“It’s Time to Kill Your Baby” – or – “It’s better to edit your own novel as much as possible before you send it to an Editor.”

Not you, Dipster Cat, you're safe. I'm talking about some of the words in my novel!

So you’ve written the great American Novel and are ready to submit it to a publisher, an agent, or even publish it yourself. STOP! First, YOU MUST HIRE A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR! Please do not assume your friends, critique group, mom, dad, or even you can properly edit your novel. They can’t. You can’t.

Most professional editors ask for a sample of your novel before quoting their price for editing. This is the norm. They are not out to milk you of money. What they are doing is charging you according to how much time they will need to invest in working on your book. You can bring this price down by editing on your own as much as possible.  Below are some common things that we can fix before we send our Magnus Opus to be edited.

-ly – Words ending in ly should be used like pepper flakes – only in small quantities. You are a tremendous author. Rewrite. I used ly words like sand on the beach in my first novel. Took me forever to get those buggers out.

-ing – Same as ly words. These things breed – I’m just saying…

Was – Nope, don’t need it. This is passive voice. Again, rewrite. You can do better.

Pronouns – Be careful when using pronouns. Particularly when you have two characters of the same gender. The reader should not have to struggle to understand which individual you are speaking of.

That – Nine times out of ten, this word is just not necessary. Take it out!

Read your book aloud. With feeling. Fix what doesn’t flow, or highlight the section with a bright color so you can go back and take care of the rough spots. A novel is like a symphony, your words should crescendo and ebb with the mood you want to impart. I like to say read it to the cat, not the dog. Your dog will think you are William Shakespeare, J.K. Rowling, Ilona Andrews, or Steve Berry. The cat won’t put up with any crap – read it like a cat! If you have a Kindle, or a Kindle app, you can send it to your Kindle and read your writing like you’d read a published novel. Believe me when I say that it makes a difference.

Do not be afraid to cut sections out of your novel – extended backstory – too much exposition. I know you love a certain character. However, is this character forwarding the plot? If not take the sucker out! Think of excess characters or words as vampires – if they don’t have a stake in the plot – stake them and throw them in a separate document of bits and pieces. Maybe you can use this character in a different novel or short story. In other words – kill that baby!

There are many more things you can do to improve your writing. Google writing tips – everyone has an opinion. Find the ones that you need to use, and go for it.

Do as much editing as you can before sending to an editor. This will improve your writing skills, and cut down on costs for the editing we all need.

The Tallahassee Writers Association has a plethora of professional editors. Check our webpage at www.twaonline.org, and give them a call. Or check your local writers association. I'm sure they want to help you become a better writer.

“A Writer’s Guide to Publishing & Marketing (Volume 2)” By Barbara Joe Williams

So you’ve written your book, and are ready to share your writing with the world. What do you do? Who do you go to for help in this endeavor?

 

Barbara Joe Williams simplifies the process for publishing and marketing your masterpiece. In easy to follow steps, Williams gently holds the reader’s hand and guides the aspiring author through setting up an office, what type of license is needed, and even provides a list of supplies. She moves on to offer advice on how to set up your books, standard sizes, formatting, and designing the book cover, to finally getting your book in stores, and marketing. Each chapter follows the previous one in steps that make total sense and lends what I’d thought an agonizing process, a feat that feels possible and promising.

Williams is an Amazon bestselling author, indie publisher, and motivational speaker living in Tallahassee, Florida. She is a Navy veteran, a graduate of Tallahassee Community College, and Florida A & M University. Barbara is also the founder of Amani Publishing, LLC (2004), and the co-founder of the Tallahassee Authors Network since September 2008.

She has published books for over thirty authors as well as herself. Williams is generous with her knowledge of the publishing business. Reading this updated version, I felt as though she were sitting beside me and guiding me. Her chapters are clear and concise. Each chapter ends with a checklist that reiterates information learned in that chapter, and helps the reader plan the next step in publishing their own work.

Williams states that yes, there are other thicker books with more detail, but I’m not going there. Her compact e-book gives encouragement as well as information. She provides links and address to publishing houses, printers, types of programs and software you might need to handle the publishing and marketing of your book.

Williams recommends using an editor and processing your writing so you place before the world the best you can do. She warns that pride goes before a fall – you have to listen to your editor. Williams follows her own advice. Her book is error-free. She has the pages set so they are easy to read and formatted to be pleasing to the eye.

If you want to publish and market your own book, then download this one. You won’t regret it. Ms. Williams says she has no plans to provide “A Writers Guide to Publishing & Marketing” in paper – I hope she changes her mind. I’d certainly place her book on my resource shelf, right next to my copies of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury’s books on writing. [Addendum: This book is now available in paperback!]

Ray Bradbury said, “If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.” This is what Barbara Joe Williams does for writers. She gives us wings to fly on our own.