The Voice of the Writer in Memoir

This past year, ever since we came back to the States, I've been all wrapped up in work for WiDo Publishing. It's our ten-year anniversary and we are very close to having our 100th book published.

We also started a new imprint, E.L. Marker, a hybrid company that offers traditional publishing services to self-publishing authors.

It's been a crazy busy year. The only writing I've done is journaling (my personal psychotherapy) and writing emails to authors whose work I'm editing and/or preparing for publication. So many emails.

I've edited a number of memoirs this year for both WiDo and E.L. Marker, and it's got me thinking about the writer's voice. In any kind of writing, voice will attract or repel readers. But in memoir it's especially important. If you dislike the voice of the narrator, you won't keep reading, since the memoir is about the narrator.

There a few tricks of the trade in editing a memoir to make the voice more appealing. Strangely enough, one of them is to tone it down. You might think, "But why? It's about this person so why not put as much personality in there as you can? So the reader can feel like they know them?"

A good question. The entire book is about the individual, in first person, their story, but it's also about other people they've included in their story. And those other people are part of what makes the memoir whole and balanced.

Putting in too much of the writer's personality, in the form of little asides or sarcasm or other types of humor, can quickly turn the reader off. It tends to make the narrator come across as self-absorbed and thus unlikable--the last thing we want to see happen in a memoir.

If you'd like to take a look at WiDo's selection of memoirs, click on this link to our bookstore and see the tab for Memoir.

Memoir is currently my favorite genre. I can't get enough of them, which I guess is why I've chosen to edit so many lately, rather than passing them along to other WiDo editors.

How do you feel about memoir, either writing or reading them?

The Many Layers of Editing

One of the requirements for making a good book-- or making a book good-- is editing. A good publisher uses not just one editor, not just a proofread or a copy edit, but serious craptastic editing-- from after your manuscript is accepted for publication until the final proof is sent to the printer.

At WiDo,  I have been involved in all aspects of editing: reviewing submissions, line by line revisions with authors, copy editing finished manuscripts, and proofreading the typeset proofs. Once I had to re-edit a published book that had too many mistakes slip through and needed to be reprinted. If you have published with WiDo, I guarantee at some point I have looked at your manuscript along with about four to six other people.

That is a whole lot of editing that goes into one single manuscript. I absolutely LOVE it!! It's thrilling to see a project come together from the beginning. You take a darn good first submission and after a series of editing events along with some skilled design work, you have the polished, pretty, published book ready to sell.

There's a lot that goes into the making of a book. But the Big E-- Editing-- is key to making the writer's work shine. If you plan to self-publish, get yourself an English grammar and composition book-- in fact get several-- and study punctuation like your career depends on it.Okay, not just if you plan to self-publish. Nothing will get a rejection faster than a query letter full of punctuation mistakes.

When you're not sure about comma placement, go look it up. Don't just guess or rely on your Word Processor. It's okay to be casual and informal about all this when writing blogs and emails but in publishing, the rules of Standard English apply.

Comma placement, misuse of capitals, run-on sentences and countless other issues lurk between the lines to jump out and distract the reader who just spent good money on a book they expected to be polished and professional.

E is for Editing!

Elliot Grace: SOUTH OF CHARM

Today I am two places at once. Here interviewing Elliot Grace, to kick off his blog tour-- and I'm over at Jennifer Lane's blog being interviewed by her. Because I am awesome at multi-tasking!


Since this blog deals mainly with writing, editing and publishing issues, I asked Elliot about his process of getting South of Charm published. 

Elliot, How did you happen to write South of Charm?  

-I'd certainly prefer to respond with a distinguished answer, something to the effect of dreaming up the entire story one evening while basking under an expiring sunset along Siesta Key, the skies ablaze with color as the wheels in my head start churning out words by the dozen.  "South of Charm" was actually inspired from a series of childhood events.  I added to my notes over the years, created a few interesting characters, dramatized things a bit, and thought perhaps it could someday make for an enjoyable story.  The project collected dust for a while as other stories took precedence.  But "Charm" was persistent, never allowing itself too much distance from my thoughts.  Eventually I committed to the project, and three years later had a decent manuscript that I felt was ready to share with potential suitors.  

