Okay, it’s confession time. I’ve done it. Written an outline, a synopsis, and the first three chapters, polished the heck out of them and then submitted it. Of course, while I waited, I wrote my fingers off, polished until I needed sunglasses to read the story, and prayed someone would accept it. I won’t lie and say do as I say, and not as I do, but then again, I’m a multi-published author who knows how fast I can write things, is disciplined, somewhat anal-retentive, and dealing with waits that could easily take three to six months. That’s the important part of this lesson. I knew what I could do and had the time to do it.
There’s a reason why nearly everyone in the publishing industry, from top agents to small press editors say write the book first, make it the best book you can, and then submit it to publishers or agents. Because as a writer, you want to strike while the iron is hot. If an editor or agent says, “Yes! I want to see more!” You want to be Johnny-on-the-spot and deliver it while your striking prose and unique story idea remains fresh in the reader’s mind.
There’s nothing that screams amateur more than telling an editor or agent, “I’m sorry, but my critique group is still looking at this work. I’ll send it when it’s ready.” That’ll tip your work from “sure, I’ll read more” to “not wasting my time” in a heart beat. If the person was on the fence about it, then that may be the proverbial straw. It might not, probably depends on the person’s mood, but why risk it?
I will say, that it’s okay to do a final polish, a quick read-through before you send that full manuscript, or even the partial if the agent or editor responded to just a query letter. Something that takes a few days, a week at most, probably not going to be a problem. A few months, and when the manuscript is received, it’ll most likely provoke a “who are you?” response.
I know it’s hard to wait. I know it’s hard to spend months polishing something and then waiting more months for a response. Right now our turn times are running in the two to four week range, and I’m working hard to keep them that way. But before I can do my part, you need to do yours. And that includes polishing the book before you submit. The other part of the “write the book first” advice that’s often given out tells the author to then write the next book. Because that’s what you do while you wait to hear from an editor or an agent. You write the next book.
Recently I heard some horror stories about reviews on one of the loops. Like if the hero drove a red car, and the reviewer didn’t like red cars, she trashed the book. I know authors, in submitting their work to other publishers, worry about the little things. Will the editor like my work? What if the editor doesn’t want to see another vampire/historical/lady who runs a bookstore romance? Writers obsess over the tiniest detail of the work, trying to make things “just right.”
And it’s good that writers work hard at their craft. Don’t get me wrong. But I think, to be honest, if an author worries about whether an editor will enjoy the meal the heroine serves her potential hero (oh wait, she offered him steamed broccoli, and people can hate that vegetable), then perhaps the author worries too much?
I’ve read books where the author had a cowboy riding a Morgan horse on his ranch. I have nothing against Morgans. They’re a versatile breed developed right here in the US to be a riding and a carriage horse, and they’re good at what they do. However, on a large-spread cattle operation, I’ve yet to meet a rancher who breeds Morgans and raises Texas Longhorns. Just saying. Nothing against the breed, just a case of either a fanciful author or bad research on the part of the writer or the editor. That’s something to worry about.
But what if the same cowboy had worn a Resistol hat, and the editor preferred Stetsons? Would that really be something to reject a story over?
Or to bring it personal, I really really don’t like cooked broccoli. If the heroine serves steamed broccoli with a thick, rich cheese sauce over it, my stomach is going to twist, and I’m thinking ICK, not “oh, yum!”. I’m not rejecting a book over that. Seriously.
And honestly, if that’s the only negative thing a reviewer had to say about a story, that the heroine served a vegetable that people either love or hate, then maybe the reviewer is looking too hard for something to trash. Know what I mean?
So when you submit your work, dear writers, do not sweat the small stuff. If you’ve written a great story, got your researched facts correct, and you’ve presented yourself well, it’s not going to matter if your hero drives a Ford, or a Chevy, or roots for the Packers or the Vikings, or even likes the Yankees. Okay maybe the last one. (Just kidding!)
