Sherry Leclerc's Blog - Posts Tagged "editing"
TIPS FROM A SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR FINDING HER WAY IN THE DARK
6 December 2017
Issue # 1 : Traditional Publishing, Assisted Self-Publishing, or Self-Publishing?
I published my very first novel, The Guardians of Eastgate: Seers Book I, this past summer. It was officially released for sale on all online platforms on August 30th. During the process of getting that first edition out to the public, and since then, I have learned a lot. And I’ve learned enough to know that there is still a lot more left to learn. It’s a never-ending process. I say ‘never-ending’ because there are always new things happening, so I expect I will never know everything there is about the subject.
In order to help other authors who are starting out and thinking about self-publishing, I decided to start writing this blog series. In it, I will tell you about the things I’ve discovered while stumbling my way through the dark.
In this first issue, I will talk to you a little about traditional publishing, assisted self-publishing, and self-publishing.
When I finished writing my first manuscript, I knew I would need it edited, formatted for print and eBook, and so on. Really, though, I was aware there was a lot to be done, but I didn’t know what it all was, or how to go about doing it. So, I searched online for help.
Some major benefits of going with a traditional publisher, I have learned, are that they take on the costs of publishing the book, and they provide editors, cover artists, and pretty much every other service that you need to get your story from manuscript to published book. So, it’s the publisher who takes on the risk of putting money into a book that may or may not make back the value of the investment.
Sounds great, right? Especially if you are a new author who can’t afford to carry all the costs yourself, or you don’t have the time to search for all the talent you need.
Well, it can be great, but there is also a flip side. Traditional publishing companies provide you with everything you need, but they also claim much of the royalties from the sales of the book. Of course, you can negotiate contracts most of the time, but some publishers will actually take up to 70% or more of the royalties. On top of that, the publishing house will most likely hold the copyright and take the creative control.
And, that’s assuming you can get a traditional publishing company to take you on in the first place. Did you know that when J.K. Rowling was looking for a publisher for her first Harry Potter book, she was turned down many times before a small publishing company decided to take a chance on her? And look where she is today.
There are two morals to that story. First, never give up! Second, don’t expect that you’ll find a company to take you on right away.
Publishing Companies can end up with more manuscripts sent to them than they can process. At the same time, though, some publishers don’t like it if you’ve sent the same manuscript out to other publishers to look at while it’s with them. Manuscripts can end up sitting for years on an editor’s desk before they even get the chance to look at them. Then, once they do, your manuscript may end up rejected, not because it wasn’t a good story, or because it wasn’t well-written. It could end up being rejected for reasons such as, how many manuscripts in your genre has the company taken on presently? What genres are selling well at that moment in time? And so on and so on.
However, you may never know why the manuscript was rejected. For example, one of the members of a Facebook writers’ groups I belong to recently wrote about how he had asked an editor that “why” question. He was told, in not a very nice fashion, to never ask that question again. So, you may end up sitting there, deflated, thinking your story is not good enough and/or your writing is not good enough. Of course, there is always the possibility that’s the case. But there is also the possibility that it was rejected for a completely different reason.
Many authors write query letters to the publishing company instead of submitting their manuscripts cold. A good query letter can help your book stand out, so it is a good idea to learn how to write one well if you are going with traditional publishing. Some authors also go the route of finding literary agents to take them on as clients. These agents can help make them more noticeable to traditional publishing companies. Again, you have to write query letters and be prepared to go to numerous agents before finding one who will take you on as a client.
Another thing I discovered is that there are many so-called “Assisted Self-Publishing” companies out there. However, many of them are linked to traditional publishers and, while you still have to pay for everything yourself since you are “self-publishing,” these companies still charge for services, and even claim royalties. In some cases, they claim much more than I would have expected, considering that the initial costs come out of the author’s own pocket. So, if you go this route, you have to be very careful in researching and choosing a company.
