Writing, Submission, and Working with Editors

Writing, Submission, and Working with Editors

By Karen Cioffi

Every writer, at least hopefully, will work with an editor from time to time. While, we’d all like it to be on a regular basis, time to time is better than nothing. When in the joyous situation (you’ve gotten something accepted for publication) there are some tips that will help you in your working relationship with an editor.

The first thing, even before you think of submitting your work, is to have your manuscript or article in the best shape possible.

Getting to the Point of Submissions

1. Be part of a critique group. Every writer needs the extra eyes of writers working in the same genre. Their insights and critiques will prove to be invaluable to you.

2. Revise and self-edit . . .  repeat and repeat . . .

3. When you think your manuscript is in perfect shape, send it to a freelance editor. You may think this isn’t necessary, but it is. Ask around for one that comes with recommendations.

Now, you’re set; off you go on your submissions fishing trip. But, don’t just drop the line randomly; be sure you do research and find the best spot – one where you know the fish are biting. What this means is to look for publishing houses that are best suited to your manuscript, and ones that are accepting submissions.

After you’ve found a few publishing houses suitable, read their submission guidelines CAREFULLY, and follow them just as carefully. Now it’s time for the infamous query letter. If you’re unfamiliar with queries, do some research.

Okay, you’ve done everything you needed to, and now you cast off. AND, you get a bite.

Working with Editors

Once you’re accepted by a publishing house, you will be assigned an editor. And, don’t be alarmed, but that manuscript you meticulously slaved over, and even paid an editor to go over, will end up with revisions. This is just the nature of the beast—each publishing house has its own way of doing things. They will want your manuscript to fit their standards.

Note: the purpose of those long hours of writing and hiring an editor is to give your manuscript the best shot of making it past the editor’s trash can, and actually getting accepted.

Now on to 4 tips that will help make your editor/author experience a pleasant one:

1. Always be professional.

2. Don’t get insulted when the editor requests revisions. They are not trying to hurt your feelings; they are hired by the publishing house to get your manuscript in the best possible saleable state. They want your book to sell as much as you do, probably more.

3. Keep the lines of communication open. If you have a question, ask. If you disagree with an edit, respectfully discuss it. Editors are not infallible; sometimes your gut feeling is right.

4. Take note of deadlines and be on time—this is your career, and in some cases your livelihood.

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Reading to Improve Writing

by Vivian Zabel 

    Anyone who has attended classes about writing or who has been in sessions at conferences or who has read books or magazines about writing came across the adage at least once: "To be a good writer, read, read, read, read."

   I know what at least one reader thinks, "How can I learn anything if what I'm reading isn't worth reading?" Good question. However, reading bad writing can help a person become a better writer IF he realizes the writing isn't good. He can learn what or how not to write.

       Now, back to reading helping people become better writers.   When I took composition classes in college, I often became frustrated with all the reading I had to do, story after story after story, many times thousands of pages per assignment. Yet, as we discussed the stories and what made them interesting, or what didn’t, I was learning how to write. Even today, as I read and review on Writing.Com and for NovelSpot, I learn more about what makes a good story and what doesn’t. In fact every time I read someone else's work, I learn and share.

         I used the reading, discussion, and then writing idea when I taught, too. I tried to highlight one or two concepts per story, then had the students write something using those concepts and any others we had already covered. First, however, came reading and reading and reading.

        As I read the September, 2005, issue of The Writer, I discovered an article by Erika Dreifus titled “Learning short-story writing by example." She agrees with my university professors and me: “We learn by reading closely and reading as writers – attending to the ways others employ the elements of fiction: setting, plot, character, theme, and so on.”

        So where can a person find short stories to study, ones that will help him or her learn correct story writing? Of course books of short stories are found in all book stores. In fact, Holly Jahangiri and I have a collection of short stories for sale on the 4RV Bookstore, Amazon, and through brick 'n mortar stores, Hidden Lies and Other Stories. Plus many bookstores connected to colleges have anthologies for sale. If someone couldn’t afford to buy a new anthology or collection, used bookstores or libraries carry them. Using the library's copy is free.
 

      The best help found in reading to learn to write is to read well-written stories, and read, read, read. Reading well-written novels helps one to learn to write, too, for developing longer plots and sub-plots, for building consistency for longer works. As I stated above, reading even bad material gives ideas of how not to write. 

        Any writer who doesn't find time to read is hurting his writing craft and short-changing his readers.

4RV Website  

4RV Bookstore   

Marketing Tips - Using GoodReads to your advantage

by: Stephanie Burkhart

Some of you may be asking what is "GoodReads?" Simply put, it's a social cataloging site primarily to read and rate books. It's a great place to connect with other authors and readers. There's over 12 million members and over 20,000 groups – and you can download a GoodReads for your phone.

As an author, how does GoodReads benefit me?

