tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post7416558573180922652..comments2024-03-26T18:28:06.391-04:00Comments on Evil Editor: Face-Lift 1152Evil Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-51117805114417565572013-09-11T20:33:52.881-04:002013-09-11T20:33:52.881-04:00Always great advice here. #8 has been making me la...Always great advice here. #8 has been making me laugh too much.<br />CavalierdeNuithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09862976676163347369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-30840428548187189562013-09-11T10:12:04.160-04:002013-09-11T10:12:04.160-04:00Some adult immigrants have made the transfer and b...<br />Some adult immigrants have made the transfer and become successful English language writers, probably having already been excellent writers in their first language. Aleksandar Hemon and Abraham Verghese come to mind.<br /><br />(Come to think of it, the latter grew up in Addis Ababa.)<br /><br />As for traditional publishing, it's still training wheels in the Tour de France, water-wings in the Olympics. It doesn't matter how good those water-wings are, you're still going up against Ye Shiwen.<br /><br />Or to drop all metaphors... in traditional publishing, new writers aren't required to be as good as the ones who are already being published. They're required to be better. And if a writer needs to hire an editor just to ready the manuscript for submission, then he or she is not going to make the grade. Not when there are thousands of people trying to get in the door, and hundreds of them are good, and dozens of them are excellent, and only a few are going to get in.<br /><br />I haven't encountered exceptions, other than the one 150 mentioned. In that case the writer usually has some other selling point (eg they pitched in the World Series and/or were kidnapped by aliens).<br /><br />Those are my admittedly discouraging but realistic thoughts.AlaskaRavenclawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-23788590818162107782013-09-11T07:35:22.665-04:002013-09-11T07:35:22.665-04:00I think for someone who is not a native speaker a ...I think for someone who is not a native speaker a professional editor may be a good bridge whilst they become comfortable with the language. Even if they plan to traditionally publish.<br /><br />Then again, there are so many people I have known here who never developed an ear for American turns of phrase. Mostly they came as adults. Two or three years is not usually enough an immersion for an adult to assimilate language. Many of my colleagues from China India and Japan, who spent decades learning English, are still flummoxed by our cadence and grammar construction. (Not to mention slang, or subtleties like implication and innuendo)<br /><br />Then again, a six hour drive to Kentucky will leave ME at a loss...<br /><br />When your livelihood is words, it is best to make sure you are using the right ones. I believe a good editor will help at that basic level. <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18159799725109784001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-23495109599238284312013-09-11T03:58:06.550-04:002013-09-11T03:58:06.550-04:00I'm wondering what the connection with the cuc...I'm wondering what the connection with the cuckoo is. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-83805079165551215952013-09-10T15:58:39.747-04:002013-09-10T15:58:39.747-04:00Good point, 150. In that case, yes.
Good point, 150. In that case, yes. <br /><br />AlaskaRavenclawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-10772340629100898462013-09-10T15:04:00.942-04:002013-09-10T15:04:00.942-04:00It's just not something I'd recommend to s...<i>It's just not something I'd recommend to someone whose goal was "traditional" publication.</i><br /><br />I might recommend it if the goal is a one-off traditionally published book (like a memoir) and not a career. If the author only has one book in them and never cares to write a second.150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-50800850288021493022013-09-10T12:31:48.079-04:002013-09-10T12:31:48.079-04:00Keep writing. It is its own reward. If you sell so...<i>Keep writing. It is its own reward. If you sell something, that’s a bonus. Be certain to enjoy your writing; that is the biggest payoff.</i><br /><br />Now that's good advice.<br /><br />AlaskaRavenclawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-47600926113401624642013-09-10T12:29:21.959-04:002013-09-10T12:29:21.959-04:00Veronica, I can totally see the value of hiring an...Veronica, I can totally see the value of hiring an editor for a self-publisher. After all, if you don't hire an editor there, you have no editor. It's just not something I'd recommend to someone whose goal was "traditional" publication.<br />AlaskaRavenclawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-22240049458266974212013-09-09T23:13:39.207-04:002013-09-09T23:13:39.207-04:00Osman,
