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Ask the Editor Day

WriteMood

WriteMood

Super-Earth
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Location
Virginia
I'm going to be up for grabs come Wednesday. You guys can ask me anything, from how to sub, to what Breathless is currently taking, to what a book goes through during edits. If it's writing or editing related, I'm at your service.

Have burning questions you'd like to ask a professional editor? On Wednesday Breathless Press is featuring an "Ask the Editor" day. Stop on by, post your question, and get personalized answers from Editor in Chief, Mrs. Krieger.

I understand not everyone is on Facebook, or willing to reveal themselves on Facebook. Because of that, I will take PM's or replies here on Wednesday, or you can go to Breathless' page at:

http://www.facebook.com/BreathlessPressPage

PS - If you want to get on my good side, I'm is particularly fond of peanut M&M's, iced sweet tea, or Coca Cola :D
 
How many drafts/books/etc do you end up getting offered in a typical day from writers?
What do you look for when checking over a potential book to publish? Specifically is there a level of writing ability, detail, length? Do you read one paragraph, a page, a random spot in the book?
Is there a specific style/genre/hook on the first page that makes it more likely to getting published?
 
Firm Master said:
How many drafts/books/etc do you end up getting offered in a typical day from writers?
What do you look for when checking over a potential book to publish? Specifically is there a level of writing ability, detail, length? Do you read one paragraph, a page, a random spot in the book?
Is there a specific style/genre/hook on the first page that makes it more likely to getting published?
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Hello Firm,

I'll answer your questions in order:

Pending on the time of year, we can get anything from a manuscript to three a day. Submissions tend to fluctuate with the seasons; summer and winter being our highest submission time.

We look for showing versus telling, head hopping, grammar and spelling in general and overall story telling.

I'll be honest, if someone subs me a story that has a kick ass plot and really catches me, but their spelling isn't the greatest, I tend to still work with them. A great story is our main goal, and we can't edit the story into the plot like we can a simple spelling error.

When we have a sub, and we like it, we have to read it from beginning to end to be certain the story holds itself well. However, if the story isn't very good, we only read the first few pages. I like to read enough so that when I send an author a rejection, I can detail why I rejected it to help them.

The genre doesn't have much to do with it, though I will say M/M and shape shifter stories are big right now. Zombies too. What you have to do is hook us, make us care about the character and curious about what's going on. The best stories have conflict, resolution, plot. Hook me that first couple of pages.
 
Yoshie said:
How does one become an Editor and What advice would you offer?

Would you change anything if given the chance?
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Hello Yoshie,

Thank you for your question. It actually varies from publisher to publisher. Some require a degree, some require experience. With Breathless Press, we understand that someone who has a degree may not necessarily be able to spot showing versus telling or head hopping like they can that misplaced semi-colon. Therefore we simply administer a test to evaluate your skills if you e-mail us requesting one. Once we review your test, we can see if you pass and whether you'd be better as a content editor, or a line editor.

The best advice I can give to those who want to be editors is two-fold. First, know the market and terms. A perfect example is being able to spot head hopping. Or a POV departure. Or showing versus telling. Working as an editor for a publishing company has some very specific expectations, but they aren't that hard to look up or figure out once you know what you are looking for.

My second part of advice is DON'T rewrite the story for an author. Many authors are very sensitive of their work and if you go in there complete rearranging sentences, they will become angry and feel like their voice is being smothered. Leave a comment telling them what's wrong (Passive voice, Comma Splice, Run On Sentence). If you have a really good idea as to how it should be written, leave them a comment suggesting how to fix it which gives them the freedom to rewrite it in their own words. Example: She blushed (I would leave a comment on the sentence saying: "Telling. Suggest: Her face prickled and heat laced through her cheeks.)

As for what I would change? Hmmm, I'd have to say I'm quite happy as is being an editor. As a writer, I wish I'd known more about showing versus telling and how to convey emotion in my first few books.
 
Question: What is the difference between a Writer and an Editor?

Question 2: Can a Writer be his/her own Editor?

Question: Is it a good thing to have your friends Edit anything that you write?

Question 4: How does one have confidence to place their writings online... or how do you take criticizes from other people or other writers?
 
Yoshie said:
Question: What is the difference between a Writer and an Editor?

Question 2: Can a Writer be his/her own Editor?

Question: Is it a good thing to have your friends Edit anything that you write?

Question 4: How does one have confidence to place their writings online... or how do you take criticizes from other people or other writers?
Click to expand...

Wow, some more great questions. I'll see if I can answer them all well enough to satisfy you.

1. A writer is the creative force that makes the book or article. They design and then put to "paper" the book they made up. An editor is merely a polish for the writer's gem.

2. A writer can edit their own work to a point, but like anything we get close to, we tend to overlook errors. (Also, if all writer's edited their own work in the publishing world, I'd be out of a job! ;) )

3. Yes and no. It's great because you can bounce ideas off your friends and they help build confidence. However, unless your friends are professional writers as well, you run the risk of two major issues going wrong. A) They tell you everything you write is completely awesome and needs no changes because, let's face it, they are your friends and that's what friends do and B) They don't know the writing world and so have no idea how to point out POV departures, head hopping, showing versus telling, etc. In this instance, I highly recommend finding crit groups or a crit partner to give an outside look at your story.