First, it's a marketing tool. It helps you get your name out there in front of readers. Just don't expect it to happen overnight. Social networking takes time to build up a presence.  If you determine you want to use GoodReads, be sure to budget at least 5-10 minutes to hang out daily and build your "brand."

What are the benefits?

Exposure to readers. Remember there's over 12 million readers on the site. You get your own personal profile when you sign up. You can arrange to have your blog's RSS feed highlight your blog on the site. You can upload video trailers of your novels as well.

The Book Shelf

In your profile is your book shelf. You can add books to your shelf. I organize mine: books I wrote, books I want to read, book I read, and currently reading. As an author, I read, rate, and review on GoodReads, too.

Creating Buzz

Do you have a new book coming out? GoodReads is a great place to create buzz.

#1 – Create your book's page in advance so people can start putting it in their "want to read" shelf.

#2 – Find a group that fits your book's genre and put out a call for readers with your ARC. Give out your ARC.

#3 – Post a notice in the appropriate groups about your book's upcoming release.

#4 – Post a first chapter so readers can get a feel for the book.

#5 – Post a "general update" with your upcoming release.

Be Interactive

If you're interactive on GoodReads, others will interact with you.

IDEAS:

Join some groups

Use your blog

Make friends

Post positive reviews (and remember a "3" is a good rating)

Post a giveaway on your books. You'll get lots of people to sign up – and that's exposure.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, questions, and feedback on GoodReads. Do you use the site? Why or why not? What do you like about it? Any tips to share?

If you'd like, I have a PDF I can share. Let me know if you're interested.

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her book, First Flag of New Hampshire placed 8^th in the 2013 Predators and Editors poll in Print/Ebooks: Children category.  She loves Starbucks, coffee and Andes Mints.

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:

WEBSITE:

http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:

http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:

http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST:

http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart

How can authors help editors and designers?

by Vivian Zabel  

      The best way for a writer to help his/her editor and/or designer is to be consistent. I hope everyone understands what consistency means. According to the dictionary, consistency means agreement, harmony, or compatibility, especially correspondence or uniformity among the parts of a complex thing. Synonyms found in The Random House Thesaurus include harmony, unity, uniformity, agreement. Antonyms are inconsistency, disharmony, disagreement. Therefore, how are some ways to create consistency in writing? Let's examine a few, even if not all, ways.

1. Use correct verb tenses and subject/verb agreements. Don't use the wrong form of a verb with a subject. Don't switch from present tense to past or past to present.
2. Use correct point of view. If an author uses first person, then only what is seen, heard, or felt by the narrator can be revealed unless another person gives the narrator the information. If third person limited is used, then only the sounds, words, actions, feelings experienced by the character whose POV is used can be expressed: again, unless told to that character by another. If third person omniscient is chosen, then changes between different characters' perspectives shouldn't be quick back and forth. That action could cause whiplash in a reader's mind. Changes in perspective should occur with scene or chapter changes.
3. Indent paragraphs with the tab key, not the space bar. Indent anything with the tab key, not the space bar.
4. Number chapters the same: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.; Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc.; CHAPTER 2, CHAPTER 3, etc. For example, we don't use Chapter 1, Chapter Two, CHAPTER THREE.
5. Avoid double spacing one place and single spacing others, unless necessary for a particular reason, such as single spacing a block quote.
6. If asterisks or some such symbol are not used to show time or scene changes, leave extra spaces between the last paragraph of the first time period or scene and the next time period or scene. Use the same procedure for each and every change.
7. Avoid fancy fonts. It is better to use a common font, such as Times New Roman, and size, usually 12, for the majority of the manuscript. If something should need to appear "different" from the rest of the manuscript, still don't use a font not commonly found in Word.
8. Use files in the program requested by the publisher. Usually MS Word is needed. Different programs result in someone not able to open a file or strange symbols appearing. 
9. Follow directions and guidelines.
10. Be sure your writing is concise, clear, coherent, and has correct grammar. In other words, write well. 

     Those tips above are just a few of the common problems editors and designers find when they try to work with manuscripts. Yes, more exist, but let's begin with these.

4RV Publishing 
4RV Bookstore     

A Fresh Attitude Helps

by Katie Hines

As of this writing, it's Monday again, and time to start the week with a fresh attitude, and boy have I needed one! I've decided to look at my "failures" of not keeping up with emails, not posting other writer's interviews, not working on any of my WIPs, not as failures but as impetus to start new and fresh.

It can be hard not to think of oneself as a failure, especially when you've allowed yourself to moan, groan, and bitch about your writing life.

I freely participated in a downhill spiral of missed communications and depression about my books sales (or lack thereof).