How did you find your publisher?  

Following the usual gauntlet of rejections, I found myself at a local book fair, conversing with one of several featured writers on display, when by chance, I met up with David Wiesenberg, an editor representing Wooster Books Publishing.  Upon his request, I pitched to him my idea, basically just the highlights off the top of my head.  A few days later he sent me an email, this time requesting a full read.  Several weeks later I was signed.

What was the editing process like? 

The editing process became an exhaustive commitment lasting nearly a year and a half, with David, ever the perfectionist, leading me in the right direction, while never overstepping his authority.  The hands on approach of an indie publisher played out just as I'd read on many websites and tutorials.  A personable staff who were always available to lend advice, be it a major conflict with the cover design, or simply an ear to lend to a writer's concern's.  

"South of Charm" was released in May, and while making a fighting effort at keeping pace with the big shots of the publishing industry, has done well locally.  Enough so, that I'm considering a return to Wooster Books for the second release, whenever that day may come ;)

From South of Charm by Elliot Grace:

...we're huddled in the far corner of my bedroom.  Arms wrapped around our knees in the dark.  The approaching footsteps grow louder.  Ominous thuds.  Our mother-but somehow not.  She's standing outside my door.  We listen to the creak of hinges.  My sister clenches my arm.     

"She's coming," she whispers.  "She's broken."


To purchase on the Kindle
To purchase print copy

Elliot, I am honored that I got to kick off your blog tour, and thrilled that you answered all my nosy questions. I wish you every success for South of Charm!

EEl

From Eager Writer to Published Author and Back Again

Last night I completed the final edit of House of Diamonds and emailed it to my editor. He has a new Nook and wants to review it on his Nook, so I sent it as a pdf. file. This is when I change from Published Author and Thoughtful Editor to Eager Writer.  

Has he opened the file yet? Will he like it? I think it's perfect, it's done, complete, ready to go-- I hope he agrees! This is when time drags. What, it's only been 24 hours since I emailed it? How long should I wait before asking him if he's read it? Would Monday be too soon? This is when I need to chill. Who else can I get to read it while I'm waiting? I wonder how the cover design is coming? Should I start planning my blog tour?

This is when I find something else to occupy my time or I go crazy.

Worried Writers

While agents and editors can lay it all out in their blogs and say pretty much anything, writers have to think about getting readers and followers and fans who will buy their books-- thus we are nice and pleasant. As I wrote about here. After all, we're writers, we hate rejection. Our entire careers are based on avoiding it.

Have you ever wanted to post something but feared going too far? Do you ever hold back thinking, "Better not say that. People who matter might get upset. What if AN AGENT reads this"?

I used to read a book to my kids called Worried Walrus, and when anyone in our family got excessively worried about something, we'd say they were a worried walrus. I think sometimes we writers are worried walruses, afraid of saying, doing or writing the wrong thing to hurt our chances at publication, attracting readers, or achieving success in our careers.

Yesterday I read a post that was brutally honest in expressing what the industry has done to this writer's head since she began. I won't summarize but you can go here to read it yourself if you haven't already. Altho many have looked up to Natalie Whipple as having it all-- the dream agent *no longer in the business*, an editor at a dream publisher who loved her story *didn't work out*, and now still out on submission *where many would kill to be*-- still, the entire process put her through hell and back until she had to pour it all out on her blog.

And as she wrote it I'll bet you anything she worried about saying "too much"--about sounding whiny or ungrateful, about offending someone in the industry, perhaps alienating her blog readers. But she had to let it out, so she wrote the post and struck a chord, getting a zillion comments.

Let's pretend there'd be no repercussions if you wrote a post like Natalie's. What would be on it? What would you say about the industry? What's on your worried walrus writer list?

The Problem with Self-Publishing

It used to be distribution. A self-pubbed book couldn't get into bookstores. Now? Does that even matter at all? No, not really.

The self-publisher can go electronic, promote like crazy using social media and a link on the blog, and sell amazing amounts. Karen McQuestion did just that with her ebook, A Scattered Life, and now it's being published by Amazon (when did they become a big press???) and made into a movie.

