode: 2244#

**This is not a toll-free number. If you have unlimited long distance, you won’t pay for the call, but if you pay for calls by the minute, it will appear on your bill.**

Here is the link where you can access the participant keypad controls: http://www.freeconferencepro.com/support.aspx. This will tell you how to mute the call, how to get help, and more.

If you’re interested in taking part in the call, please e-mail me at [email protected] with “RSVP Editing” in the subject line to let me know just so I can get a rough tally of how many people to expect. I may also e-mail you materials if we decide to have “handouts.” (If you prefer to remain totally anonymous, that’s fine too.) Don’t worry if I don’t reply to your RSVP — if you send it, rest assured that you’re in!

Thanks so much, and I look forward to seeing you there! [lf]

I'm working on a new novel.

I just wrote the following:

Gerald's mother came out the next morning and painted over it but the words still showed through, pale pink on the white fence.

A year from now, a copyeditor is going to want to insert a comma after "it" (...painted over it, but the words...)

I know.

And I will agree.

But I won't like it.

Because I don't HEAR that comma.

I often joke about how irritating good copyeditors are.

Of course, I jest.

Good copyeditors are the saviors of the book world. It takes an editor to see the forest, but the copyeditors see the trees.

I am grateful for them.

Below is a sampling of the latest irritating, um, I mean, brilliant comments from my copyeditor, the savior (from The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester).

Notice how many of the queries address the problem of repetitious words.

My bad, as they say....

And notice the comment about page 124. I was so fascinated by this one because I use that expression "A lightbulb went off" all the time. OFF? *forehead thwack* What the heck is wrong with me? Of course, the lightbulb went ON. Duh...

p.5, 2nd paragraph: “The very idea of that poor sick old man up there in the bed not able to do a thing but sleep and eat applesauce and you down here thinking up ways to make my life miserable.” Rep of “up” OK?

p.11: ‘ “Besides,” Viola said. “Frogs only eat bugs…” ‘ OK to change to: ‘ “Besides,” Viola said, “frogs only eat bugs…” ‘ (to show she’s continuing her sentence)?

p.22, 3rd para: ‘ “I know y’all are up there.” That irritating voice slithered up the ladder…’ Rep of “up” OK?

p.22, middle of page: “What’re ya’ll building?” This should be “y’all,” as throughout, so we’re fixing.

p.22, 2nd line from bottom: “…he looked at Owen in a what-now? kind of way.” C says this should be: “…he looked at Owen in a What now? kind of way.” (italicized, cap on “What,” no hyphen)

p.24, middle of page: “First of all, he said it all the time.” Rep of “all” OK?

p.26, middle of page: ‘More than anything, he wanted to say, “Where?” ’ There shouldn’t be a comma after “say” here, so we’re deleting it (‘More than anything, he wanted to say “Where?” ’). Same goes for the sentence below it, which will now read: ‘But he knew that Viola wanted him to say “Where?” ’

p.28: “And they found an old metal thing with a rusty bolt sticking out of it.” And next line: “But none of those things seemed like something…” Rep of “thing’/”things” OK?

p.29, line 6: ‘ “I mean, maybe it was farther up that way.” Travis nodded up the tracks.’ And just below: “Owen looked up the tracks.” Reps of “up” OK?

p.30, middle of page: “…the boys made a pact to go farther up the tracks the next day, if they could ditch that nosy Viola.” C says: “But they don’t go farther up the tracks the next day. Instead, they plan and start building a cage for Tooley. Breaking a pact is a serious thing for boys? Change here to something like “…the boys made a pact to go farther up the tracks as soon as they could.” Or change something later?”

p.32, middle of page: “Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.” Change here to “Clatter, clatter, clatter.” (with commas, lower case), to match usage on p.10? Or change p

Another thing about copy editing [are you sick of this subject yet?] is that it forces you to use your monkey mind (your conscious mind), instead of your wild mind (your unconscious mind).

[Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life]

That means that you have to really think about the words in a different way than you think about the story.

It's almost as if the writing is just that: words....

....separate....individual words.....disconnected from the words around them that form a whole (i.e., a meaningful story).

Does that make sense?

Anyway....it can sometimes make me nuts - because when I think about the words so much, I lose the unconscious flow that was the original creation - and then I start questioning myself too much.

I'm currently going through the copy edits of my next novel, The Short, Sad Life of Tooley Graham.

Today I'm thinking about railroad tracks vs train tracks.

I know, I know.....

When I wrote the manuscript, I didn't think about those words.

Sometimes I used railroad tracks.

