Write Now Editing

Editing Fiction by Morgen Bailey (book review)

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How to polish your novels and short stories – a comprehensive guide including a 170+ tips checklist.

In this book we look at:
– the components of your story;
– points of view;
– tenses;
– the power of three: beginnings, middles, ends
– another power of three: characters, settings, plots
– conflict and pacing
– polishing your writing: 170+ tips for making your writing shine;
– the layout of your book;
– and finally (a summary checklist)…

This book is suitable for…
– Writers of any age and experience;
– Writers of novels and short stories (predominantly – it will help scriptwriters and poets too);
– Writers looking to have their writing taken seriously!

I’m not a fan of writing 2-star reviews. I actually avoid it at all costs. Even when I don’t like a book, I’ll usually leave a 3-star review because I realize everyone has different tastes, but there are a few times when I feel compelled to leave a low review as a warning. This is one of those times.

Had Bailey published her list of 170+ things to check for in your manuscript, it would have been a helpful book — not an example of how to successfully edit fiction, but a good list of common mistakes often found in manuscripts (especially for new writers). Even with the typos and punctuation errors, the content isn’t bad. It could be a helpful resource. However, the rest of the book not only won’t help authors edit their books, the advice might actually hurt their chances at getting published or selling books.

I won’t go into all of the details, but here are a few examples of the issues:

  1. LOTS of punctuation and grammar issues, including inconsistent use of commas, several missing parentheses, and extra words in sentences.
  2. Bad information. Her definitions of third person limited and third person omniscient point of view are wrong. She often uses Wikipedia as her source of information; no publisher considers Wikipedia a reliable or accurate source. Finally, Chicago Manual of Style is THE style guide for book publishing; she references a variety of websites but never mentions CMOS.
  3. Incorrect formatting. If you follow her formatting for font, spacing, and citations, publishers won’t read your manuscript.

Those are some of the inaccuracies and mistakes in the book. If it was merely a matter of the book not having enough information to help writers edit their books, I’d give it 3-stars and recommend other supplemental books. However, if you take a lot of her advice — including to do what you want instead of following market and industry standards — you’ll actually hurt your chances of getting an agent or publisher. And if you self-publish, it will look like a self-published book (which turns away a lot of readers).

If you’re serious about publishing books that will sell in today’s market (either traditionally or self-published), don’t spend your money on this book. There are many better resources that will help you hone your craft and capture people’s attention (for the right reasons).

The Essential Books on Writing Boxed Set by Bryn Donovan

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Get all three books for writers in one collection perfect for novelists, screenwriters, short story writers, and National Novel Writing Month enthusiasts!

From editor, author, and writing coach Bryn Donovan, you’ll turn to these essential tools on writing again and again to write faster, write more, and write your best work yet.

5,000 Writing Prompts
Blurb: Creative writing prompts for many genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, romance, young adult, and poetry, as well as prompts for writing about yourself, blog writing, and more. Use it for your work in progress or for a good way to free your imagination from writer’s block!

Master Lists for Writers
Blurb: A reference book and thesaurus designed to make the writing process go more quickly by offering lists for common writing elements…from facial expressions and physical descriptions to conflicts, plots, and character names. Please note that Master Lists for Writers does include adult content for romance writers.

Review: I’m reviewing these two together because I had the same thoughts about both. Here you go:

These books are everything the titles promises: THOUSANDS of ideas on a variety of lists to help motivate and inspire any writer. Whether your a newbie who needs an idea of how to get started or a veteran who needs a fresh idea, you can’t open this book without finding something to inspire you.

(There are some formatting issues, but if you can look past those, this book will get your creativity flowing.)

Blank Page to Final Draft
Blurb: a step-by-step handbook to prep for, write, and edit a novel from with either getting published traditionally or successful self-publishing in mind. It contains help with pacing, dialogue, character development, and more. Even if you’re in the middle of writing a draft, it can provide clarity and a guide for revision.

Review: This was a very different type of writing book. IMO, it’s more of a motivational book than craft book, and I can see it being the go-to book for new writers because of it’s step-by-step approach.

Donovan’s book includes lots of tips and advice, but it’s value isn’t in teaching you fiction-writing techniques (though there are several discussed); it’s value is in walking you step-by-step through writing a novel. Like the title says, it starts with a blank page and gives you the steps you need to finish your first draft.

If you need to strengthen your POV or showing skills, I wouldn’t recommend this book, but if you’re not sure how to start your novel–or you keep starting novels without ever finishing them–I wouldn’t hesitate to pass this along. Donovan’s info and tone are perfect for the struggling, discouraged writer who needs an experienced cheerleader.

Get your boxed set here!

