Tag: working with editors

Categories
Magazine and Freelance

7 Ways to Make Sure Your Article Doesn’t Sell!

Everyone knows there are certain rules that must be followed in order to present an article to a publication. Here are a seven mistakes to avoid if you want to make sure your article has a great chance of acceptance.

1. Don’t read the guidelines.

Everyone knows how important guidelines are. In order to tailor your writing to a certain publication, you must know what they are looking for, the style they use, and what format to use. That information is found in the magazine guidelines so do not neglect reading them.

2. Fail to proof and edit your work.

Few writers hit their target level of writing on their first try. Read your article out loud. Have someone else read it. Hearing it read to you will help you know you said things with the correct choice of words.

3. Don’t check to see who the current editor is.

The article business is pretty fluent and editors move from one publication to another. If you don’t know who the current editor is, you probably haven’t read the publication in a while. Check the magazine, the website, and call the office if you must to double check who should address your article to.

4. Break multiple rules of good writing.

Many people aren’t aware that the rule for spacing after periods has changed – several decades ago – and still put two spaces following every period. That tells the editor you have approached that you have not kept up with the changes in style and grammar rules. Also comma rules change from time to time. So you know what the current rule for the Oxford comma is? Do editors prefer more commas or less?

5. Pester the editor.

Writers get excited about getting their words into print. They also get impatient when waiting to hear from editors. But calling and emailing the editor will not endear them to them. Try to wait patiently for a reasonably amount of time. Check the writers market guide as to response time. Make note of that then add a week or two before emailing a short inquiry as to the status of your manuscript.

6. Don’t follow through on your promises.

If you say you will have your article to an editor within three weeks, make it two. If you say you are going to interview a famous expert, make sure you include that expert’s opinion in your article. One of the last things you should do before submitting your article for publication is to make a checklist of what you promised the editor and make sure all those things were included.

7. Fail to send something the editor requested.

When an editor responds positively to a query, you need to act on it. Editors will not express interest in your idea unless they genuinely want to see your work. Dragging your feet or failing to send the material at all is a great way to know you will never sell that article.

Instead of looking at what you should not do, be aware of the things that will give you the best chance to sell your work. Make every word you write make a difference in the lives of others.

Linda Gilden is an award-winning writer, speaker, editor, certified writing and speaking coach, and personality consultant. Her passion is helping others discover the joy of writing. Linda recently released Articles, Articles, Articles! and is the author of over a thousand magazine articles and 16 books including the new LINKED Quick Guides for Personalities. As Director of the Carolina Christian Writers Conference, Linda helps many writers take the next step in reaching their writing goals. Linda’s favorite activity (other than eating folded potato chips) is floating in a pool with a good book surrounded by splashing grandchildren—a great source of writing material! www.lindagilden.com

Categories
Magazine and Freelance

3 Reasons to Disagree with an Editor

You might be surprised to read the title of this post. Aren’t editors always right? Won’t you doom your writing career if you disagree with an editor? Won’t they label you difficult if you dare to question one of his or her edits?

It’s important to keep in mind that disagreeing is far different than being disagreeable. Your relationship with your editor should be one of mutual give and take, characterized by dialogue and interaction. This is the reason for the Accept and Reject Change button in Microsoft Word—you have the power and right to reject editorial changes, but only for very good reasons. And you must be prepared to defend yourself.

Here are three acceptable reasons to disagree with an editor.

1. The proposed change is incorrect. Most editors are well versed in grammar, punctuation, and the particular style guide of their publication. No editor, however, can know everything.

One reason to question an edit is the area of local or specific knowledge. For example, in my devotional book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, I refer to my home area as the Sandhills of South Carolina. During the editing phase of my book, my editor lowercased the s in Sandhills.

I rejected her edit and inserted a comment bubble that explained that I wasn’t using the word Sandhills to describe the topography of the region; it was the actual name of the area. To add credibility to my explanation, I inserted a link to a web page of South Carolina geography facts describing the Sandhills region of South Carolina. And yes, the S was capitalized.

