Let's face it. Finishing and editing a novel is like birthing a baby. We nurture the process and can't wait to get to the end. It usually takes at least a year and we know the stats like we did when we gave birth to our first, precious child. Date, time, weight, and height. Except in the case of a novel, the stats are slightly different.
A few days ago, I finished editing (for real this time after the fourth or eighth pass) my women's fiction, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS. Here are my stats:
350 pages
67 chapters
87,236 words
Yep. It's long but women's fiction ranges between 80-100,000 words. Once an editor gets hold of it, I'm sure the word count will go up or down again. It has been edited several times and I sought professional advice from a former women's fiction editor from St. Martin's Press.
During her overall evaulation, she gave me great feedback like make the cop more likeable, take out some of the "S" names (I had four--Suzy, Sylvia, Sara and Sean that I hadn't even noticed because two of these come into play late in the novel) and get rid of some red herrings. She suggested a couple of other things that I didn't do--like delete a tragic scene and start on chapter 4 where she thought my writing got stronger. If I don't get picked up this go around, I think I'll listen to those suggestions.
Finally, though, this editor said three things that thrilled me. She said I was an excellent storyteller, a strong writer and she hoped my manuscript didn't get lost in a slush pile. Let's hope it doesn't.
What are your stats?
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Editing Is Fun. What?!
I bet you never thought those words would escape my lips.
After years of saying I hated editing, I'm actually enjoying the process. Previously, I've always preferred the creation process--the actual writing--by a long shot and would find any reason to avoid editing. Cleaning toilets. Check. Laundry. Check. Exercise. Check. Painting my toenails. Check. You get the picture.
My newfound enjoyment of editing has me scratching my head. I dug into my 300+ page novel a few weeks ago with dread but discovered I looked forward to going into my writing cave daily. Who am I? I've been pondering this significant change.
It could be due to the fact that I now have several requests for my women's fiction, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS. Yay! It's also possibly because I set my novel aside for three years due to a family tragedy and am rereading it with surprise and delight, almost like a new reader. Maybe it's because I had already edited it several times (more than I remembered) and my novel is in much better shape than I recalled. Maybe just maybe I'm finally embracing this crucial part of the writing process.
I've always had a few friends who loved the editing process. Some even liked it better than writing the first draft. That's crazy talk. Those people are a bit off kilter if you ask me, but I digress. Whatever the reason, I'm down to my final pages. I keep hitting "control end" to count how many pages remain. My heart pounds, my face flushes and my hands get sweaty as I near the end.
This go around, I actually had fun finding and removing repetitive words and phrases, beefing up dialogue, describing the settings and layering in back stories. I enjoyed making the characters suffer. You know you like reading that stuff.
My three female protagonists (women's fiction, remember?) laugh, gigle and groan. They get tense, cry and grieve. They dance, drink, have interesting careers and crazy personal lives. The antagonists give them grief. A lot of grief. Just when each one overcomes an obstacle, I throw another one in their path. The possibilities are endless. Are they going to end up with the guy or not? And, if so, is he a good guy? Hmm. When my characters whisper in my ear that they'd like a better life--even a fairytale life--I'll consider their plight and desires. But I'm in charge of their destination. We'll see. I may change my mind tomorrow and they know it.
See why editing is fun? Embrace it. I finally did.
After years of saying I hated editing, I'm actually enjoying the process. Previously, I've always preferred the creation process--the actual writing--by a long shot and would find any reason to avoid editing. Cleaning toilets. Check. Laundry. Check. Exercise. Check. Painting my toenails. Check. You get the picture.
My newfound enjoyment of editing has me scratching my head. I dug into my 300+ page novel a few weeks ago with dread but discovered I looked forward to going into my writing cave daily. Who am I? I've been pondering this significant change.
It could be due to the fact that I now have several requests for my women's fiction, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS. Yay! It's also possibly because I set my novel aside for three years due to a family tragedy and am rereading it with surprise and delight, almost like a new reader. Maybe it's because I had already edited it several times (more than I remembered) and my novel is in much better shape than I recalled. Maybe just maybe I'm finally embracing this crucial part of the writing process.
I've always had a few friends who loved the editing process. Some even liked it better than writing the first draft. That's crazy talk. Those people are a bit off kilter if you ask me, but I digress. Whatever the reason, I'm down to my final pages. I keep hitting "control end" to count how many pages remain. My heart pounds, my face flushes and my hands get sweaty as I near the end.
This go around, I actually had fun finding and removing repetitive words and phrases, beefing up dialogue, describing the settings and layering in back stories. I enjoyed making the characters suffer. You know you like reading that stuff.