There’s been a lot of talk in the ebook world lately about pricing and how much should publishers really charge for electronic books. I wanted to take a few moments talk about what goes into pricing. From a publisher point of view, I can tell you a few things with absolute certainty. There are fixed, substantial costs that go into the production of an ebook. It isn’t as simple as hitting SAVE AS in your word processing program and being done. Also, as a publisher, I don’t want to price books higher than I am willing to pay for them. Because as a reader, it comes down to a few things. If a book comes out in electronic and dead tree formats, and I know that I may have to wait, but I can eventually get the book in mass market paperback ($7.99), then I don’t want to pay more for that for an electronic book.
Ideally, I’d like to see a book come out in hard cover with a price point on the electronic version at, or below, the mass market price, if you’re looking at the business model that supports that (such as for NYT best sellers or nonfiction books). If the book, such as a nonfiction book, may not have a mass market release, then the electronic price point shouldn’t top out over trade paperback ($14.95) levels. But, there’s an extra bonus for nonfiction books, because these titles lend themselves to additional content that the paper version can’t provide. (Or the extra content comes on a CD like the ones packaged with Baen books or some computer books.)
So, what goes into the making of an electronic edition? First there’s the editing process, and you want the editor to get paid. Without quality pay for quality editing, well, I think we can all see what would happen then. Secondly, there’s the ISBN#. Now Bowker would like us to purchase one for each format, and at least one start-up electronic publisher told us that’s what they were going to do too. The truth is, most publishers only use one ISBN# per work. There’s also cover art, and like editing, the better it is, the more it’s going to cost.
We’re not done yet. You have to convert the files, and if it isn’t done in-house, then you have to pay someone to do that, either hourly or as part of their regular salary. I can tell you that for the seven formats me produce, including the zip file containing all the formats, it takes at least a couple of hours, and that’s if nothing goes wrong.
You also have website expenses. And in the world of cyberspace, you most definitely get what you pay for when it comes to website hosting. That $3.99 Godaddy or 1and1 plan might be just great for an author website (or Callisto Hosting has better offers, but moving along…), but even if it claims “unlimited” storage space and bandwidth, it isn’t. And those are shared servers, too, which complicate things. I could go on here, but suffice to say, the average publishing company is probably spending more than a few dollars a month on hosting.
There’s also general overhead like making sure the principals in a company earn at least a living, or semi-living (if they have other income) wages, bank fees, merchant account charges, software services, and all that good stuff that makes a business go around. Add all of this up, and you come up with a rather large figure that now must be paid back out of the sales from a book. And, this has to happen after the author receives her royalties.
I suspect there are a couple schools of thought for how to set prices. Figure out how much money you have into it, figure out how much time you want to spend paying it back, use some average sales figures and divide it out so you earn everything back within three to four months (or less!). Or, you could simply set a price and let each book earn itself back on its own pace. Another method would be to determine how many books you want to create “break even” point (i.e. 50 sales, 250 sales) and then use that to create price points. You would still, hopefully, earn out after a month or two, but this would allow niche books to find their audience as well. It also makes figuring out a book’s transition into print a bit easier, because you can calculate those costs into, or beyond, your “break even” point.
It’s also true that smaller publishers, such as Jupiter Gardens Press/Pink Petal Books, probably have lower break even points than larger ones. From my discussions with other publishers, I’ve found this to be the case.
The only difference in this model and that employed by the publishers you see on the NYT Best Seller’s list is that some of the costs, such as cover art and editing, can also be absorbed by any dead tree versions of the books. There is still an electronic ISBN (at least one) that’s needed, manuscript format and preparation still needs to occur, and even if you funnel a lot of that overhead into the paper books, it still should be factored into the electronic book pricing. The main question is how much of the print overhead do you expect the electronic version to carry.
The largest difference in the pricing model is that for an electronic version of a book you don’t need to print, warehouse, ship and distribute several thousand copies of a title. That upfront cost (especially the printing and shipping) is what eats into the profit margins.
I can’t quantify those numbers for any house except my own. They are proprietary information. However, I thought in light of all the recent discussions about electronic book pricing that it might be good to go over just what all is involved. That way, readers can see for themselves that digital products aren’t free to create or to produce. And oftentimes, the margins can be rather slim when you start to consider vendor discounts as well.