As for myself, I decided to go the assisted self-publishing route in the beginning because, I had waited more than 25 years to get the story in my head down on paper, darn it! I didn’t want to take years more to get it out to the world. But, since I knew nothing, I decided to go the ‘assisted self-publishing’ route.
I know what you’re thinking. Why would I go that route after all the negative things I said about it above? Well, there were a couple of reasons. First of all, I had a book that needed publishing and not enough time or patience to learn to do everything myself. More importantly, I managed to find a Canadian company called Tellwell (www.tellwell.ca), who provides the ‘talent’ (editors, layout people, cover designers, etc.), sets up distribution accounts, and various other things you might need, depending on how much you want to spend. And this was the ONE company I found who didn’t claim the copyright, and who did not take ANY royalties.
They can even, if you purchase that particular service, set you up with a domain name and a website. In fact, they have recently helped me transfer the domain name owner from them (because they do all the initial set-up) to me.
If you go the true self-publishing route, you can either do it all yourself using a service such as CreateSpace, or find and pay the people and/or services you need to get your book published. I will give you more information about self-publishing and self-publishing options in Issue 2 of this newsletter.
In the next issue of Tips from a Self-Published Author Finding Her Way in the Dark:
*More pros and cons of assisted self-publishing
*Why I am glad I used a (true) assisted self-publishing company for my first novel
*Why I would NOT go this route for the second edition of my first book, or for planned future books
*More information about self-publishing options
Please note that these are my own experiences and opinions. I am not saying my choices would be best for everyone. It is always a good idea to do your research. My goal is to inform you of the kinds of things you need to know, and maybe even give you some insights and direction.
I look forward to posting more blogs about self-publishing, for your information and enjoyment, in the future.
Thanks for reading!
P.S. If you have not yet signed up for my author newsletter in exchange for a free copy of my Seers Series short story collection, The Guardians of Sterrenvar, please click here.
https://sherryleclerc.authorreach.com/
Issue # 1 : Traditional Publishing, Assisted Self-Publishing, or Self-Publishing?
I published my very first novel, The Guardians of Eastgate: Seers Book I, this past summer. It was officially released for sale on all online platforms on August 30th. During the process of getting that first edition out to the public, and since then, I have learned a lot. And I’ve learned enough to know that there is still a lot more left to learn. It’s a never-ending process. I say ‘never-ending’ because there are always new things happening, so I expect I will never know everything there is about the subject.
In order to help other authors who are starting out and thinking about self-publishing, I decided to start writing this blog series. In it, I will tell you about the things I’ve discovered while stumbling my way through the dark.
In this first issue, I will talk to you a little about traditional publishing, assisted self-publishing, and self-publishing.
When I finished writing my first manuscript, I knew I would need it edited, formatted for print and eBook, and so on. Really, though, I was aware there was a lot to be done, but I didn’t know what it all was, or how to go about doing it. So, I searched online for help.
Some major benefits of going with a traditional publisher, I have learned, are that they take on the costs of publishing the book, and they provide editors, cover artists, and pretty much every other service that you need to get your story from manuscript to published book. So, it’s the publisher who takes on the risk of putting money into a book that may or may not make back the value of the investment.
Sounds great, right? Especially if you are a new author who can’t afford to carry all the costs yourself, or you don’t have the time to search for all the talent you need.
Well, it can be great, but there is also a flip side. Traditional publishing companies provide you with everything you need, but they also claim much of the royalties from the sales of the book. Of course, you can negotiate contracts most of the time, but some publishers will actually take up to 70% or more of the royalties. On top of that, the publishing house will most likely hold the copyright and take the creative control.
And, that’s assuming you can get a traditional publishing company to take you on in the first place. Did you know that when J.K. Rowling was looking for a publisher for her first Harry Potter book, she was turned down many times before a small publishing company decided to take a chance on her? And look where she is today.
There are two morals to that story. First, never give up! Second, don’t expect that you’ll find a company to take you on right away.
