Fiction

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This is a place for fiction writers and those who represent them and edit them to gather and discuss the process and the business. If you have ever even fantasized about writing a novel you are welcome too.

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Latest Activity: May 12

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Discussion Forum

Is a series easier to sell these days than a standalone work?

Started by Ian Nathaniel Cohen. Last reply by Peter Kraft May 12. 5 Replies 1 Like

These days, when browsing the shelves at bookstores, I see a large number of books that are parts of a series (particularly mystery and sci-fi/fantasy). I can understand a publisher wanting a series…Continue

Social concerns in fiction

Started by Michael Valentine. Last reply by Michael Valentine Mar 4. 15 Replies 0 Likes

Should great fiction reflect or try to bring attention to problems in our society or is it enough to just try and tell great stories? What should the goal of a fiction writer be? Continue

Two Stories In One -- Best Way To Tell Them?

Started by F.J. Thomas. Last reply by Ekta R. Garg Feb 25. 3 Replies 1 Like

Basic idea of the book is that a girl and her pet are separated during a disaster. The premise of the book is the story of each one until they are reunited at the end of the book.The basic format of…Continue

Did any of you participate in the Write a book in a month challenge?

Started by Deborah Herman. Last reply by Mari Adkins Jan 21. 5 Replies 0 Likes

I have heard about the write a book in a month challenge but do not know the details. I would love to know if it worked out for any of you and if it spurred you on to completion. Perhaps you can…Continue

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Comment by Patricia A.Shannon/yeager(Patty) on January 8, 2012 at 12:33pm: Hello everyone, I joined WAE awhile ago, however the holidays got me and I had my hands full, as I'm sure many did. Time has slowed down so I would like to introduce myself and thank you for accepting me into the group.

My name is Patricia Yeager, (Pen name: Anne Shannon). I have written a memoir based on a young woman's survival through poverty and extreme abuse by a drunken husband during WW l and the Great Depression after marrying too young, leaving behind great wealth and doting in the southern U.S. She must survive raising several children mostly alone as her husband is drafted into WW l, and returns six years later after deserting the war and hiding out in Europe. Her life continues with the struggle for the next twenty years as her stubborn Irish pride and faith will not allow her to abandon her husband until he nearly destroys one of her children.

I am in the editing process, which I might add is not my favorite element of writing, and hope to have my Ms. professionally edited if anyone can suggest a good copy/editor.My goal is to have it published in 2012, since my goal to have it published in 2011 wasn't met. Giggle.

I hope to learn from WAE, and also hope to contribute as well.

Regards,

Pat

Comment by Caroline Kaiser on January 8, 2012 at 10:08am: Thanks Joy, Ekta, and Meenu. And I am glad to hear, Michael, that your experience with an editor has been a positive one despite the blood, and I'm pleased to see your endorsement of the editing process in general. I do believe that good editors will find subtle errors and suggest improvements that have never occurred to authors. These things are overlooked because authors understandably are too close to their own work, having immersed themselves in it for long stretches of time, and also because not all authors have been trained to think like editors.

To minimize the psychological impact of all that red, I usually send two copies: one showing all my work on the manuscript in track changes, and another clean copy showing the manuscript with my changes already incorporated. The author often chooses to work off the clean copy, and is therefore spared the sight of all that blood :)

Comment by Meenu Mehrotra on January 8, 2012 at 1:45am: Well said Caroline and Ekta. No pain, no gain;)

Comment by Tom Flood on January 8, 2012 at 12:55am: 'fanyasy' - good one. After 183K I must be allowed an error.

Comment by Tom Flood on January 8, 2012 at 12:54am: Hmm. Just finished structural editing 20K words out of a 183K fanyasy/sci-fi manuscript this moment. Never thought of it as 'blood'. Maybe that's why I baulked at cutting another 13K just to get it below the magic 150K. I must admit, I used to send textual notes in red but on the request of a few clients, changed it to a teal green. They felt it less confronting. Although perhaps, in fantasy/sci-fi, that may as easily be 'blood'.

Comment by Michael R. Jennings on January 7, 2012 at 11:36pm: When I first received my manuscript back in the mail, I quickly thumbed through it and noticed that she (my copy-editor) must have donated five pints of "blood." All I could say, initially, was OMG!! I let it sit for a few months to gather dust as I was overly-busy trying to move into my new home (and my pool kept calling me).

Anyway, by the time I got serious about incorporating her mark-ups, it didn't take but a few pages before I realized that she knew what she was doing. Here I was, with a graduate degree, thinking I was pretty smart, knew how to write and had a good command of the English language. She managed to put a quick end to those grand illusions. So, my advice to you, my fellow writers, is please don't even consider your masterpiece as complete until AFTER you have enlisted the help of a copy-editor. Most readers, especially writers, can easily tell when a novel, book, or whatever you have written, has been edited or not. My copy-editor was worth every dollar I spent, and then some.

Comment by Ekta R. Garg on January 7, 2012 at 11:05pm: Caroline -- I completely agree! As an editor I thoroughly enjoy helping my writers with their manuscripts, and I try not to "bleed" on the page too much. Ultimately my goal is to help the writer make his/her voice come through loud and clear and just trim away the excess.

Sometimes that means a lot of trimming. And blood. :>

Comment by Joy Ross Davis on January 7, 2012 at 6:42pm: Caroline: I simply adored your comment! Thank you for the precious sentiment.

Comment by Caroline Kaiser on January 7, 2012 at 5:21pm: We editors do it because we care--bloodstains are always the sign of a well-loved manuscript :)