Thompson Talks the Seven Deadly First Page Sins

Article by Lauren Miller.

Photo provided by Arianne "Tex" Thompson.

Western fantasy author Arianne “Tex” Thompson spoke at our June 2018 monthly workshop series, joining attendees via Zoom technology. Drawing inspiration from Dante’s Inferno, Thompson and book editor Laura Maisano (not at the meeting) compiled a list of seven first-page sins editors frequently encounter that can send your manuscript into book hell.

“Every sin is equally bad if it gets people to not read your work,” Thompson said. She launched into a discussion of red flags that may make your work stand out (in the wrong way) to editors or slush-pile readers. The first of these seven sins is perhaps the most-easily avoidable -- carelessness.

Failing to clean up your writing before sending it to an agent is a big mistake. Basic things like correct punctuation, typos, homophones, etc. can be caught and fixed with a readthrough prior to submission. If it helps, get a second pair of eyes on your project. A copy of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style is a must-have in every writer’s arsenal of tools. For the digitally-inclined, Thompson recommended Grammarly or Dragon Naturally Speaking, although the built-in spelling and grammar checker in Microsoft Word should not be discounted.

Arianne "Tex" Thompson

Another way to be careless in the submission process is to be too informal. Stalking the agent’s social media page is probably not going to be helpful, nor is a query letter that is gimmicky, or characters that are overused or offensive. Be sure to pay attention to the submission requirements and use standard manuscript formatting, too.

That first page of text is your opportunity to really catch an agent’s eye, and like a first impression, you’ll never have the chance to do it over again, so get it right the first time. A novel  stuffed with extraneous words that distance the reader from the character and events is equally a “sin” in Thompson’s eyes. Avoid words like “thought,” “saw,” and “wondered.” Instead, “rewrite for immediacy,” Thompson said, “combining actions where possible. Dashes are a way of transitioning (with a pause) and indicate an interruption or a sharp change of plans.”

The third major sin is “perdition”, what Thompson calls a rambling text, where the prose lacks polish and needs tightening. This can be taken to obsessive lengths – Thompson’s example being if your work doesn’t really start until the third chapter, it doesn’t matter how well you fine-tune and polish that first chapter; you just need to cut it out. Don’t throw it away, however; you never know when you’ll find a use for it for some other project. Frequent symptoms of a work that may be committing this sin include words that aren’t pulling their own weight, frequent spelling and grammar errors, and words that have a different meaning than what you think they do, and thus, confuse readers as to your intent.

Writing sloppy and then writing well is called code-switching. “We’re very practiced in changing our speaking style depending on whom we’re speaking to (our boss, our toddler, etc.) You can use text abbreviations on the phone that we’d never use in a business email. This is a skill that you can practice and continue refining [just] from your daily life.”

The fourth major sin has two sub-headings: sins of excess -- either your work has too much description (purple prose) or too much action (and no narrative). In the former problem, your work may read like something out of a 19^th century novel, but most readers have shorter attention spans and don’t care to read a chapter just on the foliage of the moors or the cost of every window and fireplace in a manor house. “The more you can infuse your description with the POV character’s actions and feelings, that adds zest [to your work],” Thompson said. Use strong verbs and nouns. You should also keep an eye for descriptive text that is redundant. You do not need to say that the door swung open and shut on the way out (we know it did) or reiterate normal activities everyone encounters unless something unusual or unexpected occurs.

Never sandwich important action in the middle of a paragraph. Always lead in (or exit) a paragraph with action. If you’re writing a mystery, however, the middle of a paragraph is the perfect spot to tuck away a detail you don’t want a reader to notice, but that will be important later. A narrative packed with action but too little motive can leave readers wanting more. The story has to be consistent throughout, with a compelling reason to read so your audience does not skip ahead to get to the good parts.