Publishing Companies can end up with more manuscripts sent to them than they can process. At the same time, though, some publishers don’t like it if you’ve sent the same manuscript out to other publishers to look at while it’s with them. Manuscripts can end up sitting for years on an editor’s desk before they even get the chance to look at them. Then, once they do, your manuscript may end up rejected, not because it wasn’t a good story, or because it wasn’t well-written. It could end up being rejected for reasons such as, how many manuscripts in your genre has the company taken on presently? What genres are selling well at that moment in time? And so on and so on.
However, you may never know why the manuscript was rejected. For example, one of the members of a Facebook writers’ groups I belong to recently wrote about how he had asked an editor that “why” question. He was told, in not a very nice fashion, to never ask that question again. So, you may end up sitting there, deflated, thinking your story is not good enough and/or your writing is not good enough. Of course, there is always the possibility that’s the case. But there is also the possibility that it was rejected for a completely different reason.
Many authors write query letters to the publishing company instead of submitting their manuscripts cold. A good query letter can help your book stand out, so it is a good idea to learn how to write one well if you are going with traditional publishing. Some authors also go the route of finding literary agents to take them on as clients. These agents can help make them more noticeable to traditional publishing companies. Again, you have to write query letters and be prepared to go to numerous agents before finding one who will take you on as a client.
Another thing I discovered is that there are many so-called “Assisted Self-Publishing” companies out there. However, many of them are linked to traditional publishers and, while you still have to pay for everything yourself since you are “self-publishing,” these companies still charge for services, and even claim royalties. In some cases, they claim much more than I would have expected, considering that the initial costs come out of the author’s own pocket. So, if you go this route, you have to be very careful in researching and choosing a company.
As for myself, I decided to go the assisted self-publishing route in the beginning because, I had waited more than 25 years to get the story in my head down on paper, darn it! I didn’t want to take years more to get it out to the world. But, since I knew nothing, I decided to go the ‘assisted self-publishing’ route.
I know what you’re thinking. Why would I go that route after all the negative things I said about it above? Well, there were a couple of reasons. First of all, I had a book that needed publishing and not enough time or patience to learn to do everything myself. More importantly, I managed to find a Canadian company called Tellwell (www.tellwell.ca), who provides the ‘talent’ (editors, layout people, cover designers, etc.), sets up distribution accounts, and various other things you might need, depending on how much you want to spend. And this was the ONE company I found who didn’t claim the copyright, and who did not take ANY royalties.
They can even, if you purchase that particular service, set you up with a domain name and a website. In fact, they have recently helped me transfer the domain name owner from them (because they do all the initial set-up) to me.
If you go the true self-publishing route, you can either do it all yourself using a service such as CreateSpace, or find and pay the people and/or services you need to get your book published. I will give you more information about self-publishing and self-publishing options in Issue 2 of this newsletter.
In the next issue of Tips from a Self-Published Author Finding Her Way in the Dark:
*More pros and cons of assisted self-publishing
*Why I am glad I used a (true) assisted self-publishing company for my first novel
*Why I would NOT go this route for the second edition of my first book, or for planned future books
*More information about self-publishing options
Please note that these are my own experiences and opinions. I am not saying my choices would be best for everyone. It is always a good idea to do your research. My goal is to inform you of the kinds of things you need to know, and maybe even give you some insights and direction.
I look forward to posting more blogs about self-publishing, for your information and enjoyment, in the future.
Thanks for reading!
P.S. If you have not yet signed up for my author newsletter in exchange for a free copy of my Seers Series short story collection, The Guardians of Sterrenvar, please click here.
https://sherryleclerc.authorreach.com/
PROFESSIONAL EDITING: ANOTHER SERVICE INDIE AUTHORS CAN’T AFFORD TO SKIMP ON
Along with cover design, professional editing is a service no indie author can afford to skimp on.
