It’s tough for an author to publish with more than one publishing house at a time. I know because I’m with five. I find that each editor wants something different when it comes to editing a manuscript.
Some editor’s will focus on not using too many POV’s and others are solely interested in getting rid of passive voice in a document. Other editors mention that an author should show and not tell.
I’ve been guilty of all of the things listed above, but I’m trying to watch for them as I write each story. I found it’s easier to try to eliminate the mistakes beforehand.
Lately, I’ve tried to work with one publisher at a time and getting to know what the editor wants. This makes for an easier editing process for me.
I have a couple of questions for any author reading this blog. How many have worked with several editors at once? Do their different styles of editing sometimes cause confusion for you?
I’m ending my blog with a little plug for my next release Angel in Blue an M/M due out from www.romancedivine.com in a couple of weeks. Also, check out my last M/M called Secrets published by www.romancedivine.com.
http://www.Mary-Suzanne.blogspot.com
http://www.webspawner.com/users/romancewriter/index.html
9 comments:
There is a great deal to be said for house style, but that usually refers to the type of book a house is looking for not editing style.
The fact is every editor should be looking out for passive (sometimes called tell vs. show) voice. Every ed should worry about whether or not an author has more characters than needed in a work.
To tell you the truth, editing SHOULD BE pretty well uniform across the board. Unfortunately, it's not. Authors get confused by the fact some houses allow a manuscript to be rampant with gerunds and dangling modifiers and have never asked for a comma to be placed before the word BUT. Personally, I've had to explain the definition of those two terms quite a bit.
Rules of punctuation, grammar, spelling, passive voice, and just plain old fashioned good sense and the ability to know what works and what doesn't, should not change from one house to another.
We, as authors, should constantly hone our skills. It's the only way we will ever know if we are getting shafted on edits. As we all know we have read excerpts on groups, and even in print books where we all just went, "huh?"
With all that said, eds do have pet peeves. Mine is repetitive words. I can't stand to see an author use say the word "pull" in one sentence and then see it in the very next, or even in the next several paragraphs. I've seen authors use the same word ten or twelve times on the same page.
I don't churn out my work too fast. It takes me a long long time to get it right. I think half the problem with edits is not only the fact there are editors who are not qualified, but the fact that authors try to get their work out there too quickly. We need to keep it slow and really look at every single word.
I have to agree with Tess as a reader I don't like to see a similar scene repeated in the same book. Now a days I see alot of careless mistakes from books weither it be paper or ebook. Author's are not taking the time to really titillate it's readers now it seems like their following a scientific experiment. First is the observation, then it's the hypothesis, next it's the procedure finally it's the conclusion. Sometimes it's just plain boring. Lol start bring the surprise back and the sizzle back.
Tess & Tameka,
I guess I didn't cover everything in the blog. I mentioned the basics. Repeated phrases and words makes for a boring read. I agree with you on that and try to watch for the mistake.
I'm trying to hone my skills, but every once in a while, something slips by in my manuscript.
I couldn't write to save my life and admire writers for their abilities.
I really don't know much about the editing process. Are you thinking about what your editor wants as you are writing? Or are you writing and then going back and looking for the hot buttons your editor is worried about? Or periodically going back and looking for specific items like POV.
I do feel for you though. I've had to write reports for a boss that would tell me to change x to y then on the next rewrite he wanted y changed to x. Oooookaaay.
Hi Mary Suzanne,
Being a fellow eXtasy author, you probably know none of us deals with one editor. We have several. It would be nice to have our own editors but we don't.
With my extensive journalism background I had years of experience dealing with many, many editors.
As Tess said, there are standards that should be required for all editors. Style requirements however vary from publisher to publisher.
Kttaira,
It sounds as if you have the same problems by trying to make sense of what your boss wants.
I feel for you. I've been there and know what you're talking about.
AJ,
At one of the publishing houses I'm with, I work with the same editor on every manuscript.
I know what he expects and it makes things a little easier for me.
At Extasy, I've had more than one editor. Since Tina has J now, I find she's easy to work with.
I think if i had to work with 5 or more publishers i would pull my hair out.
Candy1959,
That's what I usually do. LOL
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