Wednesday’s Writing: What if an Editor Wants Major Changes to Your Manuscript?

@GlenysOConnell


What would you refuse to change about your manuscript?

Okay, imagine this scenario. You’ve sent your query letter to the A list publisher of your dreams. An editor there has asked to see the full. You send out your carefully polished, shiny, hopeful, manuscript. 

Hopes were high. Time passed. Hopes dimmed, fingernails were bitten.

And then it happens. You get the call!

They want to publish your book! (pause for writerly happy dancing).

Except for one tiny wee problem. The editor wants you to make changes.

Well, no problem, right?You know it's true that editors want to make your book the best it can be. Still...

She sends the ms back to you, and you gasp a little at the sight of all that red ink. Still, closer inspection shows a lot of it is grammar, so you blush a bit and resolve to refresh your grammar skills. Still no problem.

Then you look further. Uhmmm, there are some publishers’ style formatting. That’s no problem, either.

What’s this? How can she possibly ask you to do this?

Your hopes plummet.


The editor has just asked you to rewrite or delete a part of your story that’s dear to your heart.

When you started writing this book, sure, it was fiction. Entertainment. But there was a little core message you wanted to get across to your readers, too. Something you simply had to say. An issue that you felt strongly about. It may be your characters’ ethnic backgrounds. Their line of work. A social issue that you touched on because it means a lot to you.

Maybe a theme of domestic violence. Maybe a whisper about child abuse. Perhaps a company which pollutes, or a crooked politician. Maybe the destruction of an indigenous culture.

All things that make headlines and you feel the message adds relevance to your book. After all, you don’t just want to write fluff, do you? You’re a serious writer and feel your social observations are relevant.

Not that you’re beating your readers over the head with your views, just skating over a topic that might make someone think, or even change a life. Or perhaps it’s something that you cherish from your own background that you feel others might benefit from considering. 

Whatever, that reference means a lot to you.

And the editor wants it out. And she makes it plain that this is a deal breaker.

Oh, the pain of that decision. Do you back down and accept the decision that your feel robs your work of serious relevance? Is it, in your eyes, reducing your carefully crafted story to fluffy feel-good?


Time to sit back and consider. Understand that this is probably not a personal attack on you and your values, but a cold-blooded decision based on company policy. 

Your decision may well be informed by how desperate you are to be published. Some writers decide well, okay, I’ll go along with this until I have some sales and readership clout, and then all bets are off. Nothing wrong with that, if you’re happy to take the chance.

Most editors have one eye on their publisher’s market. Whether they think something will offend or turn off their potential buyers. Her request to cut a reference from your work may simply be business, not prudery or a right wing conspiracy. Most issues come down to economic considerations, in my view.

Second, maybe there’s some misunderstanding. Think about the reasons she has given for this deletion. Don’t be afraid to email or call and ask why she thinks this should be gone. Then decide if those reasons are something you can accept.

Consider if there is some more subtle way you can rewrite and slip your message into the story. A big question that’s usually asked in these cases is: Does this move the story along? Is it an essential part of the plot? If you had to labor and wriggle to bring your special interest into the story, then maybe you are using the wrong platform.

I know that this is a dilemma many writers ponder, wondering what they would do. Yet it is something that you can’t possibly decide in advance, because you simply don’t know what issue you’d be dealing with. Catch 22, no?

Monday’s Motivation: Failure Into Success?

@GlenysOConnell

Quote: ‘Failure stretches your edges. Excellence takes you deep within a narrow pool, but failure grows your breadth.’ - Jennifer Boykin, 'Life After Tampons'.


  I ended last week feeling just like this – stop the world, I want to get off! Oh, to go back to childhood and worry about nothing more than whether to crayon the sky blue or green…

Of course, that’s a myth. Personally, I think we’re not intended to come out of childhood unscathed. After all, what growth would there be in  that? How would that fit us for being adults?

Still and all, last week was a bummer from start to finish. Began with news that a project I was keen on might be permanently stalled, went on to drag in some totally unrelated but very vexatious issues, and ended with two projects still in limbo.

So I spent the weekend vacillating about when it was time to simply let something go, something that’s not working and looks like it is getting worse, rather than better. And wow, did that encourage that nasty feeling of failure to creep in.

Now, as a writer I know that perhaps the number one success requirement – after talent, that is – is persistence. Keeping on going when it looks like all is lost. Hanging on by the fingernails to your belief that this really can work. But also, there is a moment in time when you choose between giving up and going on. Ever heard that old saying: It’s always darkest before the dawn? Well, gee, I’m sure we’ve all seen those dark moments, and sometimes chosen to give up right before the moment when dawn’s light was beginning to brighten our horizons.

We’ve been taught that failure is a bad thing, something that indicates weakness and a whole range of moral deficiencies. I’ve never really subscribed to that theory, because I know that sometimes things happen that are outside our control.

But the idea of failure leading to success? That’s a hard one to take in. I’m happy to say I found some comforting advice on a blog I read often, called Life After Tampons. Jennifer Boykin, who owns the blog, is a sweet and sassy woman who mentors others with kindness and wisdom.

In her blog, A Word About Failure, she made this statement that really spoke to me: ‘Failure stretches your edges. Excellence takes you deep within a narrow pool, but failure grows your breadth.’

Failure, she says, brings wisdom, and perhaps it is possible that wisdom can’t arrive without failure.