Beta reading, proofreading, copy-editing, line editing, content editing, structural editing – what do these terms mean, and do we indie authors really need to worry about all that? The short answer is YES, especially if you want to present your story in the best possible light.
Whew! You’ve finally completed that manuscript you’ve been slaving over, or lovingly bringing to life (whatever your process is). You can now crack your knuckles, sit back and relax, maybe even take a nap, because the hard part is over. Right?
Wrong.
There are still many things to be done before your book is ready to be published. One of the most important of these is editing.
As I mentioned above, there are many different aspects and levels to editing. Unless you are a trained and practiced editor, there may be things you will miss if you try to do all the editing yourself. Even if you are a trained editor, it is difficult for an author to edit their own work, since we know what we mean and where we are coming from. It is difficult to step back and look at our work from an unbiased perspective to see if there are sections that are unclear, repetitive, out of place, and so on. This is where having a third-party, unbiased and professional editor comes in.
Some questions you may be asking now are: What do all those editing terms mean, anyway? How much does editing cost? How long will the editing process take?
The answers to these questions depend on the length of your book, the level of editing you require and how polished, or self-edited, your book is before submitting it to a professional editor. It also depends on the qualifications and experience level of your chosen editor, and that editor’s workload.
Is it important starting out to have a deep understanding of what each of the above editing terms means? No, not really. But you should know enough to understand what you are signing up for when you hire an editor and to make your expectations clear. Also, if your budget is tight, you can decide on what you can do yourself and what you really need an objective, professional eye for.
Though the terminology might differ a little from source to source and between fiction and non-fiction, here are some basic explanations for the types/levels of editing you may require:
1. Beta reading
I consider beta-reading to be a stage in the editing process and prefer to have it done early, soon after my first draft is complete – or second, depending on how I feel about my manuscript.
When hiring a beta reader, it is important to clearly outline your expectations for them. I tell my beta readers to read the novel as they would read any book and take note of places where the pace moves too fast or too slow, sections they were tempted to skip over, and any obvious plot holes. Also, were there any sections that didn’t make sense, or that did not seem to fit with the genre or story? Are there sections or scenes that just didn’t seem to work for them?
You could get friends and family to beta read for you, and I do. But I also pay people who beta read professionally and know what they are looking for. Getting friends and family to beta read your work might be budget friendly, but unless they are fans of your specific genre and know what they are looking for, there is no guarantee of how useful their feedback will be.
The main reason I get beta reading done early, before I get into the heavy editing, is in case there is useful feedback I can incorporate in my revisions. You don’t want to go through the time, effort, and cost of editing scenes that you will end up cutting or changing, for example.
2. Story Level / Structural editing
I start with the bigger picture, the story level or structural editing. This is a good place to start because, like with the beta-reading, you might decide there are sections or scenes that do not work for what you are trying to achieve, or sections that need to be reworked. If you do your sentence or scene level edits first on sections that you end up deciding to cut when you get to your story level edits, then you’ve just wasted time, effort and possibly cash.
This level is a big-picture look at your work. Does it have a beginning, middle, and end? Is there a beginning hook, rising action, climax and resolution? Are there scenes that have no real purpose and do not move the story forward? Did you choose the correct character as your protagonist? Is your character development and world-building detailed without dumping information on readers in a way that will lose their interest? Do you “show” the readers more often than you “tell” them?
3. Scene level / content editing
In this level, editors will go through each scene and ask: Does this scene have a beginning, middle and end? Is there a beginning hook, rising action, a climax and a resolution (this should be the case both at the story level and at the scene level)? Does the scene move the story forward? Is there conflict in each scene? And so on and so on.
4. Sentence level / line editing / copyediting
Regardless of the term used for this level of editing, it involves looking at your story line by line, or sentence by sentence. Here, editors will look at sentence structure, spelling, grammar and punctuation. This is the level that should be done last because, again, you don’t want to spend a lot of time, effort and/or money inspecting and dissecting sentences or lines that you are just going to end up cutting or changing down the line.