Similarly, you may have knowledge about an area, field, or specialty your editor doesn’t. If this impacts an edit, it’s important to object and explain why you chose the wording you chose. Documentation adds credibility to your objection.

2. The edit alters your meaning. Sometimes a change in wording or word order will significantly alter your intended meaning. This is a valid reason to oppose an editorial change. For example, you may write, “The club is open to visitors and meets on the first and third Thursdays.” Your editor may think the specifics bog down the flow of the article and change it to “The club is open to visitors and meets every other Thursday.”

You know, however, that there might be a fifth Thursday in a month, making the “every other Thursday” change inaccurate.

If an edit changes the meaning or intent of your words, you must reject it (with an explanation) to maintain the accuracy of your writing.

3. The edit significantly alters your voice. Good editors know edits should reinforce your voice and style, not change it. If you’re folksy and casual, and you’re writing a whimsical novel about life in the mountains of North Carolina, your editor shouldn’t change your vernacular to sound like an academian. Conversely, if your topic is technical or educational, she’s justified in editing out the y’alls, sistahs and sugahs.

Voice is a tricky thing to pin down, but if you read the piece aloud, and it sounds more like your editor than you, it’s time to politely object.

Keep in mind that editors are not adversaries. Their job is to make writers look good and make your work as clear and effective as possible. While most are knowledgeable and professional, they’re not infallible.

It’s important to remember that while you may be justified in disagreeing with an editor, you’re never justified in being disagreeable. If you interact respectfully and remain teachable, and you’ll always have a great relationship with the editors with whom you work.

Lori Hatcher loves God even more than she loves chocolate. Since He rescued her at age 18, she’s been on a relentless journey to know and love Him more. Her deepest desire is for others to join her on the journey. As an author, blogger, and women’s ministry speaker, she writes for Our Daily Bread, Guideposts, Revive Our Hearts, and Crosswalk.com. She’s written three devotional books, including Refresh Your Faith, Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible, and Hungry for God…Starving for Time, Five-Minute Devotions for Busy Women. Connect with her at LoriHatcher.com or on Facebook, Twitter (@lorihatcher2) or Pinterest (Hungry for God).

Categories
Becoming an Author

How to Prepare for Submission

Editors and agents receive multiple submissions per week. If a writer fails to adhere to specific guidelines, then that submission is an easy no. This is why it’s important that writers spend as much time necessary preparing their work for submission. Otherwise, they may risk receiving an automatic rejection from their favorite agent or editor.

So what can you do, as an aspiring author, to ensure that you do not receive this automatic no? 

Here are five ways you can prepare for submission.

1. Double check that you have spelled the agent’s or editor’s name correctly.

This is likely the first impression you will make (after the subject line, of course).

2. Ensure you are submitting to the right person.

Check the website. You don’t want to make the mistake of submitting a YA fiction project to an agent who only represents adult fiction!

3. Follow requested guidelines.

The guidelines are there for a reason! It’s only the writers who adhere to these guidelines who will make a professional impression.

4. Edit your query, proposal, and sample chapters.

Don’t rush this process. Search for typos. I personally recommend having beta readers, critique partners, and/or professional editors review your submission before sending it off.

5. Save your submission in the right file and stick with the standard submission format. 

Again, you will want to review the guidelines to ensure that you hit every mark. There are some agents and editors who are particular about the file and font type. Remember that the standard file is .doc/.docx file, and the standard font is Times New Romans, 12 pt. 

For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this process, you might assume that agents and editors are asking too much of writers—as if they’re requesting that writers jump through unnecessary hoops. But trust me when I say that these guidelines are set for a reason. Not to frustrate the author, but because it helps the agents and editors in their specific evaluation process.

So if you want to avoid those automatic rejections, do your research ahead of time. Yes, even if it requires hours upon hours of prep work. Keep in mind that almost every successful traditionally-published author has gone through this process as well. 

Then, when you’re ready—and only then—should you send your work into the publishing world. 

How do you prepare your work for submission? Let me know in the comments!

