This Writing Life 9: More Editing and Editors, or More Than Just Copy vs Substantive

(Sorry this one is a late. I was sick. I'll be blogging about health next week.)

Last week we talked about why you need an editor. And you do. Sometimes a publisher supplies the editor, sometimes you want a piece edited before it goes to the publisher, or to the agent you are trying to get.  If you are self-publishing you definitely need an editor. And if you don’t think you do, don’t self-publish, ever.  Seriously.

That said, different editors have different skillsets, and in order to know which editor is best for you, it’s best to know which skills editors offer.

The Editing Editors Do When They Edit

When writers think of editors, we tend to think about two types, Copyeditors and Substantive Editors. Some quick definitions, from of the Editors Association of Canada (EAC):

• Copyediting: Editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation and other mechanics of style; checking for consistency of mechanics and internal consistency of facts; marking head levels and approximate placement of art; notifying designer of any unusual production requirements. May include Canadianizing; metrication; providing or changing system of citations; writing or editing captions and/or credit lines; writing running heads; listing permissions needed and/or obtaining them; providing or editing prelims, back matter, cover copy and/or CIP data. May also include negotiating changes with author.
• Substantive Editing: Clarifying and/or reorganizing a manuscript for content and structure. Changes may be suggested to or drafted for the author. May include negotiating changes with author.

Now, that’s a fair amount of work, but there are a lot of other things that editors do knowing them will make it easier for you, the writer, when you go looking for an editor.

(Assuming you are a writer. Because if you’re not, why are you reading this?  Are you stalking me?  Are you analyzing me?  Are one of the alien monsters coming to take over this planet by entering the minds of its intelligentsia?!!!!)

(See what happens when you don’t use an editor?)

Here’s a list from the EAC of the different services editors can provide. I’m not going to give you the descriptions of each, because you can find them all right here.

• Developmental / Project Editing
• Substantive or Structural Editing
• Stylistic Editing
• Rewriting
• Copy Editing
• Picture Research
• Fact Checking / Reference Checking
• Indexing
• Mark-Up / Coding
• Proofreading
• Mock-Up (Rough Paste-Up)
• Production Editing

Now, obviously, not every job is in need of all of these skillsets.  But chances are you’re going to need at least some of those skills beyond copy and substantive

My next series is historical horror instead of fantasy. I need someone who can also do fact checking (did that major historical event really happen then?). Because it is aimed at a YA market, I also need someone who can do stylistic editing to make sure I’m writing at the corret reading level.

If you are a self-publishing something (which I may be doing in the near future…) you’re going to need more than that. Just looking at the list, I’m thinking someone who can do mark-up/coding, production editing, mock-up, proofreading…

It’s a lot, but by knowing what you need, you can budget for it and know what to look for in an editor.

But Can’t I Do It Myself?

Short stories? Yes. Novels? No, unless you want it to be bad. Self-published novel? Definitely not. Ever. Unless you want it to suck.

Every author edits their own work, but at for larger projects, you shouldn’t be the only one to do it, because you will miss something.

Case in point: One of my editors, Gabrielle Harbowy, is also a writer. Gabrielle is a professional. She knows her stuff. From her website:

“Gabrielle is an Affiliate member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). She edits for publishers including Pyr Books, and is a staff proofreader for Lambda Literary. In addition to her independent editing work, she is also Managing Editor at Dragon Moon Press, where she oversees the submissions and editing processes. She has edited for aspiring and first-time authors, New York Times Bestsellers, and Hugo Award winners. Books she has acquired and/or edited have gone on to be finalists and winners of Bram Stoker awards, Parsecs, and ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year awards.”

Now for the $24,000 question (and if you get the reference, congratulations! You’re old!): Does Gabrielle do all her own editing?

NO!

Like any good writer, Gabrielle does edit her own work – substantive and copy and everything else. But, before Gabrielle’s also sends her major works to another editor (either her publisher's editor, or an editor she knows for work that doesn't yet have a publisher). This is because Gabrielle knows that, like every other writer, she is too close to see everything that needs changing.

From those one or two copy-edits that you missed the first time and now can’t see for the life of you to that bit where the guy you killed in the first part of the book is giving a speech in the second, you need someone an outside eye. You NEED an editor.

So How Do I Find an Editor?

