Author Kevin J Fellows

When Not Writing is Writing

This topic came up several times this week; probably as people get ready for #NaNoWriMo. A question like: if I go for a walk but think about my characters, can I count that as writing? Or: I’m reading about writing so that counts too, right?

Yes. Reading about writing, thinking about your characters, plot, or story while doing anything else is writing.

Writers get so hung up on counting words to judge how much work they’ve accomplished, perhaps because of #NaNoWriMo and its focus on words per day. But that only works for one phase of the writing process; the building/creating or additive phase which is the core of NaNo. Even then measuring how many chapters you have completed might be a better measure depending on the book you’re writing.

In the editing phase you could count how many words you removed, or sentences you edited.

But writing a story or a poem is not just about how many words. The process includes thinking about the story. You can’t measure that unless you’re counting how many hours you spend pondering. Writers need to think long and deeply about their stories—even when the story is not in front of them. Yes walking, jogging, showering, or sitting on a park bench deeply considering your story counts as writing.

Inspiration is the writer’s most important skill. Yes, it’s a skill to find, recognize, and form inspiration into story. Like all skills it takes practice. Reading, hiking, travel, whatever gets your creative juices going is part of writing.

Reading about craft, or attending a workshop or conference is also writing. As writers, the process consumes us. That may sound obsessive and unhealthy (and sometimes, like any demanding job, it can be) but so much of writing is internalizing what we experience or observe others experiencing. Then we can relate those experiences and emotions authentically through story.

Don’t feel guilty about time spent away from the computer or page. We write all the time. It’s all good.

eposadmin

Finding the Right Copyeditor for Your Fantasy or Sci-Fi Novel

And 5 things to expect from your copyeditor

After completing the revisions your developmental editor suggested and maybe made tweaks from your critique partners suggestions, it’s time for a copy edit. Whether traditionally publishing or self-publishing, the process is similar.

If you aren’t sure of the differences between editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders, see my refresher.

When you selected or were assigned a development editor for your fantasy or science fiction novel, one requirement was their familiarity with the genre. How else would they know if your magic system was working, or if your wormhole science made story-sense? Or if you treated tropes uniquely? You should have the same level of genre knowledge from your copyeditor.

According to the Copyeditor’s Handbook by Amy Einsohn, the copyeditor’s job is to make a story clear, consistent, and correct. They look at the words the author used and how they used them to tell the story. They correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. They follow a publisher’s specific style-guide to enforce consistency.

A copyeditor working in fantasy and science fiction has to do everything a non-genre copyeditor does. They must also check consistencies in invented languages, complex magic systems, and speculative science. The genre copyeditor must consider if the fictional city on the coast in chapter one suddenly became the land-locked city of the same name in chapter ten, or did the author just reference the wrong invented name? Google Maps can’t help. Cities in fantasy can also move.

A genre copyeditor has to maintain consistency for the correct possessives and plurals of invented names for people and things. It’s a layer of complexity an editor of literary fiction rarely deals with.

Any good copyeditor will work through these issues, but if you’re paying by the hour, this extra work can add up. A copyeditor who is deeply knowledgeable in the FSF genres should be able to work through these details smoothly. Even if you’re paying by the word, any followup conversations will be more concise with a genre-focused copyeditor.

5 Things to Expect From Your Copyeditor

All copyeditors should follow standard practices such as making suggestions; not changing anything beyond obvious grammar, spelling, and punctuation unless you’ve requested them to. Editors should communicate timelines, meet deadlines, and never harm or lose any part of your manuscript.

When it’s time for a final polish of your Fantasy or Science Fiction novel, here are 5 things to expect from your copyeditor:

  • A clear, concise scope of what they will do for your project and offer customization – Are the doing a light, medium, or heavy copy edit?
  • A one or two-page sample edit
  • Experience in your genre
  • A follow-up review by phone, Skype, or email. These aren’t always necessary but you want the option.
  • A custom quote for your project. No two are the same

I hope this has prepared you in your search for the right copyeditor of your Fantasy or Science Fiction novel.