My three female protagonists (women's fiction, remember?) laugh, gigle and groan. They get tense, cry and grieve. They dance, drink, have interesting careers and crazy personal lives. The antagonists give them grief. A lot of grief. Just when each one overcomes an obstacle, I throw another one in their path. The possibilities are endless. Are they going to end up with the guy or not? And, if so, is he a good guy? Hmm. When my characters whisper in my ear that they'd like a better life--even a fairytale life--I'll consider their plight and desires. But I'm in charge of their destination. We'll see. I may change my mind tomorrow and they know it.
See why editing is fun? Embrace it. I finally did.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Marketing For Authors
Recently, I spoke about marketing to 35 Ozarks Romance Authors. Let me tell you something you probably already know: Writers and marketers are surly bedfellows. I'm not sure why that is but it's a fact. I've worked in many professions (banking, healthcare, hotels, education, and green heat) and I've never encountered this mindset in any other industry. It truly baffles me.
I'm happy to say my talk, "The Marketing Mindset & 60 FREE Ways To Market Your Book" was very well received. I heard phrases like "excellent presentation," "it built a fire under me," and "standing-ovation worthy." (That might be a stretch but was nice to hear!)
I know authors hunger for this information and I would too if I hadn't worked in marketing for 20 years. My professional experience has been very helpful to me as an author, and I want to help other writers/authors become informed marketers. During my talk, I discussed several topics including:
- How to Find Your Target Audience
- Using A Marketing Mix
- 60 FREE Ways to Market Your Book
- Building An Online Platform
- Developing A Business/Marketing Plan
I won't go into specifics here because I can see a great need for a marketing ebook for authors. I'm writing one now, and since this will be my first foray into a non-fiction book and into ebooks, I have some research to do. I plan to add several more chapters, some crazy stories from my marketing days and many examples. Trust me, marketing is fun.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Friday Fictioneers - "What's That?"
After a month-long hiatus, I checked back with the Friday Fictioneers and was delighted with this week's photo prompt. Read my 100-word story below the photo and enjoy others' flash fiction at http://rochellewisofffields.com
WHAT’S THAT?
By Beth Carter
Tommy kicked a pebble down a dusty road near the mostly boarded-up town square. When will this boring vacation be over?
“Why can’t we go to Disneyland?”
“It’s more important to visit your grandparents,” said Tommy’s father.
As Tommy walked in step with his shadow, he ran into a large metal box with a cord.
“What’s that?”
“A telephone.”
Tommy stared at his dad’s iPhone. “Were people giants? As big as dinosaurs?”
His dad ruffled Tommy’s hair. “No, son, technology has improved.”
Tommy instinctively reached into the coin dispenser and pulled out a shiny quarter.
“Some things never change."
WHAT’S THAT?
By Beth Carter
Tommy kicked a pebble down a dusty road near the mostly boarded-up town square. When will this boring vacation be over?
“Why can’t we go to Disneyland?”
“It’s more important to visit your grandparents,” said Tommy’s father.
As Tommy walked in step with his shadow, he ran into a large metal box with a cord.
“What’s that?”
“A telephone.”
Tommy stared at his dad’s iPhone. “Were people giants? As big as dinosaurs?”
His dad ruffled Tommy’s hair. “No, son, technology has improved.”
Tommy instinctively reached into the coin dispenser and pulled out a shiny quarter.
“Some things never change."
Friday, May 10, 2013
A Bad Hair Day - Contest!
To celebrate the (fairly) recent release and the just announced "Show-Me Best Book Award" honorable mention by the Missouri Writers Guild, I think a contest is in order. Congrats to Mozark Press who published this anthology and to all of the authors!
One lucky winner will receive this humorous collection of, what else, bad hair day stories from writers across the nation. Award-winning authors, professors, teachers and reporters represent some of the
featured authors in A Bad Hair Day anthology. My story is entitled "Mr. Perfect."
Rules: Tell me about your worst bad hair day in 25 words or less. Deadline: May 17, 2013. Good luck.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
My Three-Line Pitch
I told you I'd share my three-line pitch from the recent pitch opportunities via Savvy Authors. Without further ado, here it is (and it showed up as four lines on their site! However, many were three paragraphs!)