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How I Write: Christina Sinisi

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It’s always a good day to get to know a new writer of contemporary Christian romance — today’s a good day! Author Christian Sinisi gives us a peek at her writing life, experiences, and writing tips for new authors. Let’s find out more…

Thanks for being here today! I sort of spilled the beans, but let’s start with you telling us what you write. How did you pick your genre?

First, thank you for having me on your blog—I truly appreciate it!

I write Christian Contemporary Romance. I actually started writing secular fantasy romance because I love creating imaginary worlds. Over time, though, I would only get so far with those stories and became frustrated. My mentor, Eloisa James, looked at me and said, “why aren’t you writing inspirational? Your faith is so much a part of who you are.” I had no good answer and switched—and am very happy that I did.

How long does it take you to: write the book? Edit it? Finalize it?

This is one of those, “it depends,” answers. My first published book was a novella I wrote in three and a half weeks. This year, I’m struggling to finish one novel. Life happens. In June of 2019, when I wrote Christmas Confusion, I had nothing else going on and could write seven plus pages a day. This year, we were short-handed at work in the spring semester, I’ve taken two big trips, and there’s my new release to market. I’ve learned to be patient with myself. The book will get done as long as I keep moving forward.

If you’ve written multiple books, which was harder: the first book or the following books?

The first book was the easiest. Then, I was on a roll and wrote five more books, one every six months. This seventh book is some of my best writing—I believe—but I’m just struggling to find the time.

What’s your favorite book on writing? What do you like about it?

Deb Dixon’s GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict is my go-to book on writing. I always do a GMC chart for the hero and heroine in every book. I also add a couple of rows to her basic chart—personality quirk (something that makes the person interesting) and faith arc (since I’m writing inspirational romance, I believe the characters need to undergo a faith change or struggle).

What’s your favorite writers conference? What do you like about it?

I haven’t been able to attend a Christian writer’s conference in person—so I’m planning on doing so next year. I’d love input as to which to attend. The only problem is, I can’t attend ACFW because the conference takes place in September and I’m a professor. I can’t miss class!

What’s your writing day like?

Over the years, I’ve found myself less and less able to concentrate for long periods of time. But again, I am patient with myself. So, I write a page or two, and then clean something and so on throughout the day. I am writing at best 5-7 pages right now but have been known to write 25 pages in a day when I was younger. I don’t think it’s age, but rather, so many distractions with everyone else at home so much.

How do you combat writer’s block?

Be patient with yourself—if you can only write a paragraph, write a paragraph. Then, do something else and come back and write another paragraph. I do find if I’m kind to myself and no one comes in my office to chat, I can write longer. Also, if life has been busy, and you haven’t been able to write for days or even weeks, reread and remind yourself of the mood and where you were going.

Also, I’m a big fan of storyboarding—if I get stuck, I can glance at the storyboard and remind myself of where I should be in the story.  If anyone is interested in learning more about storyboarding, I have posts on my blog about how to create one.

How do you self-edit your manuscript?

I go through a series of steps. First, I do searches for “bad” words like it, that, and words that end in -ly. As I’m going, I notice if there are any other words that are over-used in the manuscript and do searches for those. As I search, I try to find a better wording rather than those over-used words. If I can’t, I don’t worry too much. Most of the time, I get rid of half or more of those sticky words.

I also search for grammatical errors—looking for blue and red squiggly lines in Microsoft Word as well as rereading.

I have a critique partner who reads for bigger issues. For the last two manuscripts, I have used freelance editors—one is a friend who volunteered, and the other was a local editor who critiqued for free in exchange for a testimonial. I found out about her through one of my two writing groups.

Right now, I’m procrastinating (not for long, but still) going through my latest manuscript for faith development—the last step for me.

Formerly the wild child of three sisters, Emma Marano grew up to be a single mom working two jobs, estranged from her mother, and lying to her friends. She’d told everyone that her daughter’s father wanted nothing to do with his child, but in reality, her own inability to deal with her mistakes and shame led to the biggest lie of her life. But her daughter, Haley, is all Emma has in the world, so how can she regret keeping Haley to herself? Emma’s struggling, though, and her life is slowly imploding.