Another big sin is using clichés. We’ve all encountered them at some point -- characters describes themselves looking in a mirror, an exposition-heavy dialogue, the false opening that’s an action scene but turns out to be a dream sequence, etc. Clean this up in your second draft. Remember, the first draft is just to get all your ideas down on paper. In your second draft, look for the clichéd choices your character makes and begin brainstorming for a new or unique approach. Your work should always have an element of surprise that transfers to the reader.

The sixth sin is failing to create clarity in your work. If your manuscript, or your query letter, or back cover blurb, etc. causes confusion in its intended audience, then you have gotten something wrong somewhere. This is usually preventable by not writing under pressure or under deadlines. Make sure you tick all of the boxes for your genre. For example, if you are writing a mystery, there are good questions (who is the killer?) and bad questions to avoid (where am I?). Make sure that action and dialogue are clearly assigned to characters, too.

Finally, the last sin to avoid is perhaps the most difficult – boredom. If you fail to capture the reader’s or agent’s attention, they’re just going to put your manuscript down and that’ll be the end of that opportunity. It’s impossible to satisfy every single reader, but with a strong hook, a new take on an old problem, or a fascinating setting, character or plot, you could have the makings of a great story. 

Bearing these sins in mind, what steps can you take today to improve your drafts and avoid book hell?

Speaker Bio:

Tex Thompson is a rural fantasy author, egregiously enthusiastic speaker, and professional ruckus-raiser. She is the author of the Children of the Drought, an epic fantasy Western trilogy from Solaris, as well as an instructor for the Writers Path at SMU and chief instigator of WORD ñ Writers Organizations Round Dallas. Now she is blazing a trail through writers’ conferences, workshops, and fan conventions around the country as an endlessly energetic, catastrophically cheerful one-woman stampede. Find her online at thetexfiles.com and wordwriters.org.

Gateway Con 2018 Links

The Gateway to Publishing Conference & Convention is June 15-17, 2018!

Below are different links for the conference and events.
Find more at stwritersguild.org

Stay at the Renaissance Hotel
rates last until June 1, 2018



Attend the Writers Conference 
three days of workshops and literary events

Have a table in the Author Hall
open to vendors too

Get a ticket to one of the Book Faire Events - Book Party!, Young Writers Workshop, AWA Workshop, and more...

Sign up for a Master Class or Online Viewing 

See you at the Gateway to Publishing Conference & Convention!

De Voe and Protzel Talk Historical Fiction

Article by Lauren Miller

Historical fiction authors P.A. De Voe and Ed Protzel gave a joint talk at the May workshop for writers sponsored by the St. Louis Writers Guild.

P.A. De VOE

De Voe, whose work centers on Ancient China, opened the discussion with a question for the audience: “What is more important to you when you write your story – being factually accurate or telling an excellent tale?” De Voe thinks you can do both. “Being historically accurate doesn’t undermine creativity, it accentuates it,” she said.

Historical details add the color that brings your story to life. Be careful, however, to be honest with your readers. Your book may be their introduction to that time period, so you want to be accurate. Other readers may be history or technology buffs and will expect you to have done your homework on the period. “You are writing with emotions, and emotion ties to the brain. Be honest with your reader,” De Voe said.

What sort of story are you writing? Are you covering a broad period of time (e.g. WWI, WWII, or the French Revolution) or focusing on a single person’s life? Are you choosing a well-known, historical figure or one of the marginalized people of that time? Or maybe the story’s about someone from your own imagination. De Voe described story construction as a triangle: “[The three sides are] ideological (ex: gender roles, education systems, religious ideas), technology and economic conditions, and the social structure.”

De Voe used an example of life in China in 1380 to show how researching the ideological background of your story helps you craft your story. In the case of her Mei-hua Trilogy, De Voe explored gender roles and morality norms that influenced her characters’ motivation and how they think. Something else she considered was how their gender and social class would have impacted their exposure to education and later opportunities in life.

If your book is focusing on major historical events, read documentaries, history books, etc., to learn more about your chosen period. Footnotes can be a wonderful resource to point you to other sources. To learn more about daily life, reach out to groups with a shared interested in the time period (e.g. historical re-enactors); check out the microfiche newspaper archives and advertisements and catalogues; read the obits; look for books that specialize on an aspect of that period (e.g. clothing, medicine, education).