Author: Beth Carter
Title: Thursdays At Coconuts
Genre: Women's Fiction (with elements of contemporary romance, humor and suspense)
Word count: 86,000
As the go-to wedding planner, Suzy puts on a brave face with neurotic brides and a racist, pretentious mother of the bride, yet cannot find her own wedded bliss. Alex, a banker, falls for a bad-boy cop who's married and possibly stalking her, but he sure is sexy. Hope, a frumpy, self-deprecating high school counselor, enables her hippie parents and discovers a secret that almost went to the grave. These thirty-something Midwestern women meet every Thursday at Coconuts where they humorously cope with meaty issues--OCD, tragedy, homosexuality and a stroke.
Care to share yours? It's a good exercise to condense 300 pages down to a few powerful lines. Side note: I'm still waiting to hear from a couple of agents and an editor. I also pitched two picture books while I was at it. Fingers and toes crossed.
Author: Beth Carter
Title: Thursdays At Coconuts
Genre: Women's Fiction (with elements of contemporary romance, humor and suspense)
Word count: 86,000
As the go-to wedding planner, Suzy puts on a brave face with neurotic brides and a racist, pretentious mother of the bride, yet cannot find her own wedded bliss. Alex, a banker, falls for a bad-boy cop who's married and possibly stalking her, but he sure is sexy. Hope, a frumpy, self-deprecating high school counselor, enables her hippie parents and discovers a secret that almost went to the grave. These thirty-something Midwestern women meet every Thursday at Coconuts where they humorously cope with meaty issues--OCD, tragedy, homosexuality and a stroke.
Care to share yours? It's a good exercise to condense 300 pages down to a few powerful lines. Side note: I'm still waiting to hear from a couple of agents and an editor. I also pitched two picture books while I was at it. Fingers and toes crossed.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Pitch Sessions Scored Two Requests
As I mentioned earlier, I sent three-line pitches for my novel, Thursdays At Coconuts, to a couple of agents and editors via the Savvy Authors site last week.
First, do you know how many times you can change a three-line pitch? Let me tell you--a LOT. I guess I finally got it right because I scored two requests in one week--one from a literary agent, Jill Marsal, and the other from the editor of Soul Mate Publishing. I also have three literary agents waiting (maybe not so patiently) for my work. I think it's only fair that I send it to them at the same time. Hopefully, today!
After three long years of setting my novel aside due to a family tragedy, maybe my women's fiction will finally see the light of day. Fingers crossed. As you know, during those years, I switched genres and now have two children's picture books published. I love writing both genres.
All week I've been in my pj's or sweats, make-up free with dirty hair, hunched over my keyboard. (A pretty picture, right?) I've tightened sentences, hunted for repetitive words, changed character names (I had four "S" names!) I also removed several chapters containing a secondary character for the already planned sequel where two new main characters will be introduced. And, of course, my characters started talking to me again so I added a few fun scenes. I also took time to research some crazy stuff that I can't wait for you to read.
Right now, I'm one-third finished editing. It's tough to get through 308 pages, word by word, line by line, but Thursdays At Coconuts is better for it. Congrats to several of my writer friends, (Lisa Wells, Wanda Fittro, Shirley McCann, Sharon Kizziah-Holmes and Susan Keene) who also received requests from various agents and publishers.
Let me know how you're progressing and a huge thanks to Savvy Authors for the opportunity. Good luck to everyone!
First, do you know how many times you can change a three-line pitch? Let me tell you--a LOT. I guess I finally got it right because I scored two requests in one week--one from a literary agent, Jill Marsal, and the other from the editor of Soul Mate Publishing. I also have three literary agents waiting (maybe not so patiently) for my work. I think it's only fair that I send it to them at the same time. Hopefully, today!
After three long years of setting my novel aside due to a family tragedy, maybe my women's fiction will finally see the light of day. Fingers crossed. As you know, during those years, I switched genres and now have two children's picture books published. I love writing both genres.
All week I've been in my pj's or sweats, make-up free with dirty hair, hunched over my keyboard. (A pretty picture, right?) I've tightened sentences, hunted for repetitive words, changed character names (I had four "S" names!) I also removed several chapters containing a secondary character for the already planned sequel where two new main characters will be introduced. And, of course, my characters started talking to me again so I added a few fun scenes. I also took time to research some crazy stuff that I can't wait for you to read.
Right now, I'm one-third finished editing. It's tough to get through 308 pages, word by word, line by line, but Thursdays At Coconuts is better for it. Congrats to several of my writer friends, (Lisa Wells, Wanda Fittro, Shirley McCann, Sharon Kizziah-Holmes and Susan Keene) who also received requests from various agents and publishers.
Let me know how you're progressing and a huge thanks to Savvy Authors for the opportunity. Good luck to everyone!
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