5. Proofreading
Proofreading is the inspection that takes place just before a manuscript is about to be published. It is a very close look at your story. Proofreaders look for any mistakes or problems that may have been missed earlier in the editing process. Like copyediting (and some may use the terms interchangeably), the focus is on grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
Proofreading is important because, in a novel of 90,000 words or more, for example, it is easy for little things to slip through. I personally have self-edited manuscripts numerous times, had them edited by a professional, and have still caught mistakes after all that.
If you are an indie author, hiring a professional editor is undoubtedly the way to go. When you are writing your first (and each subsequent) work that you wish to publish, make sure you budget some funds to cover editing.
You can easily find beta-readers and editors online and through social media. Here are a few sites to get you started:
https://www.fiverr.com/categories/wri...
https://www.booksandthebear.com/servi...
http://selfpublishersshowcase.com/aut...
http://dominioneditorial.com/
To learn more about editing your own work, see the links below, which are sites/programs I have used to help me become a better editor and writer, and which have a lot of useful information on editing:
Manuscript Magic:
https://writingblueprints.com/p/manus...
The Story Grid:
https://storygrid.com/
*See the original post here: http://www.sherryleclerc.com/2018/08/...
Sherry LeclercSherry Leclerc
Beta reading, proofreading, copy-editing, line editing, content editing, structural editing – what do these terms mean, and do we indie authors really need to worry about all that? The short answer is YES, especially if you want to present your story in the best possible light.
Whew! You’ve finally completed that manuscript you’ve been slaving over, or lovingly bringing to life (whatever your process is). You can now crack your knuckles, sit back and relax, maybe even take a nap, because the hard part is over. Right?
Wrong.
There are still many things to be done before your book is ready to be published. One of the most important of these is editing.
As I mentioned above, there are many different aspects and levels to editing. Unless you are a trained and practiced editor, there may be things you will miss if you try to do all the editing yourself. Even if you are a trained editor, it is difficult for an author to edit their own work, since we know what we mean and where we are coming from. It is difficult to step back and look at our work from an unbiased perspective to see if there are sections that are unclear, repetitive, out of place, and so on. This is where having a third-party, unbiased and professional editor comes in.
Some questions you may be asking now are: What do all those editing terms mean, anyway? How much does editing cost? How long will the editing process take?
The answers to these questions depend on the length of your book, the level of editing you require and how polished, or self-edited, your book is before submitting it to a professional editor. It also depends on the qualifications and experience level of your chosen editor, and that editor’s workload.
Is it important starting out to have a deep understanding of what each of the above editing terms means? No, not really. But you should know enough to understand what you are signing up for when you hire an editor and to make your expectations clear. Also, if your budget is tight, you can decide on what you can do yourself and what you really need an objective, professional eye for.
Though the terminology might differ a little from source to source and between fiction and non-fiction, here are some basic explanations for the types/levels of editing you may require:
1. Beta reading
I consider beta-reading to be a stage in the editing process and prefer to have it done early, soon after my first draft is complete – or second, depending on how I feel about my manuscript.
When hiring a beta reader, it is important to clearly outline your expectations for them. I tell my beta readers to read the novel as they would read any book and take note of places where the pace moves too fast or too slow, sections they were tempted to skip over, and any obvious plot holes. Also, were there any sections that didn’t make sense, or that did not seem to fit with the genre or story? Are there sections or scenes that just didn’t seem to work for them?
You could get friends and family to beta read for you, and I do. But I also pay people who beta read professionally and know what they are looking for. Getting friends and family to beta read your work might be budget friendly, but unless they are fans of your specific genre and know what they are looking for, there is no guarantee of how useful their feedback will be.
The main reason I get beta reading done early, before I get into the heavy editing, is in case there is useful feedback I can incorporate in my revisions. You don’t want to go through the time, effort, and cost of editing scenes that you will end up cutting or changing, for example.