Although some publishers and discourage the practice, many authors refer to their manuscripts as their “babies” or “children”, even going so far as to sending our birth announcements. While this can lead to problems when it comes time to edit and work with a book, it is a good analogy in places. Just as in the delivery room, doctors assess the health of a newborn using the Apgar Test, so, too, do manuscript submission editors evaluate the “health” of a newly sent manuscript.
For a little background, in 1952, Dr. Virginia Apgar devised her test as a quick way to assess the health of newborn babies. The baby is evaluated on five simple criteria, from a score from zero to two. The numbers are added up and can determine the health. For the purpose of her original test, the five scores were, Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration.
The criteria we use come from a similar test established by Nimble Books, and can be found at the following link: http://www.nimblebooks.com/wordpress/2010/01/apgar-test-for-authors/. Some publishers have actual written submission checklists. At Pink Petal Books, our checklist is mostly a mental one and we don’t ever assign scores to books, but this set of criteria gives potential authors an idea of what we want to see in a manuscript. I also would like to think that our list doesn’t differ too much from those of other publishers.
The way to read this is the first line contains the criteria. The second provides the score and the writing underneath explains our rationale for the scoring system. I think you may be surprised by how some items are scored.
1. Author has personal media site such as blog or website.
+1
Author has already shown that she needs to have a presence in the marketplace, and by putting content on the blog, may already be driving website visitors to her site.
2. Author’s website is not on an obvious free site such as “freewebs” and has her own domain
+1
Author already treats writing like a business and knows that a strong web presence will only enhance sales.
3. Author is strongly committed to promotion, including an active presence on several loops, including the publisher’s own reader’s loop
+1
Author is willing to sell her book and understands that her job doesn’t end as soon as the manuscript is turned in.
4. Author submits a clean manuscript
+2
Author shows that she takes her craft seriously and reduces time and financial investment by being capable of editing.
5. Author plays a key role in a specialized organization that can be leveraged to market the book
+1
For romances, this is usually being a member of RWA and its chapters. And personal feelings on RWA aside, someone who is a chapter president or other volunteer (Even if it’s just for contests), has a higher visibility than someone who doesn’t.
6. Book is the start of a new series
0 or +1
Publishers love series, and so do readers. The problem becomes when the author doesn’t market the series and the first book tanks. The publisher will be less likely to take on the second book. In this case, an author who shows that she has successfully sold a series, and/or has a strong marketing plan for the series, might tilt this number into a positive territory.
7. Book is in a profitable genre
+1
While I like a variety of romances and want diversity in my catalog, the truth is, something that is in a marketable genre such as ménage, shape shifter or gay male, especially from a new or lightly published author, may be a “safer” bet.
8. Book is in a genre that we’d like to expand into
+1
Even if it’s in an “unprofitable” genre, if it’s an area we’d like to grow for personal or professional reasons, then that may give the book a boost in the acquisition department.
9. Author expresses frustration with publisher response times, seems likely to require substantial “handholding”
-1
Increases cost. Time is money. Simple questions are okay. I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from asking questions. But daily/hourly emails may be too much, unless required by the situation.
10. Author wants to do cover
-1 to +1
We allow authors to do their covers if they meet our requirements and have experience. Obviously showing samples of GOOD covers and being willing to work with publisher direction would nudge this into positive territory.
11. Author doesn’t follow writer’s guidelines
-2
Book will most likely not get contracted. If an author cannot read and follow simple directions, then chances are the author will not be able, or willing, to follow editorial direction.
12. Author has been published before
-2 to +2
This depends on the author’s other publishers. Some publishers don’t edit. Others are known for attracting authors with the “crazies”. So just because an author has been published before, doesn’t necessary give her an edge when it comes to manuscript submission. However, if the author was published with a house known for quality work, solid editing, and attracting the best authors. Then yes, this will provide an edge.
It’s okay if the author doesn’t hit all of these points. For example, a cleanly written book in a genre we take, but the author hasn’t quite gotten her website up and running yet, may still score higher than a previously published author, with a book in a popular genre, but who turns in a badly written manuscript.