Join an online critique group. If it doesn...Osman,<br /><br />Join an online critique group. If it doesn’t work for you, choose another one until you find one you like.<br /><br />You should have at most one question in a query and it is best at the end of the plot. <br />Your median sentence, except the questions, is 51 words long. That is too long for a query. <br /><br />Two people cannot get into a motel bathtub. One person cannot drown in a motel bathtub. But it can happen in an in-suite whirlpool at a luxury hotel. <br /><br />Try to write about things you know. Or invent your own fantasy world. Try writing short stories. When you get magazines to pay you for your short stories, you’ll be there. The magazines will tell you what they look for in stories. <br /><br />Keep writing. It is its own reward. If you sell something, that’s a bonus. Be certain to enjoy your writing; that is the biggest payoff.<br />Mister Furkleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156977719916770984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-51306565366398018942013-09-09T22:49:33.384-04:002013-09-09T22:49:33.384-04:00Alaska,
As for professional editing, I have a fri...Alaska, <br />As for professional editing, I have a friend whose self-pub works are phenomenal. She is an excellent writer, but hires a professional editor to catch what she may miss in the process. <br /><br />Before anyone jumps on me for mentioning self-pubbers, this gal has sold so many books/serials through Amazon they are looking to contract her for more via their own publishing imprint. Not erotica. YA and NA sci-fi- and dystopian....<br /><br />I have, myself, done freelance editing. Particularly for non-native English authors looking to publish in the US, both fiction and non-fiction. It's a word-of-mouth business for me. Still, if I chose to self-publish I'd seek a professional's opinion on the work. And, I won an editing job from that diabetes auction in May for that objective. Not EE, sadly. (Too rich for my blood.) I figured only good editors would be part of that operation. Plus, the tax-deductible benefit was a big factor. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18159799725109784001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-23714897717844735872013-09-09T19:49:47.066-04:002013-09-09T19:49:47.066-04:00Author, I think you'd do well by finding a wri...Author, I think you'd do well by finding a writing/critique partner from the Anglophone world. They could help you a great deal. The setup of your story is interesting. What you must do now is find someone who can help with the rough parts.khazar-khumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-27482823621866156112013-09-09T16:42:48.963-04:002013-09-09T16:42:48.963-04:00Veronica, what's your thinking on the professi...Veronica, what's your thinking on the professional editing? I never advise people to go that route because 1. there are quality control issues and 2. you've either got it or you don't. No training wheels in the Tour de France.<br /><br />But I'd be interested to hear what you're thinking.<br />AlaskaRavenclawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-92226621195293144792013-09-09T14:34:40.372-04:002013-09-09T14:34:40.372-04:00Hi Author,
Yes. Your English phrasing is a bit awk...Hi Author,<br />Yes. Your English phrasing is a bit awkward. I never suspected you were a native speaker...<br /><br />Also, how does a man 'accidentally' kill his wife and he lover in the bath of a motel? Did he drop a toaster in the water by mistake? It's not like he mistook the rat poison box for the Skinny & Sweet whilst sweetening the coffee... (Gold star for anyone who picks out the film reference there.)<br /><br />You have the beginnings of a book here, but there is no doubt it will require editing...which will likely cut more words.<br /><br />I wish I had some plot elements here to critique. The whole thing is vague, and, no offense, I'm not sure i want to spend my time learning more about an accidental murderer trying to shield himself from prosecution.<br /><br />Go back to the manuscript and write more. Then, have it professionally edited. Then, when it's ready for the light of day, write a query that describes the plot and contains no vague statements or rhetorical questions. <br /><br />Also, if the almost-witness is an actual bird, I'm going to go Matlock on your Perry-Mason-self. This melodrama is beyond the pale of today's standards. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18159799725109784001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-58631318368138873932013-09-09T14:33:06.933-04:002013-09-09T14:33:06.933-04:00Hello, Osman. Your English is very good; better th...Hello, Osman. Your English is very good; better than that of many of the Ethiopians I've met in the US.<br /><br />The thing is, though, that it's very good English for someone who lives in Ethiopia. If you lived in the US, or Canada, or one of those other English-speaking countries, you'd have a feel for English that you just can't get without living it.<br /><br />I can well believe the Amharic fiction market isn't huge. The English-speaking fiction market probably looks appealingly large from where you're sitting. But it's also highly, highly competitive.<br /><br />I can think of several immigrants who learned English and became successful English-language writers, but I can't think of one person who stayed in their own country and did so.<br /><br />So my advice, if becoming an English-language author is really what you're determined to do, is to find a way to spend a few years living among native English speakers. <br /><br />Good luck, and keep writing if it's really what you want to do.<br /><br />(Others will say: Keep writing. I put in the qualification because if there's something else you want to do more, then you should go do that instead. Writing is a thankless business on the whole.)<br />AlaskaRavenclawnoreply@blogger.com