2. Story Level / Structural editing
I start with the bigger picture, the story level or structural editing. This is a good place to start because, like with the beta-reading, you might decide there are sections or scenes that do not work for what you are trying to achieve, or sections that need to be reworked. If you do your sentence or scene level edits first on sections that you end up deciding to cut when you get to your story level edits, then you’ve just wasted time, effort and possibly cash.
This level is a big-picture look at your work. Does it have a beginning, middle, and end? Is there a beginning hook, rising action, climax and resolution? Are there scenes that have no real purpose and do not move the story forward? Did you choose the correct character as your protagonist? Is your character development and world-building detailed without dumping information on readers in a way that will lose their interest? Do you “show” the readers more often than you “tell” them?
3. Scene level / content editing
In this level, editors will go through each scene and ask: Does this scene have a beginning, middle and end? Is there a beginning hook, rising action, a climax and a resolution (this should be the case both at the story level and at the scene level)? Does the scene move the story forward? Is there conflict in each scene? And so on and so on.
4. Sentence level / line editing / copyediting
Regardless of the term used for this level of editing, it involves looking at your story line by line, or sentence by sentence. Here, editors will look at sentence structure, spelling, grammar and punctuation. This is the level that should be done last because, again, you don’t want to spend a lot of time, effort and/or money inspecting and dissecting sentences or lines that you are just going to end up cutting or changing down the line.
5. Proofreading
Proofreading is the inspection that takes place just before a manuscript is about to be published. It is a very close look at your story. Proofreaders look for any mistakes or problems that may have been missed earlier in the editing process. Like copyediting (and some may use the terms interchangeably), the focus is on grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
Proofreading is important because, in a novel of 90,000 words or more, for example, it is easy for little things to slip through. I personally have self-edited manuscripts numerous times, had them edited by a professional, and have still caught mistakes after all that.
If you are an indie author, hiring a professional editor is undoubtedly the way to go. When you are writing your first (and each subsequent) work that you wish to publish, make sure you budget some funds to cover editing.
You can easily find beta-readers and editors online and through social media. Here are a few sites to get you started:
https://www.fiverr.com/categories/wri...
https://www.booksandthebear.com/servi...
http://selfpublishersshowcase.com/aut...
http://dominioneditorial.com/
To learn more about editing your own work, see the links below, which are sites/programs I have used to help me become a better editor and writer, and which have a lot of useful information on editing:
Manuscript Magic:
https://writingblueprints.com/p/manus...
The Story Grid:
https://storygrid.com/
*See the original post here: http://www.sherryleclerc.com/2018/08/...
Sherry LeclercSherry Leclerc
My Review of Stephen King's "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen KingMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved the conversational tone of On Writing. It was almost like sitting and listening to King talk. The tone was relaxed and engaging, proving the point he makes in the book about the importance of language.
The first part of the book was a memoir outlining King's early life and his beginnings as a writer. As a new author myself, it was enlightening to read that even the great Stephen King was not an overnight sensation. He had many rejections, sold a few stories here and there. But he struggled for years: holding down a day job, raising a family and reading and writing whenever he could before he started making enough to live off his work. But he never gave up.
The second half of the book gives many insights for writing, editing and publishing. He gives a lot of useful information from the point of view of someone who's been there. It was encouraging for me to see that there were a couple of things he said that meshed with what I instinctively felt when I started writing with the intention to publish.
I don't want to give too much away. It's better if you read these things from King himself.
I've never been a big memoir fan in the past, but it was really helpful for me to read the memoir of another writer. Not just any writer, but Stephen King. I appreciated the personal stories he chose to share, as they showed that even the most sucessful writers start somewhere. Even the most successful writers struggle sometimes. But if you're writing from the right place with the right intentions, the struggles won't (or shouldn't) discourage you.
View all my reviews