Last week I talked a bit about what I like from the editor in the relationship with the author. This time, I’ll talk about the author. The good thing is the responsibilities for both of them are very similar. An author needs to communicate clearly and professionally about any issues. If disagreements happen, and they will, then the author should stay as calm as possible. Trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of edits that make you swear every word you know twice and reach for chocolate. But when communicating any displeasure, it needs to be done with as little venom as possible.
The author also needs to listen and learn from any suggestions. That way, when the editor sees the next manuscript, there will be growth, and possibly less edits. The author should ask questions, seek clarification, and be a participant in the process. Hitting “accept all changes” and sending the manuscript back without going through the edits doesn’t do either party any favors.
And the author needs to honor any deadlines as much as possible. Things happen. Sometimes a deadline needs tweaked. Hopefully the publisher sent the manuscript with as much lead time as possible, so any changes to the deadline can be accommodated. And the author should tell the editor if a deadline is in jeopardy. The more notice the better, even if it’s a situation where the author isn’t sure the deadline will be missed. “Hey, I may be running behind, can you give me a couple more days just in case?” If not, the editor will say, but if so, then the editor isn’t wondering where the edits are and the author is working as fast as she can.
And, lastly, the author’s job is also to do the best job she can do.
I’m going to digress a bit from the more grammar and craft-type issues into a professional one: the editor-author relationship. And I’ll be honest. Having been in this business for a really long time, much of it on the author side, I have an idea of what I like in an editor, and that’s the kind of editor I strive to be.
The truth is, most editors find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The hard place is helping authors craft better stories. The rock is the publisher and their guidelines. It is a balancing act. And in the forefront is the editor’s job, which is to make the book a better one. Let’s not forget that. There’s a lot of politics that go into publishing, and a lot of it can land the editor, and the author, smack dab in the middle. But in the end, the editor’s job is to make the work a better one. (Next week we’ll talk about the author’s job.)
So the editor has to read through the work, suggest changes and clarifications along with the occasional grammatical fix, keeping in mind the author’s particular style, the story, house style and any other publisher guidelines. Not only that, but the editor may have to steer the manuscript through several rounds of revisions, then send it off to a copy editor to have the final tweaks ironed out. All the while staying true to the focus of the story and being professional to the author.
I also believe that the editor’s primary responsibility after all of this is to the author.
House style guides and publisher guidelines are pretty inflexible. And I’ll go out on a limb here and say as an author, I have no love of publishers’ house styles which err on the side of grammatically incorrect. If we have one rule here at Pink Petal Books, it is that if you have questions, the grammatically correct answer always wins. (Yes, we sometimes make mistakes, but we try really hard to ensure that doesn’t happen. We will never deliberately choose the grammatically incorrect answer.)
So what does this mean? It means that the author should never feel as if the editor is jockeying between the copy editor and the author, and standing with the copy editor. It means that the editor should accept the author’s reasoning so long as it’s grammatically sound and understandable by the average reader. It means that in a dispute between the author and the copy editor, barring the previous two reasons given, the editor should back up her author. It also means that the editor needs to be firm, yet professional, in making sure the author is using every opportunity to grow.
Finally, the editor needs to communicate. If something isn’t right, or the editor thinks more work needs to be done, then the editor needs to say so. A fluid dialogue is much easier to follow then choppy dictates and mandates. In the end, the editor needs to make the decision that the book is the best it can be and send it onto the next stage. And hopefully, in that same end, the author can feel well-served by her editor and get to work on the next novel. Because she knows that her editor is dying to read it.
Sentences are good. Longer sentences are even better. And when you combine two independent thoughts, such as the two above, you have a compound sentence. Or, you can create a run on sentence.
Like this:
Sentences are good longer sentences are better.
or
Sentences are good, longer sentences are better.
Both of these are run-on sentences, because each independent clause could stand alone. Instead it’s “spliced” or joined to its buddy with a comma.
The proper punctuation could take several different forms.
Sentences are good; longer sentences are better.
Sentences are good. Longer sentences are better.
Sentences are good, but longer sentences are better.
Sentences are good; however, longer sentences are better.