But I've bolstered my flagging spirits with the good news that has surrounded me if I were only but to look: all my library visits were a great success! All six copies of my book at the local library system have been steadily checked. Yippee! Another librarian in another state is ordering six copies for her library. Another yippee! My native American tribe posted a full-page ad in the newsletter about my book.

Apart from annoying spammers that I can't seem to get rid of, my blog is going well, and I have plenty of guest bloggers to share.

Sure, I haven't worked on my books, but I have allowed myself to do some brainstorming and free association on a couple of them, so I've lots of fresh ideas and I'm anxious to get to work.

See, you can pull yourselves up by looking at the positive rather than the negative. It's working for me. What about for you?

Katie Hines is the author of “Guardian,” a middle grade urban fantasy published by 4RV Publishing, LLC.

Five SEO Blog Tips to Help Increase Traffic to Your Site

If you’re new to the writing game, you may not be aware of some of the essential steps needed to actually get in the game - steps that will make your name and brand visible. And, visibility is a ‘biggie’ if you want to increase traffic to your site and move forward in your writing career.

One very interesting fact about having content online is you never know who will end up finding it. It could be an agent, a publisher, someone who wants to hire you for your writing style. You get the idea.

Why is it important to become familiar with SEO blog tips?

Simply put, the answer is to generate visibility.

Writing is no longer a solitary career. Now, if you want to create and build visibility, along with readers to your site (traffic), you need to build an online platform and promote it.

So, what are some tips to help you get started in the right direction?

Well, the very first and most obvious tip is to have a website or blogsite. Once you have one set up, it’s your job to post content to it on a regular basis, no less than once a week, two or three times a week is better though.

It’s that content that will establish you as an expert in your genre or area. This will help you down the road, after you’ve traditionally published or self-published one, five, ten, or more books and/or e-books, and you want to expand your writing career.

But, before we go over five of the basic SEO blog tips for new writers, let’s first go over what SEO actually stands for: Search Engine Optimization. This marketing strategy allows the search engines, such as Google, to find your site and content.

Being aware of SEO strategies is essential to having the search engines not only find your site, but to also index your content, and make it available to online searchers.

Five SEO Blog Tips:

1. Use a keyword in your article title. Try one of the free keyword search tools to find an effective keyword. I use http://googlekeywordtool.com/

A keyword, according to Compendium.com, is “any word or phrase a searcher might use to describe or identify a desired resource on the Internet.”

2. Use that keyword in your article’s subheadings, and be sure to bold or italicize your subheadings.

3. Use that keyword within the content – just don’t overdo it. You don’t want to stuff your article with as many ‘visibility generating’ keywords you can fit in, search engines frown upon this practice. Your article needs to be an informative, engaging, and understandable.

You primary focus should be to write for your reader. Today, for effective marketing your content needs to be shareable. This means your readers need to feel motivated to ‘share’ the post.

4. When searching for effective keywords, look for long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are words that will move you away from highly competitive keywords.

As an example, if you write business articles, a generic and highly competitive keyword might be ‘incentives.’ I did a Google keyword search and the keyword ‘incentives’ came in at: 1,500,000 global monthly searches, and 823,000 local monthly searches. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to use a keyword with that much competition.

That’s where the long-tail keyword comes in.

If you used the keyword ‘business incentive,’ you’d reduce your competition to 22,200 global monthly searches and 14,800 local monthly searches. That’s quite a difference, and it narrows your target. Remember, you want to hit as close to your target market bulls-eye as possible.

5. The final bit of advice is to let the social networking sites know you have new content. Post the content link to Twitter, Facebook, GooglePlus, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc. You should also inform your groups. Get the word out. And, be sure to have a SHARE button so visitors can share the post also.

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Boost your writing and marketing efforts with Karen Cioffi. Visit http://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com and sign up for her FREE newsletter, The Writing World (top right sidebar).

4RV Preditors & Editors results

     Critters Workshop sponsors the  Preditors & Editors Readers Poll each year. This year several nominations were from 4RV Publishing: Children's books, Young Adult books, Artwork from books, Book Covers, Publisher, Author, Artist, and Bookstore. Of those, we had seven (7) that placed in the top 10, the only places that actually count.

 

        The first on the list, Children's books with two nominations from 4RV, had one place. First Flag of New Hampshire by Stephanie Burkhart, illustrated by Ginger Nielson took 8th place.

       Nominated in Young Adult books were two from 4RV, but only one placed - A Shadow in the Past 3rd. The novel, written by Melanie Robertson-King, also helped Aidana WillowRaven, who designed the cover art, earn 9th place in the Artist category and tie for 6th place in Artwork.

  

 

    Ginger Nielson, tying with Aidana WillowRaven for 6th place in the Artwork category, wrote and illustrated Willow, an Elephant's Tale.  

     In the Author category, Vivian Zabel placed 6th.

    4RV Bookstore took 3rd in the bookstore category.  

    Congratulations to everyone who placed.