Tessa Emily Hall writes inspirational yet authentic YA fiction to show teens they’re not alone. Her passion for shedding light on clean entertainment and media for teens led her to a career as an Associate Agent at Hartline Literary Agency, YA Acquisitions Editor for Illuminate YA (LPC Imprint), and Founder/Editor of PursueMagazine.net. Tessa’s first teen devotional, COFFEE SHOP DEVOS, will release with Bethany House in 2018. She’s guilty of making way too many lattes and never finishing her to-read list. When her fingers aren’t flying 116 WPM across the keyboard, she can be found speaking to teens, decorating her insulin pump, and acting in Christian films. Her favorite way to procrastinate is by connecting with readers on her blog, mailing list, social media (@tessaemilyhall), and website: tessaemilyhall.com.

Categories
Publishing Perspectives

How Many Pairs of Eyes Are on Your Book?

I recently finished making wording changes on a self-published book that had already been typeset and printed — or perhaps I should say I thought I had finished the changes. A large batch of new changes just came in from another person who had looked through the book. (I sure am glad I was the typesetter/page designer, and not the editor of that book!)

Thankfully, with print on demand, such changes can be incorporated for a relatively low cost, but my client was concerned about how “unprofessional” the process seemed to be. Surely such last-minute changes never happen in traditional publishing! Oh, if that were only more true. Traditional publishing arguably has fewer of these unfortunate last-minute wording changes than self-publishers do, but it still happens once in a while.

When it comes to avoiding last-minute wording changes, traditional publishers have a distinct  advantage over self-publishers, and it all comes down to who is paying the bill. Even if a self-publishing author pays a professional editor to go through the manuscript, the author pays the bill and has the final say.

If the editor finds wordiness, the overuse of a phrase, or a myriad of cliches, will the author have the humility to allow the editor to remove them? (I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told by an author, “That’s just my style,” in response to my discovery of such problems.)

But there is yet another advantage that traditional publishers have over self-publishers: the manuscript gets seen by multiple pairs of eyes. A manuscript at a traditional publisher may go through two or three levels of editing (each by a diffferent person), and more than one proofreader, and “in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Every person who looks at the manuscript brings a different perspecitive to the writing. It’s crazy, but sometimes a proofreader will notice a problem with a sentence — a sentence that has already been read by four or five people!

Sometimes all it takes is a missing “not” to change a godly author’s words into heresy. Think of this sentence: “Jesus is not indifferent to our sufferings.” If that “not” gets lost, several people may read it and unconsciously insert the word, and thereby miss the typo.

Sometimes a sentence goes past several pairs of eyes before someone notices that it can have two meanings. (My favorite is the old joke about the guy who got fired for laziness. When asked for a recommendation, his former employer wrote: “You’ll be lucky if you can get this guy to work for you.”)

Self-publishing authors cannot typically afford to pay for multiple sets of eyes on a manuscript, but they can still manage to get this advantage in an economical way. They can use beta readers. A beta reader is a friend or fellow author who is willing to read your book and point out any snags or confusing passages. (Or even, sometimes, a major flaw in the logic of your nonfiction, or a hole in the plot of your fiction.) With print on demand, it is now economically practical to hand out printed review copies of your book to your beta readers — but I would strongly suggest having your manuscript professionally edited and proofread before you produce review copies.

When you use beta readers, you need to practice both humility and discernment — humility to accept that your book may have errors, and discernment to realize that nonprofessional advice is not always worth taking. With those two virtues in mind, the more eyes on your book, the merrier!

David Fesseden has degrees in journalism and theology, and over 30 years of experience in writing and editing. He has served in editorial management positions for Christian book publishers and was regional editor for the largest Protestant weekly newspaper in the country.

Dave has published seven books, written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and edited numerous books. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences. Two of his books, Writing the Christian Nonfiction Book: Concept to Contract and A Christian Writer’s Guide to the Book Proposal, are based on his experience in Christian publishing. The Case of the Exploding Speakeasy, Dave’s first novel, reflects his love for history and for the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan-Doyle.

Dave and his wife, Jacque, live in south-central Pennsylvania and have two adult sons.

