Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Writing Wednesday: In Praise of Editors

Last week I read one of the messiest books I've actually read (meaning I didn't punt after the first chapter.) I actually liked the characters. I actually liked the storyline. I actually wanted to see how the author resolved the various conflicts she'd created.

But damn. The writing itself was quite the mess. More like a first draft in transition.

She had sentences with extra words in the middle - obvious that she'd changed direction between drafts, but no one caught the danglers. The narrator shifted into third person a few times, where most of the story was first person POV, so at some point it must've been written another way. But no one caught the odd remnants of that version. And while the bulk of the story was in the Boston area, it was unclear whether the narrator's hometown was in NH or Maine, because she referenced each, so I'm guessing that changed between drafts at some point but was never cleaned up. There were also the random misused words, the ones spellcheck can't fix because while they are real words, they are not the right words for the sentence. And don't get me started on the punctuation mishaps or the misplaced paragraph breaks.

I think the author made too many changes to this manuscript and didn't keep track of her revisions. Or have anyone else do a final read through.

This is why every author needs an editor. And needs the editor to read through more than once. It's not enough to read through a final draft on your own - you know your story. You will fill in the blanks in your mind and not notice.

For example. In my own most recent manuscript, I realized that I needed to add a sex scene before the heroine and hero find the next dead body. So I went back and added it. In the final read through, the hero is whipping his cell phone out to call 9-1-1.... except that he's now naked, where he hadn't been in the original version. So where is he whipping that phone from, his ass? Ewww...

(yes, I fixed that before submission. whew.)

If you are self-publishing, then you are paying for the editorial services on your own. And editors can be expensive. But it's worth it. I will never buy a book from that author again, despite how much I enjoyed her characters and plots.

If she's not going to take her writing seriously, why should I?

Now, who's feeling brave? Share the biggest or most embarrassing mistake your editor caught - like my cell phone in the butt cheek moment. C'mon, I know I'm not the only one who appreciates her editors.

Happy Writing!




21 comments:

  1. Gee...hard to recall a single mistake. I've made so many. I don't know what I'd do without my editor. She's terrific. I think the biggest mistake she caught was in my second book. I'd completed three edits before my editor noticed two chapters had been rearranged and the story was out of synch. It would have been mortifying if that error hadn't been caught before the story went to print. So yay for editors.

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    1. That's a good one to catch! Thanks for stopping by and sharing!

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  2. That's hysterical, Katie. Love your story. I agree, our editors are priceless. I'm waiting for my first round of edits for my next book and I can't wait to read them.

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    1. Glad I could make you smile, K.K. - the funniest part is that my beta reader didn't catch it at all! Where did she think the cell phone came from?

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  3. I laughed out loud at the cell phone incident, Katie! Oh, you are so right about the importance of an editor. I've had several issues--one recent one involved the hero creeping up behind the heroine, except I'd just left him tied up on the floor. Great post.

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    1. Exactly! Sometimes we need help keeping track of stuff - I hate reading a romance where they are making out on the couch and suddenly it's morphed into a bed or a different room. Thanks for chiming in!

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  4. My biggest offenses are moving body parts i.e. 'his eyes followed her to the door' or some such physical impossibility.
    Editors rock!

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    1. LOL, that's another thing one of my editors gets all over me for, the body movements and my tendency to overwrite... nodding her head, shrugging his shoulders, as if you could nod or shrug a different part of you. Threw her hands in the air was another one she didn't like...

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  5. What a great post Katie! Isn't it funny how we get lost in our own prose and forget some of the more practical aspects? I love your cell phone example. I don't have a specific example, but let's just say my hero was able to multi-task in a super-human (i.e. impossible) manner during a sex scene. I can dream, right? Claire Marti

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    1. Well I don't know about you, but I want my romance heroes to be more like superheroes than the average joe, LOL... but i guess when it borders on the impossible it loses me...

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    2. Me too. I don't want him too flawed...already see that enough in real life! Maybe it's my experience as a yoga teacher, I expect everyone to be able to bend in certain ways. ha ha

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  6. I know I've submitted at least one book with two chapter fives. I always forget which chapter I'm on, and if I don't keep track, this will happen. I'm sure I've had more embarrassing mishaps, but nothing comes to mind at the moment.

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    1. LOL - I once read a PUBLISHED BOOK with misnumbered chapters. Did not finish it, as that wasn't the only issue with that book. I think she needed an editor...

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  7. You are so right about the mind filling in the missing spaces! My editor at TWRP was absolutely awesome. The most important correction dealt with the ages of one of my characters. During my MANY revisions, I'd changed the spouse's age. Even though I thought I'd gotten them all, I'd missed one. My editor saved me.

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    1. I think that's a common one - changing character ages. Or having an age that's consistent, but then doesn't jibe with the character's experiences.

      And the editors at TWRP are an awesome bunch. I absolutely love my editor and think she's helped me grow immensely as a writer - although I've spoken to other authors who don't care for her critique style. The editor/author relationship is like any other relationship - a delicate balance that has to work both ways. I'm not sure if my TWRP editor likes me as a person - we're not friends outside of work or anything like that - but when we work together I think it's a good relationship. I know I'm a better writer because of her.

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  8. Love this! I am serious about my edits and love when my editor or the copy editor find mistakes b/c better them than a reader. And I think we all do a good job. Which is why I was surprised when my hubby read my latest book, the one that's been published and available to the masses, and pointed out an error that NO ONE caught. I cannot tell you how many times that book was read by a variety of people, including those of the editing persuasion, and still an error. It happens. But at least we tried. It sounds like the author of the book you read just put it out there without checking. Yikes!

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    1. When my first YA was published (thru a press no longer in business) I got an email from a college friend (another English major)with a list of 7 errors. Her daughter tried to tell her not to, but she thought I'd appreciate the list for the next edition.

      Errors make it through the process. It's inevitable. Even best sellers from top 5 publishers have mistakes. It's part of publishing. All we can do is our best to catch them before publication, and work with our editors and copyeditors to get the cleanest copy possible.

      That novel I referenced in this post? I'm almost positive she self-edited. Or made a bunch of revisions after her edits. I don't think she put out garbage on purpose, but no one should try this alone. Publishing isn't as easy as slapping words on a page and throwing them out there - maybe Amazon is trying to make people think it's that easy, but it's not. It's a craft and a business, and it's work. And I'd rather support authors who take it as seriously as I do.

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  9. Well said. Writers are so close to their work they can't see the mistakes. However, I've had good editors and bad in my career as a writer. And I must admit, a bad editor can create havoc with a manuscript, just as a good one will enhance it.

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    1. Judy, you have a great point. And even a good editor can be going through personal stuff that will distract them. Finding a good editor - one you can work with and who's on the same page as you - is like gold.

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  10. I don't know that I had any big ones, but my book was read by my small stable of beta readers before it ever went anywhere else, which was really helpful. The my editor at the TWRP caught some great things too, but generally, the story was good except for a terrible info dump at the beginning that necessitated a complete delete and re-write of Chapter 1!

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