4. I'll step out of editor mode and put my author hat on for a minute. Want to know a secret? I'm scared to freaking death every time I hear someone is reading something of mine. Yeah, I'm published, but that doesn't keep me from fearing people will hate and rip apart my work. The trick is to test the waters by working with a crit group/buddy a few times. Learn to let the criticism roll off your shoulders. Learn that they aren't attacking you or your work. They are trying to help by showing your weakness so you can strengthen it.

I hope all this helps!
 
I've a writer's question. How does one break themselves of repetitive writing habits? I tend to abuse but's badly (sorry for the pun (not really)). "I was going to do this and that, but the other thing got in the way."
 
Crescent said:
I've a writer's question. How does one break themselves of repetitive writing habits? I tend to abuse but's badly (sorry for the pun (not really)). "I was going to do this and that, but the other thing got in the way."
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Hello Crescent!

The first step is something you've already done: recognizing your habit. For me, it's using repeating words. Now, the second step is to write it how it comes without trying to avoid your writing habit. I'm sure you're looking at me funny right now, BUT hear me out.

When we struggle to fight our habits, we tend to cause that irritating thing called writers block. Wouldn't you rather write something you can fix than nothing at all? Exactly, that's it in a nutshell. It's not very hard to do a find check for your but. You can always go back and finish those sentences instead of agonizing over them right that second.

As you do this, your mind will learn the new patterns, the new ways to say things. I'll use your example:

"I was going to do wash the dishes and take out the trash, but kids got in the way."

can easily be changed to:

"I had every intention of washing dishes and taking out the trash. Unfortunately, the kids decided to go into tornado mode and between yelling and fruitless tidying, I never got around to my original to-do list."

Doing this will not only retrain your mind, but will also help strengthen your story. I hope this helps!
 
Excellent. Thanks for the advice. It definitely sounds worthy of a try. More reviewing and rewriting will certainly do me well.
 
Question: How do I keep from repeating She, Her, Winry, all the time... Like every sentence begins with Her or She... and it sickens me.
 
Yoshie said:
Question: How do I keep from repeating She, Her, Winry, all the time... Like every sentence begins with Her or She... and it sickens me.
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Hello Yoshie,

Truth be told, the answer is very similar to the one I just gave Crescent about redundant word use. However, I will add one more thing. Often, when I point this out to my authors, it can easily be fixed by trying harder to show versus tell.

He went to the store this morning. He picked up milk, eggs, and sausage. He was planning to make breakfast and surprise her with it.

We got everything we need from that, right? He went to the store, yadda yadda yadda. But isn't that rather bland? Now let's try showing:

Malaki snuck out the door quietly and headed to the store. Visions of her pleased expression swirled in his mind as he plotted the breakfast he wanted to surprise her with. I'll need milk, eggs, and sausage for an omelet.

See, doesn't that make all the difference in the world? So, step 1) Write without censoring yourself. Step 2) Go back and search for your bad habit, then ask youself, "How can I expand on this? How can I make it less tell, more show?"

Hope this helps!
 
How do you get a readers attention when writing? I mean, have you ever read a book that completely engulfs you and you become captivated? I would like to do that in my Role-Plays. I want people to actually want to role-play with me. I would like to not get boring if you know what I mean. I have developed my character so, I would like to use her to the best of my ability.
 
Yoshie said:
How do you get a readers attention when writing? I mean, have you ever read a book that completely engulfs you and you become captivated? I would like to do that in my Role-Plays. I want people to actually want to role-play with me. I would like to not get boring if you know what I mean. I have developed my character so, I would like to use her to the best of my ability.
Click to expand...

I understand completely, and as a writer, that is one of the hardest things to do. The biggest key is to get your reader emotionally invested in whatever you are writing about. If you've developed your character, then treat her like a real person. Her backstory, her thoughts, her emotions have to be identifiable. We have to want to root for her and therefore stick with you.

I hate to beat a dead horse but showing versus telling plays a big part here. Example: Her heart thudded in her chest as she watched her boyfriend kiss her sister. <--That tells us what we need to know, but it's emotionally distant.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she watched the scene unfold before her. The world seemed to go into slow motion, and every second ticked by at the pace of an hour. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the image of her boyfriend as he passionately kissed her sister. Despite her attempt, the picture remained clear, as if burned into the backs of her eyelids.

See all that description? Don't you feel her pain? Don't you want to know how she deals with it next? Or find out why the hell he would cheat on her?

Forcing your readers to emotionally invest is a fantastic way to get them hooked and wanting more. Another great way to help bring it out and connect us is to use internal dialogue. We can find out a great deal from a character if we can hear their thoughts. Especially if their thoughts help deepen a situation and allow it to be so much more complex. I'll use an example from one of my own books.
***

Zeara scowled as she sat staring at her boss, Arnold. The office lights reflected off his balding head, and she fought the smirk as she imagined him as a manic version of Mr. Clean. Humor would have to be her best friend if she wanted to get through this without killing anyone.

Worst Saturday ever! I think this is the one time in my life I’m mad our offices are open on a Saturday. At least, with most jobs, I could have had the weekend to adjust to the fact I’m in a do or die situation. Her scowl deepened until it made her face ache.

"I don't care if you don't want to go. When a special investigation unit asks for our help, we send our best. You were selected for this before I ever got the call because they asked for you specifically." Arnold crossed his arms over his broad chest and met her glare with one of his own.

How would you feel if I told you I was already aware of that? Or the fact that I know the special unit is a complete farce as far as you're concerned?
***

I hope this helps!
 
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