Author: Susan Coffin

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Stuff and Editing

Susan Coffin11 Comments
These last several weeks have been difficult.  My grandfather became very ill and passed away. Grandpa lived one month and four days past his 95th birthday.  On March 26, we gave him a bang-out birthday party where family and friends came from far and wide to celebrate.  Grandpa died exactly one month later.  I felt blessed to have lived close enough to visit him once a month.  He was one of my dearest friends, and I miss him very much.
When tending to personal matters, something usually is put on the back burner.  In my case, I was not able to keep up with my blog.  However, I am back now and thinking about the many aspects of writing.  Some of the writer’s forums I frequent have long and heated discussions on editing and the pros and cons of hiring professional editors prior to publication.
Some writers say you must always send your manuscript to a professional editor before submitting to an agent or publisher.  Others say you must forget about professional assistance and learn how to edit your own work.  In these discussions, I have seen more members teeter on either side of the fence than tread the gray area in between. I, of course, have my own opinion.
Freelance editors are expensive, charging anywhere from $300 to $1,500 or more to edit a manuscript.  In the editing business, experience, expertise, and success rate cost even more.  We all want our manuscripts to be in pristine condition before we start the submission process.  I don’t know many writers who have the money to spend on freelance editing.  Besides, the cardinal rule in writing is that money flows to the writer, not away.
Editors are invaluable.  When an agent chooses to work for you, then somewhere in that process is an editor.  It is part of the package of landing an agent, or at least having one interested in your work.  However, I believe there is one situation where retaining a freelance editor prior to publication can work for a writer. 
For example, if you want hands-on assistance to learn how to edit properly, a freelance editor might be the right professional for you.  If you utilize this experience properly and pay someone who has a good track record with editing, then your money has been spent well.  Once you know how to edit, whether you learned it from a freelance editor or a book such as Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, you have skills necessary for a writer. 
Please do not hire a freelance editor if you just want someone to edit your work.  You are wasting your money.  Think of it this way.  Say you hire someone to do this work for you, and then you submit it to agents and publishers,  Said agent or publisher asks for changes, but you don’t know how to properly edit, because you had the freelance editor do it for you.  Face it, you are stuck. If you don’t understand the principles of successful editing, how can you make a decision on which changes to make and which to leave alone? 
As mentioned earlier Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Rennie Brown and Dave King is an excellent resource.  I also like Strunk and White and good old fashioned books on grammar.   
Get to work on that editing now and…..
Happy writing!
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Query Halt

Susan Coffin6 Comments

Screech!
I have halted the query process based on feedback from my beta reader and a critique group colleague.  While I feel secure that my typos and spelling errors have been cleaned up, I have learned that I have problems with characterization. 
My beta reader told me she would love to hang out with my main character but cannot connect with him.  “Can you give him something outside of work to do?” She asked.  “Maybe make him a dog lover or something?”
My critique colleague said my main character did not seem to have much depth, that things seemed a little too easy for him. 
When I put this feedback side-by-side with what two prior agents said in wonderful rejection letters, I instantly knew I had written a cardboard character.  I had the choice to either trunk the novel or do a rewrite.
I chose to fatten up my paper-doll, because I am a firm believer in finishing what I start.  Therefore, I have stopped the query process while I rewrite to give my main character more substance and depth. 
I am also working on a second novel, which my critique group seems to like.  I have never worked on two large projects at the same time.  I am learning how to prioritize my time so I do not get behind on one or the other.  Believe me, working on two novels can be challenging. 
This is it for now.  Happy writing!
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Query Rounds Again (Lessons Learned)

Susan Coffin9 Comments

I have learned some hard lessons over these last few months.
Number one is that it often takes several editing sessions for a novel to be polished. Late last year, I printed my novel out, edited it by hand and made changes to my Word document, and then conducted a spell and grammar check. I sent out my polished query, received request for two partials, and rejections on the rest. I made sure my partials were squeaky clean.
Number two lesson is that if your novel is still going through the critique process, even if on the last few chapters, it is not ready for submission to agents. How do I know this? Because, as my group talked about the last few chapters of my novel, they all said the climax was not strong enough. My character had to be more involved in the outcome. I had sent out queries for my novel, thinking my work was fine. It as not, which took me back to the drawing board.
I reworked the last three chapters and added to the first chapter. Once additions were completed, I once again printed out the manuscripts for a hard edit. I made the changes on my Word documents, and then thought I was done. After this, I sent out four more queries. Imagine my horror when I noticed a paragraph on page five that I had hard-edited but somehow missed making changes to in my Word version! Luckily, only one query went out this way before I caught the errors.
Lesson number three is that too much editing can kill voice, but not enough can kill your chances of publication. I am sure agents do not expect perfection, but they have a right to see something professional and polished. After all, they work on commission only and do not make any money until my book is sold. They must choose their projects carefully.
For my own edification, here is a recap of these important lessons: 
  • It usually takes more than one editing session to create a polished manuscript.
  • Your novel is not ready if you are still going through the editing or critique process (or if it is still out to beta readers).
  • Too much editing can kill a manuscript, but not enough can kill your chances of publication.  
Now that my novel has been edited, there will be no more changes unless under editorial direction (once an agent asks for changes). I have received one rejection from the four queries I recently sent out.  I have three more responses to receive. Soon, I will send out another round.
In the writing business, patience is a virtue. Thorough editing is a must.  
I have a writing acquaintance who says to submit to agents until there are no more agents left, and then submit to publishers. I am ready and willing to continue traveling this road toward publication.
Two websites which have been invaluable in my writing process are Writers Digest Forums and Absolute Write Water Cooler. For anyone who has never been to either website, you are missing interaction with those who have successfully published and are willing to share their experience. Information in the writing business is knowledge, and knowledge is power (to coin a cliché). We can always learn from those who have traveled the publishing path before us.
Happy writing to all!
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A Night to Remember