De Voe cautioned that some records will be “biased and stereotypical … The poor folks weren’t the ones making the records.” Personal correspondence can offer an intimate look at the concerns of daily life. True crime stories may benefit from archived court records.

Your own personal experience can also help enrich your stories. “If you’ve been someplace, it activates the five senses,” De Voe said. Elizabeth Peters, author of the Amelia Peabody series, drew from her background as an Egyptologist and her travel experience to flesh out her books, which are set in 1800s Egypt. Draw from all of your senses and add those details into your story – how do things look, taste, smell, touch, or sound?

Finally, libraries can be a great resource -- especially the Inter-Library Loan option -- to obtain scholarly works or materials not commonly available in general collections. “Talk to the experts,” De Voe said. “New information is coming out all the time.” Keep looking for the most accurate information possible.

ED PROTZEL

Following a short break, Ed Protzel approached the topic of historical fiction from a different angle. Author of the DarkHorse Trilogy, Protzel said, “I am going to be speaking on the fundamentals of storytelling […] and how to best use historical research […], secondary characters, and subplots.” Any time you write historical fiction, you’re taking what you’ve learned of the period and using it to enrich your story. Often, the true events of history are more bizarre than anything you can make up.

For example, while researching the Civil War, Protzel learned Missouri was a brutal place. “Missouri, especially Western Missouri, was like Syria. […],” he said. “Refugees poured into St. Louis from all over. It was nasty stuff. [But] a novel isn’t a history book. You’re writing a drama, not a narrative.”

And like any narrative, you’ll want to focus not only on the research (although, as De Voe mentioned, that’s very important), but also on the emotions you wish to convey. Offer your readers an experience where they are immersed in your historical period. That first paragraph can be what sets your story apart from the rest – how do you arouse the interest and attention of your readers? How can you draw them into the period?

Comparing writing to painting, Protzel encouraged writers to think impressionistically, like Monet. “Find details that establish the character, period, place and mood. The small details matter more than large ones.” Once you’ve established your setting, character is the next major point to consider, Protzel said. Who will you be writing about, what attitudes do they bring to the world, and what are their motivations? As De Voe also mentioned, their station in life and ideological background will influence all facets of your story.

When writing secondary characters, consider their role and purpose in the overall narrative. The romantic interest and the antagonist are commonly discussed characters. Rather than lingering on these, Protzel delved into the lesser-talked-about reflection character, also known as the foil. They serve as the opposite of the hero and are usually a supporting character to your protagonist (i.e., a sidekick, a spouse, etc.). This is your Sanchez to your Don Quixote. Your secondary characters factor into subplots.

“The function of subplots is to parallel but contrast with the main plot by adding depth to your themes (offering them from a different point of view), adding poignancy to a comedy, or humor and irony to a dramatic story,” Protzel said. The power of a secondary character increases dramatically when you consolidate multiple, flat characters, and throw them in the proverbial blender. Out comes a fully fleshed-out character who has an important role/purpose in the life of your protagonist.

Avoid weak linear plots -- “this happened, then this”-- by having your protagonist and antagonist frequently clash with one another. Without conflict, you have no story. You can also add conflict by including multiple characters with differing goals who simultaneously interact with each other. This can be as ordinary as characters trying to reach a decision or as extraordinary as multiple characters in open combat on opposing sides.

With historical fiction, real events will shape the course of your book. Avoid technical terms that force readers out of the drama in order to research them, but do use facts to add color and spice to your story. Finally, when it comes to themes, remember they need to be interpreted from the historical perspective of that time period. Protzel’s last piece of advice, which is certainly worth remembering regardless of what time period you specialize in, is: “You are telling a story, not writing history.”