Your characters can run for fitness. And you can run inside when it’s raining, or run to the store. But please, don’t have running sentences. Because then your editor has to stop them.
I don’t think there’s an author out there who doesn’t loathe the thought of edits. Opening the file, seeing all the “track changes” on it and realizing that most likely there will be a few hours’ work in getting the manuscript ready to return to the editor. Surely, if there’s one thing that authors could get rid of in the process of publishing a book, edits would be it.
However edits are done to make the book better and improve the author’s craft. Editors, while we may joke about editorial whips, don’t undertake our work with cruelty or torture in mind. Seriously. It’s all done to produce a better book, and hopefully, the author learns in the process.
The truth is the publishing industry is changing. The barriers to entry for self-published books are becoming lower, and in the consumer’s eyes, the lines are blurring between self-published, vanity published, and commercially published. Frankly, the consumer doesn’t care. To them a good book is a good book, except when it isn’t.
Those edits sitting in your inbox are the editor’s attempt to help your book hit the former category, good, instead of the latter, bad.
So while there is some level of craft and growth that comes with each books, and authors may be at different levels in their writing career, there should be some edits, especially for newer authors and smaller presses. The editor who accepts a mediocre story and gives it only a cursory edit isn’t doing anyone any favors, least of all the author.
I’m not sure what the answer is, except perhaps to open up communication with the editor. If an author thinks her edits are easy, then she needs to seek out critique partners, maybe even discuss her concerns with the staff at the publisher. And if the author is published with another publisher who has “tougher” edits, maybe pay attention to them, apply them to the writing with other publishers, and hopefully, continue to grow as an author.
Because that’s what this is all about. Making sure the next book is an even better one than the previous. That way the reader will keep coming back for more.
When self-editing, it’s important to make the writing as clean and tight as possible. One of the best ways to do this consists of removing extra words. Writing casually makes for a great voice, but it also introduces a lot of little extra words into the prose, most of which can be removed without harming the meaning.
Take for example actions. He can stand, or he can stand up. The latter is redundant. If someone stands, they’re already moving into a vertical or “up” position. Same with sitting. She can sit, or sit down. They both have the same meaning, but the first is tighter writing.
Of course, those examples preclude any modifying phrases. If someone sits down hard, that has a different meaning than just sitting. Standing in a rush, is different than just standing. But again, even with those phrases, there’s the opportunity to refine, to ask if another word would serve the same purpose. Maybe instead of standing, he bolts to his feet. Maybe instead of sitting, she slams her ass into the chair.
Tighter writing also means that the author enters into an understanding with the reader. If the character turned to face another character, it’s understood that if you simply say “the character faced the other one (with names, of course. LOL), that the character had to turn, or shift position to face the other character.
turn to
stand up
sit down
looked over
Look for phrases such as these in your writing. Sometimes they’re necessary. Other Times, there are tighter, easier ways to say what you mean. You’ll be rewarded with tighter writing and a better story.
When characters exchange looks, or glances, many authors have their “eyes” do all the work. After all, it’s easy to type, “Their eyes met.” Except, if you have a critique partner, or an editor such as myself, who has a sarcastic sense of humor, then the immediate image that enters the reader’s mind is of their eyes popping out of their heads, ambling across the floor, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. Or even worse, “his eyes roamed over her.” Well, unless he’s a zombie, and his eyes popped out of his head to slide all sticky and slimy over her body, his gaze, his attention, or his focus is going to be doing the roaming, not his eyes.
Plus there’s so much more that goes into a look besides the eyes. Does the character duck her head and glance through her bangs? Does he stare boldly? Is he nervously fiddling with his fingers while glancing in her direction? When we look at something, our emotions and our body language oftentimes say a lot more than our eyes.
It’s also a really easy fix in a manuscript. Which means that it’s one of those little polish points that an author can do to make her work more professional.
So remember, unless it’s a cybernetic eye that someone can take out and affix to spider-like legs to let it roam at will (Red Dwarf fans will remember Kryten doing this. And Babylon 5 fans should remember G’Kar taking out his prosthetic eye and staring at himself in it.), the eyes shouldn’t go off on excursions on their own.
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