A book not making it to the bookstore shelf is mattering less and less as we speak. A recent NY Times article chronicles the problems bookstores, including the massive Barnes & Noble, are facing due to the ebook explosion. And booksellers thought they had it bad back when Amazon took hold. Man, that was nothing compared to what's happening now!

So here's the question. Why bother with a publisher at all? Why bother with finding an agent, getting rejected, looking for a publisher, getting rejected, writing queries, getting rejected, submitting partials, getting rejected? Why not just save time, forgo the misery, and go straight to Smashwords? Or CreateSpace and Amazon?

If distribution doesn't matter, and marketing dollars are scarce (authors are having to promote like crazy anyway), then why not just do it all yourself and end up with a bigger piece of the pie?

A post yesterday on Melissa Cunningham's blog, A Writer's Reality, answers these questions, from the perspective of a debut author. EDITING. Did you hear that? I'm sure you did since I was shouting. EDITING. One more time. EDITING.

Sure you can have your work critiqued, even pay thousands of dollars for an editing service-- but all those people are so easy to ignore when they tell you something hard to hear, like:

These 3 chapters drag and don't add anything to the story--No way! That's my favorite part and is the essence of my book!

150,000 words is a bit much for a YA novel. Better cut by half-- I can't take out that much. Look at the 4th Harry Potter. It sold fine.

Your main character is annoying and will alienate readers-- What? The main character is based on my cousin, and this is true to her personality. I can't change it.

The boy and girl are both named Corey, very confusing-- So what? I like the name Corey.

There's an awful lot of telling in the first six chapters-- But that's because the reader needs to know the background to understand what comes next.

An editing service will be nice, make suggestions, and end up letting you do what you want because you're the boss. You are paying them. Not so with an editor at a publishing house. Who will be a complete jerk may not be nice, who will make unreasonable demands, incredibly annoying requests, give strongly worded direction for the changes that must be made to your manuscript before it can go any farther.

Now if you're an amazing writer with the ability to self-edit with great skill, and the ability to take critique and run with it, polishing your work until it shines-- then you may be an excellent candidate for self-publishing.

I have nothing against self-publishing. Each writer needs to go the route that makes the most sense for him or her. But the editing.... that can be the real stumbling block. So if you're considering self-publishing, just be aware of the editing. Have a plan for that.

Why You May Not be Published

Serious wanna-be-published-more-than-anything writers must look at the quest for publication like they are  unemployed looking for a job. This article taken from US News & World Report is modified only slightly to meet your current publishing needs.

7 Unknown Reasons You’re not Getting Hired Published

1. You have unreasonable expectations. Everybody wants the perfect job agent, publisher, editor, spouse, car, home, vacation condo, body shape, whatever. But if your criteria are too high, if you're being too demanding, you may well remain unemployed unpublished. Nobody wants to be told to compromise, but the fact is that much of life involves just that, at least temporarily. Analyze your wants and needs. Which are must haves? Which are negotiable? Which can be put on hold?

2. You're relying too much on one search technique. Maybe you are only applying online sending out the same query to everyone, or only networking polishing without submitting or only using employment agencies  submitting to the top six, or only approaching companies agents that you know are hiring accepting submissions. Don't limit yourself to just one job agent/editor search method. Try them all. Cast a wide net, continue to build your connections, get creative.

3. You use the word "I" too often in your cover letter. The most effective way to endear yourself to potential employers  publishers is to put the focus more on them than on you. Show you've done your homework and understand what your target companies kind of books they are publishing. Then tell them how you can fill those needs.

4. You are not demonstrating long-term potential. We get caught up in the moment. We need a job to be offered a contract now. But employers agents and publishers, the good ones at least, tend to think long term. They want to know not only how you will contribute what you have written now but what you’ll be writing in the future, too. That "Where do you see yourself in five years?"  "What's your genre and what else have you got?" question is not just for drill. They really want to know.

5. You are unknowingly repeating mistakes. After interviews rejections, are you taking the time to review and analyze them? Many times the reason you don't get a job  a contract is beyond your control, and, in fact, has nothing to do with you, but not always. Trying to understand why the answer was "No" may help you to fine tune your approach.