And sometimes I used train tracks.

And one copy editor says I should be consistent.

And one copy editor says it doesn't matter.

And I have a Post-It note on every page with that phrase so I can think about it.

And the more I think about it....

Good grief....

I need my monkey mind to go away and my wild mind to come back.

Okay, so I wake up in the middle of the night and am thinking about Tooley Graham copy editing and specifically:

When he heard the click clack of her heavy black shoes on the wooden stairs, he clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle. When he heard the kitchen door swing open, he clamped his other hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with a silent laugh.

And then I think:

Wait! Heavy black shoes don't go click clack.

Heavy black shoes go clomp, clomp.

But you can't use clomp and clamp in the same sentence.

So.....maybe.....

When he heard the clomp clomp of her heavy black shoes on the wooden stairs, he slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle. When he heard the kitchen door swing open, he slapped his other hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with a silent laugh.

What do y'all think?

....about copy editing is that you are sometimes (oftentimes) amazed at the things you didn't see even though you've read that manuscript 498 times (which, of course, is why you didn't see them).

For instance....

[From The Short, Sad Life of Tooley Graham]

When he heard the click clack of her heavy black shoes on the wooden stairs, he clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle. When he heard the kitchen door swing open, he clamped another hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking with a silent laugh.

The copy editor suggests "his other hand" instead of "another hand."

(She politely points out that he only has two hands.)

Duh!

Reason #543 why we need fresh eyes on our work.

I have a love/hate relationship with the process of copy editing.

My organized, attention-to-detail self loves it.

But my other self (whatever that is) hates it.

The reason I sometimes hate it is because it makes me obsess about small stuff until I'm so mired down in the trees I can't see the forest.

I remember working on copy edits for Taking Care of Moses and getting all tangled up and agonizing over whether a character skipped up the sidewalk or down the sidewalk.

And wording that sounded so right and natural when it came flowing out of my brain makes me scratch my head and go "huh?" when I read it for the 50th time.

Here's a good example of stupid over-obsessing (can you over obsess or does obsess imply over obsess? Where's my copyeditor? Or is it copy editor?):

Because he knew Viola was right about the staples. And he knew she didn't mean staples like the little ones for paper. She meant those heavy-duty kind like his father used to staple plastic over the windows in the winter at their old house on Tupelo Road.

Now, the copy editor is suggesting: "She meant that heavy-duty kind like his father used...."

And I think that is technically right.

But it just doesn't sound right to me - because that is not the way I would say it - even though I would probably say it wrong.....

.....I don't know.....

And then today I'm obsessing over:

He reached in and scooped Tooley up.

or

He reached in and scooped up Tooley.

I think I need to stop.

I know, I know......

I always feel like my first version is the "purest" and I should go with it - and then I go an over analyze everything.

(And don't go telling me you can't end a sentence with a preposition cause I don't follow no stinkin' grammar rules....)

....don't wake the baby.


My manuscript came back from copyediting. (The Short, Sad Life of Tooley Graham; spring 2010).

Ruby is napping and I finally have time to tackle it.

The flowers are from my garden.

The tablecloth is the Western States one that I bought on eBay even though I already had the exact same one - because I am such a ding dong brain.

The Post-It note on the Oprah Magazine (Oh, come on....I need a break once in a while) says: r-u-u-u-m-m-m.

That's the sound that a bullfrog makes.

In the first draft, I had ribbit.

But bullfrogs don't go ribbit.

But I didn't know how to describe the sound they make.

So I did a little research.

And the research taught me that they go r-u-u-u-m-m-m.

The reason I wrote it on a Post-It note is so I would remember how many "u's" and how many "m's" I put in there.

See what hard work writing is?

Copy editors (or is it copyeditor?) are the most irritating essential human beings on earth.

I love them.

I want to be them.

Even though they can be so dang irritating.

One of the reasons they are so irritating is because they are always right.

And they are so essential.

I loved this article about copy editor Helene Pleasants.

In case you have too many other blogs to read today and are irritated by yet another link (I'm kind of irritating with my use of the word "irritating" today), this was my favorite part:

Her blue pencil struck at redundancy, at confusion, at authorial vanity, at the wrong and the false word, at the unearned conclusion. She loved good writing, therefore she loved the reader: good writing did not cause the reader to stumble over meaning.

I particularly like "authorial vanity."

I know that I am certainly guilty of that.

And I see it in the work of others.

And speaking of redundancy, at the risk of being redundant.... (now these links are really irritating, huh?)

Good copy editors are worth their weight in gold.