Word of mouth is your best best for finding a good editor. Talk to other writers (preferably successful ones) and see if they have an editor they use outside their publisher, and if so, do they take other clients.  Then go research that editor (because Google is here for a reason) and find out if they have the skillset that you need.

How much will it cost me?

Depends.

Yes, I know, I’m stunningly unhelpful sometimes.

Different editors charge different fees depending on their skillset, experience, and the level of work that’s involved in making your manuscript go from great (which I am sure it is now) to the THAT’S AMAZING!!!

And you want to be amazing, don’t you?


Next Week: Staying Healthy, Because Working Sick Sucks.

And it is done!

Finished my story for the new Dragon Moon Press anthology and have sent it off to the lovely and talented Gabrielle Harbowy, editor extraordinare. Very happy making.

Now there are three projects ahead of me:

1. Start writing the third Magics book.

2. Start editing The King Below.

3. Start editing City of Phantoms.

A lot of work to be done, but it should all be fun.

The rhyme there was not intentional.

In the next day or so I should post my schedule to SFContario, so stay tuned.

Want to see something really cool?

It's the "When the Hero Comes Home" book trailer!

And what a damn handsome fellow that is!

You know, this is an excellent time to pick up your own copy!

Here's the paperback.

Here's the Kindle.

Have fun!

"When the Hero Comes Home" Champagne Brunch and Book Launch!

On Sunday, July 17, 2011, we are launching Dragon Moon Press's new anthology, When the Hero Comes Home with a Champagne brunch at Polaris!

From the DMP website:

When the epic battle, the mission, and the quest are over, can a hero go home again?

When the Hero Comes Home, answers these questions with nineteen powerful stories by some of today's top and up-and-coming fantasy and science fiction writers.

Edited by Ed Greenwood and Gabrielle Harbowy, the anthology features new fiction by Jay Lake, Todd McCaffrey, Julie Kagawa, and an all-new Jig the Goblin story by Jim C. Hines.

The official launch will be at GenCon in Indianapolis but thanks to the generosity and time-shifting of the good folks at Polaris, and that most wonderful of publishers, Dragon Moon Press, we get to have our own Canada/Toronto book launch!

And by "we" I mean, me, J.M. Frey, Marie Bilodeau and any other of the authors that can make it.

We're spreading the word now, and as we get more folks, I'll let you know.

Here's the announcement from the Polaris Program:

When the Hero Comes Home Champagne Brunch and Book Launch

Join Dragon Moon Press at Ten Forward as we celebrate the launch of our new anthology, When the Hero Comes Home. What happens when the epic battle, the mission, and the quest are over? When the Hero Comes Home answers the question with 19 powerful stories by some of today’s top and up-and-coming fantasy and science fiction writers. We’ll have champagne mimosas and a continental brunch, readings by authors, prizes, and of course, chocolate! Copies of When the Hero Comes Home will be available for sale and authors J.M. Frey, Marie Bilodeau and Erik Buchanan will be ready to sign them for you.

Sunday, July 17, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Ten Forward.

So how can you get there?

Well, first, you have to go to Polaris. Here's all the details. Then just come on in. We'll have a mimosa just for you!

And if you just can't wait for the launch party to get your copy of When the Hero Comes Home, not to worry:

You can get the paperback here at Amazon.

And the Kindle version right here.

I hope to see you at the launch. It's going to be a great time.

Announcement - When the Hero Comes Home

Yay!

My short story "An Evil Not Forgotten" will appear in the new Anthology "When the Hero Comes Home," edited by Ed Greenwood and Gabrielle Harbowy.

Coolness!!!!

Below is the text of the official press release:

WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME, an anthology of fantasy and science fiction tales—co-edited by Bestselling author Ed Greenwood and Gabrielle Harbowy, Editor and Associate Publisher, Dragon Moon Press—will be released in August of 2011 by Dragon Moon Press.

When the epic battle, the mission, the quest are over, can the hero go home again? Is she too changed to resume where she left off... Is the life he left behind is no longer waiting for him?

In WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME, these questions are addressed in nineteen powerful stories by some of today’s top and up-and-coming fantasy and science fiction writers.

"We've been very pleased with the stories we've received. Strong storytelling featuring great characters, from both new voices and established writers. They’ve given us wildly different approaches to our theme—which is just what the title of the book says it is," says Greenwood.