6. You have not rehearsed no pitch or promotion plan. You may hesitate to rehearse answers to the most common questions. You don't want to sound canned. You want to be yourself. But consider the benefits of creating great answers to those questions you hear the most (what’s your book about? What makes it different from all the rest? Who's your demographic? How will you promote?)--short, vivid, three-sentence answers brimming with examples and facts--and practicing them until you can speak with conviction and confidence.

7. You put your job search writing on hold while waiting to hear back. Don't we all fall into this trap at one time or another? You've had a super couple of interviews emails with your dream employer agent. You just know you're going to get "the call" any day now. You think, I'm going to hold off until I hear back; after all, I deserve a little break. Well, no doubt you do deserve a little break--but don't. Keep on networking writing, applying submitting, interviewing attending writer conferences and researching agents & publishers until you have a firm job contract offer in hand.

Looking for work a publisher is an enormous project. In many ways it's more difficult, and takes more energy, than even the most demanding job writing the damn novel. So, in the midst of it all, find a way to nurture yourself. Keep on fine tuning and strengthening your approach manuscript. And hang in there.

With thanks and apologies (please don’t sue me) to:

Karen Burns is the author of the illustrated career advice book The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use, recently released by Running Press. She blogs at www.karenburnsworkinggirl.com

What's your dream? Can you see it?

I believe in visualizing, imagining, dreaming. We cannot realize it unless we first visualize it. Can you see yourself submitting a complete manuscript to an agent or editor? Can you visualize an acceptance email or a phone call? Can you see your book in print, see people handing over money to purchase a copy? Can you imagine a room filled with strangers coming to hear you talk about your book?

Okay, stop right there, because yes, I'll be honest, that is my current visualization. The last presentation I went to, someone in the audience asked me, "What goals have you set for your writing? What is it you want?"

I knew the answer as soon as he said it. My response: "I want to see a room like this filled to capacity." It was a large conference room at a library, full of chairs, with three short rows occupied. In my mind's eye, I could see it full. Standing room only.

It's what I want. I visualize a room full of strangers coming to hear me talk (about my red shoes lol) and to buy my books. I added, "And then I want to go on Oprah!" This got a laugh and one lady said, "You'd better wear those red shoes of yours when you go on Oprah." Hooray, she was visualizing it, too! The more people you can get to share your dream, the more powerful it is.

That's me, what do you want? You're on a path to something-- what is it? And in your mind's eye, how far ahead can you see yourself on that path?

The Nicest Rejection Letters

I've had my share of rejections, and each one is imprinted on my mind forever. Especially the nice ones. One editor critiqued my story and asked me to submit something else, a longer work. Which I never did since they wanted books and back then I only had time for stories.

Through years of writing and getting rejected, the helpful rejections are what kept me going. When I sent Uncut Diamonds out (under a different title back then), an editor sent suggestions on how to improve it. When I rewrote and wanted to resubmit to that publisher, I was bummed to find they were out of business. I actually figured I had a shot there. Another rejection letter suggested it would be a difficult sell because LDS women like to read novels set in either modern times or historical eras, and the 1970's was neither. Whether I agreed with that or not, I appreciated her time and trouble in writing me a personal letter.

When I finished Farm Girl, I sent it off to the University of Nebraska Press. They said it was too short for them, but listed several regional Nebraska magazines to try, who might be interested in publishing it as a series. I didn't follow that route since I couldn't let go of my vision of Farm Girl as a book. I didn't want it published in a magazine as a series of articles or stories. But still, what a promising rejection letter! And it came after just two weeks, which really impressed me. It's the worst to wait six months and then get a stupid form rejection.

I used to get those as a matter of course. Then one day came a glimmer of hope-- a form rejection postcard with these words written in blue ink: "Nice work, try again." I saved that one for a long, long time--my first rejection that was more than a form letter.

You can tell you're getting closer to publication when the rejections get more promising. When they contain a kernel of something more than "It's not right for us." When you get one of those, keep going. It means you're getting closer.