Speaker Bio:
P.A. De Voe is an anthropologist and Asian specialist who writes historical mysteries and crime stories immersed in the life and times of Ancient China. She’s published short stories, From Judge Lu’s Ming Dynasty Case Files, in anthologies and online. Warned, second in her Chinese YA Mei-hua Trilogy (Hidden, Warned, and Trapped) received a 2016 Silver Falchion award in the Best International category. Trapped was a 2017 Agatha and Silver Falchion finalist. Her most recent novel Deadly Relations, A Ming Dynasty Mystery, came out in 2018. For more information and a free short story go to padevoe.com.

Ed Protzel has completed five original screenplays for feature film. His published novels include his Civil War-era DarkHorse Trilogy—The Lies That Bind, Honor Among Outcasts, and soon, Something in Madness. His futuristic mystery/thriller, The Antiquities Dealer, will be released later this year. Protzel lives in University City and has a master’s in English literature/creative writing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Cook Preps Conference Attendees To Craft and Deliver a Perfect Pitch

Article by Lauren Miller

Brad R. Cook, a former acquisitions editor at Blank Slate Press and a multi-book author of the fantasy series Iron Chronicles and The Airdrainium Adventures, has been teaching about successful pitching techniques since 2012. A packed audience turned out to hear Cook share his expertise on preparing to give the best possible pitch for your literary agent session at conferences, such as those hosted in Missouri this spring and summer:

• Missouri Writers Guild’s conference is May 19, 2018 (link)
• Gateway Con is June 15-17, 2018 (link)

(As a disclaimer, SLWG sponsors Gateway Con and is a chapter member of the Missouri Writers Guild, so you will see plugs in Cook’s talk for our event. Thank you, Brad!)

“I’ve sat on both sides of the pitching table,” Cook said, and his perspective on writing makes this a popular talk every year for the SLWG. After finishing and editing your books, you’ll want to take these steps as you enter the waters of the writing business. First, identify the genre your book falls in, and then prepare a query letter, synopsis, and log line.

Next, identify literary agents and publishers who may be interested in your book and send them query letters or pitch to them at conferences. Cook recommended googling 'successful query letters' and mentioned WritersDigest.com, which has a number of query letter examples (link). Also recommended was Justin Wells’ talk in January 2018 at SLWG. If you missed it, you can catch the write-up on our blog (link) or the webinar replay (for SLWG members only).

Writers conferences, like Gateway Con, are particularly helpful for writers looking to connect with agents. “Writers conferences [are] where we all gather together as an industry to learn more and where agents [and publishers] will be looking for clients and books. Nobody is going to publish you if they don’t know you exist,” Cook added.

Query Letters

Query letters are the main way writers introduce themselves to publishers or literary agents. The query should be single-spaced, 12-pt font, black ink on a white background. “We do not call people, assault them, or contact them via Facebook,” Cook quipped. You email, or occasionally snail mail. Your query letter should start with your story’s hook and include the concept and your pitch.

What does a standard “pitch room” look like at a conference? Mostly, a bunch of tables and chairs where you’ll sit one-on-one with a literary agent, or, in the case of remote pitching, you’ll be seated with a laptop and pitching using a video app. Generally, pitch sessions last 5-10 minutes; if you’re attending Gateway Con this year, you will get 7 minutes for your pitch. Dress like a business professional; this is your chance to make a good impression with an industry professional.

“I know for you, this is a passion…you’ve spent five or ten years working on your book, but guess what, this is a business that you’re walking into. Agents don’t look for books, they look for clients! Publishers look for books. Agents get 15 percent off of every book you sell. They want multiple books over your [writing] career where you both make a ton of money,” Cook said.

You should plan to spend about 50 percent of your time on the pitch itself and reserve the other half for a Q&A with the agent. You want to provide them plenty of time to discuss your book with you. What should the pitch itself include? Let’s tackle the key points one by one:

The Introduction

Cook said the introduction should be 12 percent of your time (and include a greeting with your name, the genre, word count, whether the book is finished or not, and whether you’ve been published before). All of these things let the agent know you have prepared in advance for this session. It helps them immediately classify whether this is the kind of book they represent (by identifying the genre/type of book) and whether you’ve overshot/undershot the standard publishing length. It’s remarkable how much you can convey in such a short amount of time, isn’t it?