Susan Coffin4 Comments
To properly welcome 2011, I have decided on a different blog entry.  My next entry will be back on track with news about my queries and writing experience.  
Don and I had an adventuresome New Years weekend filled with many surprises.  It all started around 8:00 p.m. on New Years Eve. When we left around 8:00 p.m. to go a party, a light snow was falling.  When we started home after midnight, the snow had become heavier.  The drive from the party to his house is normally around twenty minutes.  This night, due to the heavy snow and unplowed roads, we traveled at a snail’s pace.  Even in his four-wheel drive, we started to slide every now and then.  A small car on the other side of the road was half over the side of an embankment.  A truck behind us skid sideways.  Despite our nervousness, we got home safely.  
On Saturday, we were scheduled to attend a New Year’s breakfast with our pals in a neighboring town.  However, when we got up, it was still snowing.  The mountains behind his house and the roads below were blankets of pure white.  We all stayed inside (except Don drove the 2 miles to the store to get some necessities) and watched the snow continue throughout the day.
On Saturday night when we turned in, the snow had become intermittent.  In the wee hours of the morning, I heard strange animal sounds close to the house, which I cannot even begin to describe.  Around the same time I heard the sounds, Don got out of bed and started getting dressed.  He was going to check and, if necessary, replace a small propane tank because the house was cold.  That was around six a.m.  I talked him into waiting until daylight.
Don’s housemate, Paul, works the graveyard shift and returns around seven in the morning.  On July 2, Paul said he needed to show us something weird.  His private entrance into his room is sliding glass door which leads to a back deck.  The deck had a lot of snow with animal tracks embedded.  We thought they might have been Great Dane tracks from the dog up the street, but he’s kept in at night and does not roam.  Since Don’s house is in the country, we also wondered if they were mountain lion or coyote tracks.
This morning, we attended our New Year’s breakfast.  The host is an avid hunter.  One other person at the party lives in the boondocks and has come across many wild animals.  After looking at photos of normal range and close up photos of the tracks, they concurred that the tracks most likely came from a bear.

Meanwhile, I’ve started working on a new novel as I prepare to send out more query letters.  Happy Writing to all!

P.S.: the latest consensus is possible wolf tracks rather than bear tracks.  This makes me feel a little safer!

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Query Letters-Round Two

Susan Coffin4 Comments

I sent out my first query letters on October 24, 2010. I have received eight rejections on my query letter alone. Two agents requested partials, but both issued rejections with the nicest compliments.

One agent said my writing was straight forward making it a breezy read, but that my work was not right for them. Another said she enjoyed reading my work and thought my story concept was good, but that she could not relate to the writing.

Now, some writers I know would not take the above as compliments. But, think about it-agents are busy people. They must read hundreds, or even thousands, of partial and full manuscripts each year. Legitimate agents make their money from sales of books written by writers they represent. It is important for them to think the work will sell, otherwise they don’t make their money. Thus, for an agent to provide any kind of personalized feedback in a rejection is a true gift.

At his point, I still have eight agents I am waiting to hear back from. I know from reading their guidelines, some will only contact me during a specified time period if they are interested in my work. Soon, it will be time to get another round of query letters in circulation.

Writing a good query letter is a must. According to those who have read my query letter, it is well drafted. The point of the query is for the agent to want to read more. I have wondered if my query does not have enough story information, or if my hook is not strong enough. I think before I send out the next batch, I will play around my query a bit and see if I can make it stronger.

Writing a synopsis is another story. I have condensed my 70,000 word novel into about 1,000 words, but it must be shorter. It must include the main characters, the plot and the meat of the story, as well as the ending.  It is not a this happened, then this happened kind of deal. My research tells me a synopsis must be similar to the inside cover of a novel.  I’ve been working on my synopsis for weeks, just in case an agent asks for one.

Anyone who ever said writing is easy is wrong. The writing itself is hard work, but the query letter and synopsis are grueling! Perhaps next time I will share my experience with writing my synopsis…that is, if I have it completed.

Until then- happy writing!