"It's a thrill to be able to work with Ed and with so many other talented writers, and to have an opportunity to showcase some of Dragon Moon Press's up and coming authors. Each story gives the theme its own fresh, fascinating spin. Whether you're into swords and sorcery, science fiction, or urban fantasy, there are stories here that will grab you," says Harbowy.

The anthology features new fiction by Jay Lake, Todd McCaffrey, Julie Kagawa, and an all-new Jig the Goblin story by Jim C. Hines.

Title: WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME
ISBN-13: 978-1-897492-25-3
Release Date: August, 2011
Publisher: Dragon Moon Press
Format: Trade Paperback, E-book
Distributor: Ingram

For preordering and promotional information contact: eic@dragonmoonpress.com

Did I mention yay? Because, YAY!!!!

Great Reviews for Small Magics and Cold Magics!

It is a happy day when you get to say that people liked your work, so this is a very happy day for me! I have three new reviews!

Two folks who bought my books at Ad Astra have written reviews of Small Magics, and a fan from San Francisco, who bought a copy from Gabrielle Harbowy (editor, DMP Associate Publisher, and San Fran resident) wrote a wonderful review of Cold Magics!

The first Small Magics review comes from the Left Hand of Dorkness blog (which is an amazing name, by the way!) and is a great little piece. The review is lengthy and detailed and ends with:

"Let me finish by saying that I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it so much that I'd recommend it to my friends, family, and random strangers on the street or internet. Pick it up!"

The whole review is lots of fun to read. He has a great way with words. You can find it here.

The second review you can find on the Small Magics' Amazon Page. You'll also find it in one of the comments of this Blog. My favourite part is:

"...the blinkin' book kept me up till 2:00 am last night. I couldn't quit reading. I had to get up at 6:00 am to get ready for my mundane work. You are evil and I love it. It was an excellent read!!"

The Cold Magics review can also be found on the Cold Magics' Amazon Page. Very happy making. Here's part of it:

"Cold Magics is a romping good time. High fantasy at its best. Subtle, fraught with tension (so much so I had to read fluff in order to sleep at night) and the action is wonderful."

Now THAT was a Book Launch - Cold Magics at Ad Astra

I don't think I've had that much fun in months.

For those who have not been following, I launched my new book Cold Magics at Ad Astra, April 10, 2010. The convention itself was excellent, the people were great as always, and the book launch went amazing. Our posters, package invites and word of mouth seemed to really do the trick, because we had a packed house. Our chocolates and prizes were well received, especially the "Moose Jaw Style Candlelight Dinner for Two" (No, I'm not telling you what it is).

Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me. Fortunately, my ever-helpful and stunningly talented editor (and now DMP associate publisher) Gabrielle Harbowy did. So some pictures will appear below.

Before that, however, there's some Thank You's that need to be said.

First, to all the folks at Ad Astra. Thank you so much. You were great as always. The party would not have been nearly the success it was without your help.

Also, thanks to Scott and the rest of the security team, with whom last year I inadvertently started a tradition. At Ad Astra 2009, I went to the green room where Scott was working security. We talked, and it turned out he forgot his book. I sold him a copy of Small Magics, and it became the communal book for all the security at the green room. This year, Scott found me on day one of the convention and bought a copy of Cold Magics, which became this year's communal book. I'm only sorry I won't have a new one out for next year (at least I don't think I will, but talk about an incentive to write faster!).

Great thanks are due to Marie Bilodeau whose book, Destiny's Blood, is due out with Dragon Moon Press this summer, and whose chocolate helped bring the party to life. Mmmmm. Also to Gunnar, a friend who showed up with even more chocolate -- dark Mayan spiced chocolate from Soma -- and gave it to everyone at the party. Thanks Gunnar!

I also want to thank Chris Jackson, who was my table-mate for the weekend, and was selling his first DMP book (though not his first book by a long shot!) Scimitar Moon. I am reading it now and it is great. I highly recommend it. Chris was good fun and good company for three days of selling and talking.

Thanks to Gabrielle Harbowy, editor/associate publisher extraordinaire for being there, helping with everything, and taking some pictures since I so cleverly forgot the camera. We didn't get a crowd shot, but the place was packed!

And, of course, my great, great thanks to Gwen Gades at Dragon Moon Press, for taking a chance on Small Magics, and for keeping the series going with Cold Magics. Without her, none of this would have happened.

Finally, thank you to everyone who attended, who bought books over the weekend, and who made it a truly great evening.

Look! Pictures!