The Hook

Next is the hook, which is 13 percent of your total time. Think of the hook like the taglines you see for films. In one to three sentences, your hook should establish who your main character is, what the setting is, the conflict, and the stakes. Consider the back-cover copy of a book that grabs your interest and makes you want to read it immediately. That’s what you’re going for. Note that in the hook, unlike in back-cover copy, you only make statements, never questions.

Another way people describe the hook is your “elevator pitch” – if you have the time of traveling one elevator floor to describe your idea, what would you say? Hooks are different from your “tag line” (aka a log line), which tends to be shorter, but they still include that high concept idea that gets people interested. Cook shared an example of a hook from one of his books:

Iron Chronicles: “In a steam-powered Victorian world where pirates prowl the sky and secret societies determine the future like a game of chess, Alexander, Genevieve, her little bronze dragon, and a crew of Sky Raiders must save the world from the four Iron Horsemen.”

The log line for Iron Chronicles, by comparison, is only a single phrase: “High adventure in the age of steam and steel.”

The Book

Moving on, you need to consider what you’ll discuss when it comes to the book itself. Cook said only 25 percent of your total time with the agent should be spent on explaining what the book is about. What you discuss here will vary depending on whether you’re writing non-fiction or fiction.

For non-fiction books, you’ll want to focus the topic the book addresses and why we need another book on this subject. You should be able to explain who the intended audience is, and whether you’ve already got contacts/exposure with them (i.e. an author platform and a plan for reaching that audience). While you don’t have to be a professional in this subject area, it is helpful to explain what qualifies you to write about it, whether it’s extensive knowledge, years as a hobbyist in this field, or an astounding number of followers on Instagram.

For fiction books, while your author platform is important and will certainly be helpful in selling your book, you should instead focus on conveying to the agent that you’ve crafted a cohesive story. Who is the main character, and what challenges and stakes do they face? Who is the villain? What is the plot? What are the themes of the book? If you have time, you can include one or two subplots and associated characters.

Don’t focus so much on tone that might restrict your book into a niche genre, (ex. Southern Gothic Vampire Romance, instead of just ‘romance’) and may turn off an agent who isn’t interested in that sub-genre. Let the story speak for itself. This is your chance to let the story you’ve crafted really shine. Cook cautioned against getting caught up in backstory (it’s a rabbit hole). Don’t ramble -- keep your points sharp and on track.

Other habits to avoid in your pitch include being negative about your work or talking about how well it was reviewed by this person or that (unless it’s a high-profile author like Stephen King, it’s probably not going to matter). Avoid clichés and generalities – if you’re using them in a pitch, what does that bode for your as-yet-unread-by-them manuscript?

What is allowed in your pitch? Be friendly! Be positive! Be polite!

Questions & Answers

Finally, the majority of your time will be spent on the Q&A with your agent -- roughly half of your total talk time. What is that in real-time? If you are attending Gateway Con this year, it’s only 3.5 minutes! This is also the most important part of your pitch. If the agent doesn’t have any questions for you, something is broken in your pitch. Cook cautioned, “Beware the questions you aren’t expecting… ‘What is next?’ [or] ‘What else do you have?’ [or] ‘How does your book differ from [top book in the market right now]?’ And [then], keep your answers short.”

Inexperienced authors pitching their books may forget that this section of your pitch session is no longer just about your book, it’s a dialogue. Remember -- there is another person on the other side of the table (or screen). Please, please, practice beforehand! Avoid getting angry over feedback, and don’t argue. Do not try to engage in physical contact or offer gifts or bribes. Just don’t.

During your writers conference, look for other opportunities to interact naturally (not forced) with agents and publishers. At Gateway Con, for example, SLWG has a Meet the Faculty event on Friday night to allow writers and agents to interact. Or maybe you’ll bump into them out and about (stranger things have happened). Remember, though, always be respectful and polite. Agents and literary publishers are not your golden goose, they’re people, just like you. Remember that, practice, and from all of us at the St. Louis Writers Guild, good luck!