Websites/Blogs:
www.fromconcepttocontract.com
www.davefessenden.com
www.thebookstore.info

Categories
The Picky Pen

How to Think Like an Editor

Writing is a funny art, isn’t it? Agents and editors (freelance and publishing house) tell us to write, write, write . . . and also make sure that our manuscript is edited well. “Edited well?” But what if we don’t like the word editing because it’s too daunting? What if our minds turn to jelly or we seize up when an agent or mentor tells us to edit our manuscript?

Well. Editing may seem daunting and scary and intimidating, but it’s really just one piece of the writing process. Editing doesn’t have to be so intimidating. Every writer should have an editor, but before sending a manuscript to a personal freelance editor or mentor (or even critique group), we need to make sure that the manuscript is fluid. Simply put, editing is just going through a more detailed process to make sure our manuscript is ready for the public eye. So . . . how do we think like an editor when we aren’t one? I’ll give you some quick tips for thinking like an editor. Ready?

Three Rules for Thinking Like an Editor

1. Am I a one-book author?

Now this is a scary question because agents especially want to ensure that the author seeking representation has more than one story or book idea. If you only have one story idea now and you are finding it hard to come up with another one, please don’t panic.

That’s what your critique group or mentor or friend(s) is for. That’s why you see questions on social media, “Would you read a book about flying saucers in the Carribean?” The author is trying to get feedback on their idea. If you aren’t an idea person (but rather someone who runs with an idea after it’s been fleshed out), you may want to sign up for coaching sessions or find a friend who will listen to your idea strain and then ask you questions about it to get you thinking.

If you have a handful of exceptional one-sentence hooks, that’s a good indication to an editor that you’re not a one-book author.

2. Will my book sell?

Another big question, but an important one. As the author, you will have done your research on other books in the market in the past year that are similar to yours in subject, theme, timeline, and content. If you find many like yours, that’s good. It only means that your idea is being published. Now the trick is to make sure that your hook is ear-grabbing enough to catch an agent’s or editor’s attention. Hooks like “A woman struggles to sell her house but can’t because there’s a hippie living in her basement who refuses to move out” might work. Doesn’t that raise all kinds of questions?

On the other hand, if you can’t find a book like yours out on the market, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it may mean that your book isn’t ready for publication quite yet, or that your genre or subject is too narrow. That said, consider broadening your subject focus or story question. And keep writing!

3. Will I work with an agent or editor to meet deadlines, manuscript edits, and other details?

While the other two questions were super important, this one probably outranks them. Why? Because agents and editors crave for authors who are easy to work with and who aren’t afraid to make necessary changes for the book’s best interest for the needs of the readers. I am not saying you should make every single change that an agent or editor want you to make, for you know where your book stands as far as its core message, and there will be things you will not want to change. However, you can graciously explain why a change cannot be made but keep an open mind in case the suggested change is a good change. A good change will enrich your story, grow you as a writer, and really wow your readers.

If an author can meet deadlines, make clear edits, work with the publisher’s marketing team, and do their part in getting the book into readers’ hands, then that’s the author an agent or editor wants to work with. That’s exactly what thinking like an editor is all about, and chances are, you’ll never be without a writing project or a published book available on your favorite bookstore shelf.

Next month, I’ll share some more tips on how to think like an editor.

But for now, please join in the discussion! I’d love to hear from you!

Take a few minutes and ruminate. What are some other ways you can think like an editor?

About Tisha Martin

Tisha Martin is a writer and editor, and she lives to encourage authors and editors to bridge their relationships and work together for the publishing industry cause, where readers will treasure books for always. With a bachelor’s in Professional Writing, a master’s in English Education, and an editing certificate from the PEN Institute, she has equal passions for writing and editing. Active in ACFW and The PEN, she appreciates both communities. She is the former Assistant Director of PENCON, a conference for editors, where she was instrumental in seeing attendee growth in 2018, up 150% from 2017. She’s also a contest judge for Writer’s Digest. Connect with Tisha on her website www.tishamartin.com and on social media. She looks forward to the conversation!