The Dragon Moon Press Team: From left, Erik Buchanan, Gabrielle Harbowy, and Chris Jackson

Author, with books. Very cool moment.

Gabrielle and I, just before the launch started (hence the slightly manic smiles).

The reading! They laughed at the funny bits and clapped when I finished! Life is good.

Erick Fournier. Actor, fight guy, and cover model for Small Magics and Cold Magics, brandishing his copies of the books. Thanks again, Erick!

Editing and Brain Rules

Charging madly forward. Reached page 267 tonight, removed another 1500 words or so, and am almost pleased with the progress.

So is Gabrielle, who has been giving me gems from the Dragon Moon Press December slushpile. Impressive stuff. Not in a good way.

At work we are putting together some videos and part of my research on it took me to the Brain Rules website. It's a fascinating website, built around the book by the same title, written by John Medina. I haven't had time to dig too deeply into it, but it looks like the man has done his research, and the website itself is a great example of marketing design. There's a lot of neat stuff that I intend to explore sometime when it isn't midnight.

Correction. After midnight. I'm going to get myself four hours sleep and see if I can manage a workout in the morning (or should I say, later this morning?). It's unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

Taking a Night Off!!!

Why, you ask?

Because last night my editor, the indomitable Gabrielle Harbowy, and I finished going through her notes for Cold Magics. They were good notes and we resolved them all, or marked where I have to fix things during my next task:

One more edit before Dec. 25.

That's right, I have to go through the entire book by Christmas if we want to get advanced copies to the reviewers. And I still need to take out 10,000 more words. Oy veh!

But tonight, I am taking a break. I am chilling out, relaxing, and generally doing nothing except getting to bed on time. My only regret is I don't have a nice bottle of red wine to do it with.

So have a good night. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow (and every day for the next 14) we edit!

They've Done It...

Two in two days.

My editor Gabrielle Harbowy and my dear friend and reader Kim both finished going through Cold Magics. Excellent work in record time. Both are extremely insightful and each brings a different and extremely knowledgeably viewpoint to the editing process.

My thanks to both.

As soon as Gabrielle gets Cold Magics back to me, I'll be back at it. So far, we are running on time for our deadlines. Excellent!

Time to Start Working on Publicity

Yep. Cold Magics is in the hand of the mighty talented Gabrielle Harbowy, who is editor in charge at Dragon Moon Press (excuse the mess; they're building a new website). We're looking for a short turn-around time on this one, and that means getting together the publicity plan.

Now, for those who don't know, there is are differences between publicity and marketing.

Marketing gets you a guaranteed audience through traditional advertising, pay-per-clicks, paid interviews, infomercials, etc. It costs money and studies have shown that, for book sales, it isn't that effective, unless you have massive reach and say... a movie deal.

Publicity is cheaper, but does not have a guaranteed audience. Instead, have to build an audience by persuading them that what you have to sell -- in this case, Cold Magics -- is worth talking about. If you can do that, proper publicity can lead to interviews, articles, book reviews, word-of-mouth and from them to sales.

Interestingly enough, good publicity can far outweigh good marketing as a tool for getting audience (people listening to your message) and sales. Especially now in the days of social media.

So, step one is building a publicity plan. We're looking at a six month plan at this point, to promote and get interest before launch (launch date will be announced soon). There will also need to be a post-launch plan to keep attention on the book over the summer, through the convention and book fairs, and then into the fall season, when it's a great time to convince people they want to be buying my books as presents to give to others.

And I cannot tell you how cool it is to be able to say "my books."

So, this weekend is about getting the plan together (plus cleaning and laundry and all that fun stuff). I've been doing research for a fair while, have the concept going and the lists I need to get made, and from there it's a matter of putting the pieces together.

I'll put up more details about the plan going forward because I did say this blog would be about book marketing, and I haven't done much of that lately.

So, off to get groceries, then work on the plan.

And because I haven't mentioned it lately, now is an excellent time to read Small Magics, so you'll be ready when Cold Magics comes out.

Gabrielle Says Smart Things About Queries and Submissions

Gabrielle Harbowy is the highly talented and highly intelligent Editor-in-Charge over at Dragon Moon Press. On Monday she sent me a link to a great podcast interview she did about queries, submissions, and pitches on the Irreverent Muse.

Here is the interview.

Gabrielle knows that of which she speaks. For those aspiring writers out there, I suggest taking a listen and taking what she says to heart. Because nothing makes your submission end up in the garbage faster than not following the submission guidelines.