Speaker Bio:

Author of historical fantasies, The Iron Chronicles, The Airdrainium Adventures, and Tales of the Gearblade, Brad is a former co-publisher and acquisitions editor for Blank Slate Press. He is a SCBWI member and currently serves as Historian of St. Louis Writers Guild after three and half years as President. A founding contributor to The Writers’ Lens and The Sword Writers Academy, he can be heard weekly as a panelist on Write Pack Radio. He learned to fence at thirteen, and never set down his sword, but prefers to curl up with his cat and a centuries’ old classic. Find more @bradrcook on Twitter, Instagram, and tumblr. BradRCook.com

Pleiter’s Chunky Method Workshop Helps Writers Fine-Tune Goals & Deadlines

Article by Lauren Miller

Multi-book author Allie Pleiter has a seventeen-year career in writing that has resulted in more than 1.4 million books sold. In that time, she’s mastered the ins and outs of writing productivity and time management – she has to in order to produce four new books a year. On March 3rd, Pleiter came to speak at SLWG’s monthly workshop to help other writers hone their ability to set achievable goals and meet their deadlines as professional authors.

According to Pleiter, time management has become a critical, necessary skill to staying employed as a working author. When she first started, the goal was to publish one trade paperback a year. These days, the expectation is a new book every six-to-nine months. For romance authors, the industry expectation has become three to five books a year. Pleiter explains, “It’s basically about controlling your writing speed. If you are published, you’ll need this skill to stay employed. […] So, I’m going to show you how I get that done.” Pleiter spent some time discussing time management in general and the benefits of managing creativity before she launched into her signature ‘chunky method.’

What is the Chunky Method?

At its simplest, the ‘chunky method’ is factoring in the quantity of writing you can accomplish in an individual session/sitting (based on an average sampling of five or more) and using this as your baseline to factor how much writing, and how quickly, you can accomplish over long periods of time. When she first started, Pleiter was writing 600 words a session.

One caveat worth noting is that a given session in the beginning, when you’re attempting to learn what your ‘chunk’ is, is intended to be based on your natural writing breaks. Don’t push yourself in the beginning to meet an arbitrary number. “Many writers think when you’ve hit the end of your chunk, you’ve hit writer’s block – you haven’t! You’ve just [hit] the end of your chunk! So that’s the time to get up and take a break. There’s no such thing as writer’s block with the Chunky Method,” Pleiter says.

Estimating Deadlines and Project Goals

When you can factor in your daily word count, estimating accurate deadlines for publishers becomes less of a guessing game and a very real probability. Have a deadline pushed up? What might otherwise seem like a nightmare may now be manageable.

Pleiter explains, “If your editor asks you to turn [your book] in a month early, that will induce panic if you’re looking at the big picture, but if you think of it as 50 [words/day extra], that’s not as big a deal. […] Once you look at the chunky method, you see the daily task, not the distressing totality of it.”

Once you know your writing speed, you can also use this knowledge to factor in long-term goals like the time it’ll take to finish a manuscript (but Pleiter recommends adding 10 percent). Non-fiction word counts vary, but standard industry guidelines for fiction include:

• Single title: 85k-100k
• Novella: 20k-40k
• Short Genre Fiction: 55k-75k
• Mysteries: 55k-75k 

When in doubt, consult with the publishing house for its target word counts. Pleiter led attendees through an example of what this looks like in a practical application, as described in her book: The Chunky Method Handbook: Your Step-By-Step Plan to Write That Book Even When Life Gets in The Way.

When projecting deadlines for projects, don’t forget to add time for the inevitable sick days, holidays, vacations, even other writing-related tasks like editing, research, or interviewing, that will extend your deadline further out than originally anticipated. Pleiter adds, “When you go to choose a deadline for yourself, plan for the stuff you know is coming, so that way you won’t be behind the eight ball when you reach the stuff you didn’t know was coming.”