Right after high school, Justin Lee broke up with Emma Marano and joined the Army, leaving her and all her drama behind. Years later, he stumbles upon her and what turns out to be a daughter he never knew he had. Angry and confused, he insists on having a relationship with his daughter, but to do so, he’ll need to rebuild some sort of relationship with Emma, too. As he gets to know his daughter—and Emma again—he soon realizes that his biggest mistake was leaving her all those years ago. What he dismissed as drama turns out to be a serious mental health issue, and Emma needs help. Now, Justin has to decide if he can see past her flaws and forgive her lies, and together, they’ll have to work to reclaim their love and a faith in each other and in God, or they risk losing something precious in the process.

https://amzn.to/3JBuB2f

A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Christina Sinisi writes stories about families, both the broken and blessed. Her works include a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest and the American Title IV Contest where she appeared in the top ten in the Romantic Times magazine. Her published books include Christmas Confusion, Sweet Summer, and Christmas on Ocracoke. By day, she is a psychology professor and lives in the LowCountry of South Carolina with her husband, two children and her crazy cat Chessie Mae.

https://www.christinasinisi.com/
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https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/101218889-christina-sinisi
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Editing Fiction: Detect and Correct for Success by Kathy Gaudry

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Want to edit your first manuscript but you’re not sure how? Here’s the ultimate guide to a simple editing method that will bring the best out of your manuscript!

You’ve finally finished your manuscript! But what’s the next step?

If this has happened to you, don’t worry because you are not alone. Just keep reading!

In every manuscript, there is an author and in every author, there is an editor.

We all know how tricky and tiring editing can be, especially if you’ve just started your writing career. Editors can be a bit pricey and seeing that you’ve just started out, you have to edit it yourself because you have no budget.

Here’s the problem: How do you start your editing? What exactly are the things you have to look out for?

Well, I’ve got the solution for you! Presenting the Editing Fiction: Detect and Correct For Success by Kathy Gaudry. We know how editing fictional books is hard, so in this book, you will learn a simple method of editing your work!

Through this book, you’ll discover:

  • The ABCs of Editing Your Manuscript: Learn the basics of editing grammar for fiction works such as how to use proper apostrophes, punctuations, and more!
  • How To Build A Detailed Stylesheet: Create a simple yet detailed stylesheet that helps you to edit faster and maintain consistency throughout your work.
  • The Elements Affecting Your Work: Delve into the various elements of fiction and understand how these elements relate to your manuscript.
  • How To Deal With Editing Issues: Acquire the skills to deal with editing issues, for instance when your brain stops you from doing an accurate edit.

Kathy understands how editing can be challenging for a starter. This book is meant to ease you through the toughest of concepts and empowers you to confidently edit your own manuscript.

Knowing this was a short book, I didn’t expect a lot of in-depth fiction-editing information, but this book was a little sparse for someone who’s been studying fiction writing for a while.

There’s some good info in here that I would recommend to people thinking about writing who aren’t sure how much work is involved — this will give you a good idea of how many different things you need to know before you write (though it won’t help you identify or fix those areas).

However, despite the emphasis on producing a clean book, there are a few typos and significant formatting errors that make the book awkward to read at times.

My biggest issue with the book is the suggestion to use the Chicago Manual of Style but offering other grammar guides. If writes are seeking traditional publication, CMOS is THE style guide. Relying on any other could result in punctuation/grammar mistakes in a manuscript.

Overall, I’m not sure I’d consider this to help an experienced writer self-edit, but it could definitely help new writers manage their expectations.

Get your copy here!

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Guide to Fiction Writing by Phyllis A. Whitney (book review)

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One of today’s leading novelists gives practical advice on how to write publishable fiction. Planning a novel, characterization, suspense, flashbacks, beginnings, and endings are all covered; a checklist for revision is also included.

Published in 1982, I wasn’t sure about this book at first, but someone recommended it so I thought I’d try it.

This was such a refreshing read. It isn’t a universal writing book (if you do this, then this will happen), but it really is a look at Whitney’s writing process. With 75 published novels from 1941-1997, she obviously had some success, but what I appreciate about her approach is that she simply explains what worked for her (passed away in 2008).

I’ve read quite a few writing books, so I found it fascinating how many things have changed as well as how many have stayed the same. She discusses many things that we have different names for these days, but the basics are the same. I especially appreciated her comments on how many new writers make excuses and fear edits. I hear the same things today, including comments about how it was easier to publish “back in the day,” but Whitney’s book makes it clear that most of the struggles are still the same.

If you’re looking for a new approach to writing books, it’s definitely worth picking up — sometimes we tune out tips because we’ve heard the same phrases over and over again, and her different terms and styles make you pay attention. There are a few things to keep in mind though:

  1. Flashbacks, Transitions, & Time: Some of that chapter will apply for those writing dual/split timeline novels, but flashbacks are a bit out of style in the 2020s.
  2. Getting Your Novel Published: Most of this info is outdated. Ignore her tips on working the process (of submitting and agents–those no longer apply), but heed her encouragement on surviving the process (it’s a marathon, not a sprint).

Rated PG.

Get your copy here!

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

Editing

Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

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Fiction: Substantive Editing Classes Substantive Editing for Fiction 101 In Substantive Fiction Editing 101, we’ll look at the basics of a well-written novel and learn how to help our … [more]