And to add to the coolness, she plugs Small Magics! And she likes my elevator pitch!

My Dinner with... well... Near Neil Gaiman

It was like having dinner with Neil Gaiman! Only he was sitting two tables away and talking to someone and I could only sit and watch casually because I didn't want to stare or do something crass like going over to interrupt him to start gushing about his work.

French-Canadian food. Great little restaurant and as soon as I remember the name, I'll put it in here.

But it was cool to see him! Wish I'd gotten to his signing, but I was running around like a mad creature pushing books and doing panels. Too bad. He seems like a neat guy, though he has a strange fascination with bees and bell jars.

So this is my six-day late-WorldCon wrap-up piece. Work has been busy as all get out and I've been too tired to do anything except edit a little bit and get to bed. Today, however, the house is mine, and I wanted to post about what an excellent time I had hanging out and going to panels and doing panels. It was all cool.

I spent a great deal of the convention hanging out at the Hades Publications table. Met Brian and Anita Hades, and had good talks with them. Excellent folks who run a fine publishing house (and I don't just say that because the publish Small Magics through their Dragon Moon Press imprint).

Also got to hang out with my soon-to-be editor Gabrielle Harbowy, who will be doing the edits on Cold Magics in the near future. Good woman, excellent editor, and fun to hang out with. She was also present during my dinner with near Neil Gaiman and can attest to the fact that he was two tables away and we didn't go over and act like idiots in front of him.

I didn't make it to any of the parties except the Tesseract book launch because exhaustion had its way with me. Work has been long and busy and home has been the same. Plus there's the writing which I need to finish ASAP.

The panels I attended were fun, and the ones that I was on were more so.

Panels I Attended: The Function of a Cover (sell books), Podcasting (get professional help), Elizabethans and fairies (didn't talk about fairies much, but lots about Elizabethans and magic).

Panels I was On:

Research and Writing (with Aliette de Bodard, Darlene Marshall, Mindy Klasky, S.M. Stirling -- ever feel like you're outclassed?). This was a great panel. The other panelists were extremely well-versed in the topic, and very well spoken. I discovered I was the moderator when I walked in the room, but managed to pull myself together to ask intelligent questions of the panelists and answer some of the audience questions fairly intelligently myself. Cannot say enough good things about this group and the audience we had. Thanks to everyone.

Also, met a woman from the audience who was the spitting image of someone with whom I went to high school. No relation at all, but a professor down in the USA (If you happen to read this, send me the name of your book [it was an academic study of on science fiction] I want to get a copy).

Martial Arts Primer for Writers (with Sean McMullen and Walter Jon Williams -- remember that outclassed thing I mentioned before? Here it is again!). This one was a hoot. Nothing like putting three martial artists on a panel and letting them go. Got put in an armbar by Sean, got to demonstrate some cloak and dagger fighting with help from an audience member's cloak, talked a whole bunch of martial arts and even managed to be occasionally on topic. Lots of fun.

I did two other panels: The Morning Workout with Birgit Houston on Saturday to which no one attended but myself and Birgit, who is a lovely woman and an excellent martial artist. And Fitness for Geeks with Nancy Louise Freeman (whose name I kept geting wrong. Sorry, Nancy!) which was all right, but under attended. Nancy was a great co-panelist and excellent to work with.

I was supposed to do another panel, but had to get on the highway instead.

And that's my time at Anticipation/WorldCon 2009. Great fun and maybe I'll get back to Anticipation next year, if I've got something to show (like a new book!)

UPDATE: The restuarant was the Restaurant Vallier. Great food. Try the halibut BLT (Yes, halibut. Welcome to Quebec). Thanks, Gabrielle!

Good Tips of Being on a Panel

Five days until I arrive at Anticipation (AKA WorldCon 2009), and I am prepping for my panels and getting my materials together. I'm getting all sorts of excited, first because it's WorldCon, which is going to be huge and great fun, but because it's Montreal, which is one of the most beautiful cities in Canada.

Meanwhile, my friend and editor-in-chief, Gabrielle Harbowy, is writing clever things on her blog about what to do as a panelist at a convention. It's a good little list and one that I will try to remember and no doubt forget and I wander around, enjoying the whole thing.

Look forward to seeing folks there. Now, I'm going to go do some of that editing on Cold Magics that I'm so far behind on.