Writing Helps

Based on Pleiter’s experience, writers rarely can be lumped into a single category, but she has noticed they are either “big chunk” or “little chunk” writers, and either linear (list-makers, results-orientated) or non-linear (process-orientated) writers. By identifying what type of writer you are and how you work best, and what your writing environment looks like, you’ll be maximizing your chances for better productivity in the long haul. Pleiter gave examples of each of these four types of writers (and you can certainly be a combination of them!) and examples for how to schedule your writing tasks for effective time management.

When you find yourself stumped in the writing process, writing exercises can be a helpful way to get on track. A couple of writing apps Pleiter recommends are Written Kitten and Write or Die, which use rewards or consequences (respectively) to encourage writing. Other writing exercises might include the envelope system (saving ideas for your books in envelopes) and casting (picking actors that remind you of your characters). Consider adding in sensory triggers (like music, writing rituals, or images) to get your writing mojo on.

Many things in the publishing industry are outside a writer ‘s control, but one thing you can control, Pleiter concludes, is effective time management. She believes, the Chunky Method may help you with that and then some.

Speaker Bio:

An avid knitter, coffee junkie and unreformed chocoholic, Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction, working on as many as four novels at a time. The enthusiastic but slightly untidy bestselling author of over thirty books, Allie spends her days writing, buying yarn, and finding new ways to avoid housework. Allie hails from Connecticut, moved to the Midwest to attend Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois.

The “dare from a friend” to begin writing has produced a seventeen-year career with over 1.4 million books sold. In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on faith, the creative process, women’s issues, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers. To learn more, visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com.

Ridley Pearson Honored at St. Louis Walk of Fame

Local spotlight and photos submitted by Peter Green.

Ridley Pearson joins St. Louis Walk of Fame. Author of 55 books and friend, member and supporter of SLWG, Pearson was welcomed today (April 2, 2018) into the Delmar Loop's Walk of Fame by Joe Edwards, its founder.

Ridley Pearson and St. Louis Walk of Fame founder, Joe Edwards

Ridley Pearson and his new star!

Ridley Pearson and SLWG reporter, Peter Green

Meghan Pinson: "Novel Revision 101: DIY and Collaborative Revision"

Article by T.W. Fendley


Meghan Pinson, founder of My Two Cents Editing, outlined a comprehensive plan for taking a novel from the first draft to a finished manuscript at the Guild’s Feb. 3 meeting in a talk entitled “Novel Revision 101: DIY and Collaborative Revision.”

“It’s fine to write a terrible first draft...lots of people do that and turn it into a beautiful novel by the tenth or fifteenth draft,” she said. But the first step is to finish your first draft. “And don’t show it to people before you’re really finished.”

Then, she advised, let it sit for at least a month or two so you can forget how the story came out of your head. You want it to feel like someone else wrote it so you’ll be objective when you begin to edit.

Research

Whenever you’re not actually writing or revising, she suggested that you:

• Research characters, settings, or occupations
• Investigate target markets
• Make a list of books on the shelf where your book would appear
• Make a list of authors/titles/books that inspired you to write this one
• Create a reading list of books with similar elements to yours (e.g. set in Montana), then study how description, point of view, etc., is used in those
• Pull every book on writing craft that looks good to you in the bookstore or library , then skim them to find your favorites. Most books on craft tend to deliver the same advice from different angles, so find the ones that speak your language. 

Some of Meghan’s favorites include:

• James Scott Bell, Plot and Structure; How to Write Dazzling Dialogue
• Donald Maass, Writing the Breakout Novel
• Robert McKee, STORY
• Raymond Obstfeld, Novelist’s Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes
• Linda Seger, Creating Unforgettable Characters

Revision process 

“When you begin revision, read your draft all the way through in as few settings as possible, making scant notes,” Meghan said. “See if you can figure out where it gets boring, and determine what’s going on there.” When you’ve done as many revisions as you can, then you’re ready to seek outside advice.