If you need a copy edit, you can find details of my service here.

eposadmin

Craft Book Recommendation: Writing the Other

By Cynthia Ward and Nisi Shawl

Publication Date: November 1, 2011

No one intends to be ‘that person’ who writes a story with an element offensive to a marginalized group. But it happens. Many people with the ability to have a story published have written from a position of privilege in some form. That privilege creates unexamined weaknesses in a work; biases the writer is unaware of. When we write, we are creating with intention. Intent means examining every aspect of a work, including othering.

Writing the Other is a tool for helping writers interrogate their biases.

Written by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward, Writing the Other shows how unintended othering creeps into what we write, and provides ways of recognizing and eradicating it. One strength of this book is when Cynthia shares her experiences as a white, cis, writer. This is helpful for those along the same spectrum. The book is never preachy or judgemental. Everyone makes mistakes, and perhaps the most valuable tool provided is how to respond when you’ve unintentionally done a harmful thing with your writing.

The most important lesson of the book is not to avoid writing the other, but how to do it and what to avoid when doing it. This is in direct response to those who suggest not offending by never writing the other. All that does is continue to erase diversity from our stories.

eposadmin

Do You Need A Beta Reading or a Critique? What’s the Difference?

When you’ve finished a piece of fiction, or think you’re close, you can still make it better. The process starts with sharing it. The question is, how to share it?

Should you post it online on your blog or a site like Wattpad?
Should you share it with an editor?
Should you ask for a Beta Reading from friends or writing partners?
Should you have the work critiqued?

The answer, as with most things writing related, is that it depends.

If you haven’t written many stories or novels, you may want to start with a beta reading. At this stage in your writing experience (and even at other times) you need encouragement and feedback. You want honest feedback, but you also want to hear what’s good about the story, or even some recognition for finishing a piece. Your friends and family, regardless of whether they are writers, are a good first step. You may also find beta readers from volunteers you don’t know. A good beta reader will encourage you and tell you how a general reader reacts. What they are unlikely to do is tell you why they reacted that way.

Does that mean editors or a critique partners are not encouraging? No, but an editor and a critique partner focus on making the story better. There’s a lot less morale boosting and more direct language about why a story isn’t working. Some people find receiving a critique or an edit to be emotionally difficult.

So what’s the difference between and edit and a critique?

For clarity, I’m talking about a developmental editor and someone like a critique partner like you might have in a writing workshop. An editor will be fairly prescriptive and explain why things aren’t working and offer solutions. I think of an editor like a coach.

A critique partner is somewhere between a beta reader and an editor. A critique partner will look at everything an editor does, like characterization, structure, pacing, etc. but the response is less prescriptive and more open-ended. Ideally you want a Critique earlier in the process than an edit and should make an edit easier.

I believe the best way to deliver critiques is mostly through questions. A critique should question the author on the choices they’ve made (consciously or not) and point out the effects of those choices on the reader. The author then has to decide if that’s what they intended and whether to change it. If an editor functions like a coach, a critique partner should be a teammate.

What do these forms of feedback cost?

Beta readers are usually free, though there are many paid services like my own for those who aren’t getting the right feedback from their beta readers or can’t find beta readers. Finding a beta reader for a 120,000 word epic can be a challenge.

Editing is the most expensive, and again, should come at or near the end of the process when the story is as good as the author thinks they can make it. Costs can run between $0.005 – $0.02 per word, or $600 – $2,400 for your 120k word epic.

Critiques are part of what you pay for in a writing workshop, which makes that form of critique expensive. If you are fortunate to belong to a writing group (ideally with some members more experienced than you) the cost may be a critique in kind. Some writers find long-term critique partners. They trade novel length work and give full critiques like you would receive from a workshop.

When it’s time to share your story, consider which type of feedback you need. Even experienced authors sometimes just want a simple beta read to judge what a typical reader gets from the story, and to receive some encouragement. Other times, the story is ready for an editor. Sometimes a story needs a critique: a close reading, critical feedback, and some encouragement.

If you need a beta read or a critique and have no partner or ability to attend a workshop, I provide affordable options here.