“You cannot fix everything, and no one person can ever find everything,” she said. “This is where critique groups, beta readers, and professional editors are helpful. When you’re ready for external feedback from other writers and readers, the easiest route is the most expensive one, and the toughest one is the most time intensive. In the middle are beta readers.”

Beta readers

Meghan says the best beta readers read widely in your genre and are drawn to your book organically. “Leave your relationships out of your writing process” by finding betas on Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. You can seek betas at any point in the process and ask them to do anything from catching plot holes to finding the last typos. This is a great chance to lasso early reviews before publication, too.

Give prospective betas a brief book description, the word or page count, and your cover (if you have it), and ask for honest feedback on your unpublished novel. Ask whether they prefer copies, Word docs, or ebooks; you can use Calibre to prepare a rough, free ebook. “Give them a timeline, then double it,” Meghan said. “If you want comments back within a month, tell them they’re due in two weeks.”

One interesting thing to find out is where beta readers stopped reading. “It’s very useful to know, although it hurts. It will be way down the line from where an agent would stop reading because betas feel a sense of obligation.”

You should provide a set of questions to guide your betas’ responses. “Hopefully, you will get three to six readers, at least,” Meghan said. “If you hear the same thing from more than one reader, that’s useful information; if just one reader comments that something doesn’t make sense but no one else says that, maybe let it go.”

It’s okay to ask other writers to be beta readers if no strings are attached. “Know what you’re asking, and know what you’re giving. It’s not an equal exchange if a beginning writer is asking someone who’s on their eighth book. But anyone who volunteers, just love them! … Fresh eyes are really good. You want enthusiastic volunteers.”

Meghan’s beta reader questionnaire is available on her website; she customizes it for each book she submits to her list of 60+ readers, and has invited guild members to adapt it for their own purposes.

Critique groups

“Critique groups are another great way to get feedback from readers,” Meghan said. “Each group has its own approach.” Choose a group that matches your genre, if possible, and make sure to ask for the sort of feedback you want: grammatical/mechanical markup and story critique are very different.

The St. Louis Writers Guild’s critique group coordinator, Jennifer Stolzer, said she acts as a matchmaker between interested writers. A form in the members’ section of the SLWG website collects information to share with other authors in the specified genre. On the guild’s Facebook page, writers can solicit critique partners without being a member.

Editing

“Never be nervous about asking a professional editor to define terms or to help you figure out the kind of editing you need,” Meghan said. She outlined some of the common types of editing and the average costs, ranging from proofreading ($25+ per hour) to a full critique ($1,000+ per book).

Copyediting or line editing to fix grammar, punctuation, and style should be one of the last steps, but it’s often the first step people want to take, she said. Editorial assessments, story critiques, content editing, and developmental editing are different ways of collaborating with an editor to improve the content of a book, and each tends to cost $60+ per hour, but different editors charge differently -- per page, per hour, or per project.

Different types of editing take more time than others, and Meghan gave ballpark estimates for a few different services, based on a 250-word page, which is the industry standard:

• Proofreading: 10-15 pages per hour
• Copyediting – 8 pages per hour
• Line editing – 3 pages per hour 

She says if anything takes your editor longer than two pages per hour and you’re not independently wealthy, you’re better backing up and studying grammar before you hire a professional editor. She can help you with that, too.

Meghan Pinson provides expert editing, engaging critique, and fearless consulting to authors of novels and nonfiction manuscripts. She launched My Two Cents Editing in 2009 as a full-time freelance copyeditor and has steadily expanded to help her clients move from first draft to faithful readerships. Now her small crew of literary specialists provides comprehensive manuscript critique and a full range of editing services: editorial assessment, developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, proofreading, and post-editing cleanup. She leads writing and editing workshops and collaborates with her partner at Outrider Literary to guide authors through publication along indie, traditional, and hybrid paths.

Meghan is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association, the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, the Missouri Writers Guild, the St. Louis Publishers Association, and Reedsy (where you can see her portfolio). For more information, check out www.mytwocentsediting.com