I thought about this a lot. Wisdom is vital in understanding yourself and what you’re trying to achieve. And with that understanding, such wisdom can light the path to success.

In other words, screw up enough times and, if you learn from those screw-ups, success could just be within your grasp. Interesting take on  it all, isn’t it?

Thanks, Jenn – I needed that.

Do call over and visit Life After Tampons. Even if you’re not a woman ‘of a certain age’ you’ll still value the sass and sense you’ll find there!

Saturday Snippets: First Pages: Another Man’s Son

@GlenysOConnell


So, last Saturday I put up the first page of my very first romantic suspense novel, Judgement By Fire. Never one to work to a system, this week I’m giving you the first page of my most recently published romantic suspense, Another Man’s Son.

Another Man’s Son is one of the delicious Lobster Cove series being published by The Wild Rose Press #TWRP. It’s the first time I have worked with other writers to create a series, and it’s been, well, an experience! There are very talented writers working on this, with a wide variety of book genres from sweet to paranormal to quite risque indeed! 

Something for everyone, really – and all set in this neat little Maine town of Lobster Cove. The place, if it existed, would be everyone’s dream of a small town seaside paradise. If you could get over the murders and strange happenings, that is! But love is certainly always in the air in Lobster Cove.

Here’s the blurb for Another Man’s Son:

Another Man's Son

Kathryn Morgan broke Ben Asher's heart when he returned from military service in Afghanistan to find she'd married her boss, wealthy banker Ket Morgan Jr. 

Ben vowed he’d never return to Lobster Cove but now, seven years later, he is back as an undercover FBI agent sworn to expose the Morgan family’s criminal activities. Will his vow to bring down the notorious Morgans extend to the woman he still loves? 

When Kathryn’s son is kidnapped, she is forced to swallow her pride and reveal the secret of another man's son. Can Ben protect Kathryn and her son from Ket and his sinister friends, or will And the First Pageold hurts and secrets destroy them all?

And the First Page:

The growl of the powerful engine turned heads among the early tourist crowd as Ben Asher rode the Harley hog along the waterfront. It was early evening and the sun was just slipping down below the ocean, tickling the quiet wavelets with pink and purple, painting the sky rich shades of rose and crimson.

He let the big bike drift to a stop near one of the piers, pausing to let the familiar essence of the tourist trap town wash over him—the smells of hot dogs and pretzel stands, the salty tang of the sea, the screams of laughter from people and the squawks of gulls.

The beauty of the coastal town made little impression on him as he started up the motorcycle again and, making a sharp turn from Main onto Pine and out into the countryside, finally slowed to pass through an ornate gateway into the parking lot of The Club. He cut the engine and, in the sudden silence that followed, gulls squawked at the intrusion from the rooftops of the elegant country club. Music and laughter spilled out from the upscale establishment as well dressed people came and went from the celebration inside.
Celebrating was not something Ben planned to do tonight. This was a command performance, his presence having been required by the town’s councillors to introduce him as the newly-appointed sheriff, even if it was a temporary situation while Sheriff Lawton was on her honeymoon.

He straddled the bike for a few minutes longer, putting off his appearance with the town’s movers and shakers. He unzipped his leather jacket, enjoying the nip of the cool evening air Seven years had passed since he’d shaken the dust of Lobster Cove from his feet, and he wasn’t happy to be back.
****
Kathryn Morgan gripped the smooth wood of the low balcony rail to steady herself as she surveyed the glittering crowd swaying rhythmically to music on the small, crowded dance floor below. She’d drunk champagne on an empty stomach to bolster herself for this evening and already the bubbly brew was taking affect, making her light-headed and manically happy.

She had balked at coming here tonight; knowing it would be too painful to bear. He was going to be here. Pain and anger had ambushed her when they’d told her the town was holding a special celebration dinner for homecoming hero and new acting sheriff, Ben Asher. How she once had longed to see his face again, and then later prayed she never would.

Under the crystal chandeliers in The Club’s ballroom were the same familiar faces. People she’d known all her life. No, not known, she corrected herself. Kathryn Fitzgerald had been too lowly to actually be friends with these folk who even now tolerated her only because she was Ketler Morgan Junior’s wife. These were the upper echelons of this small town society, people who nodded acknowledgement of her because of her place at the top of the heap. But friends? No, her friends weren’t here tonight. Kathryn sighed. She’d done what she had to do for all the right reasons. What a pity the outcome was so wrong.

Monday’s Inspiration: Quotes From Writers

@GlenysOConnell

It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.” – Gabriel García Márquez.

Have you ever read or heard a quote and wham! you get that funny feeling in your breastbone? The one that speaks directly to you? I often put the ones that appeal to me in that way up on this blog, like the one above by the late Gabriel Garcia Márquez.

I hope youy enjoy them, maybe even find inspiration in them. If so, you’ll probably really like the collection of quotes from writers here: Fifteen Powerful Quotes .

It’s quotes from ‘writers we lost this year’ (2014) and is compiled by BuzzFeed. I found it on the Book Baby Blog. Both are interesting blogs to follow.

Saturday Snippets: First Pages: Judgement By Fire

@GlenysOConnell

Which of the two powerful men in her life wants Lauren dead?

We’re about to start a new month, so I thought I’d start something new: Posting the first page of each of my books. Just a taster, so to speak!
Judgement By Fire is my first novel, written over a long period of time while snatching minutes from a full time job, a part time job, a hobby farm and family with four kids. These days I wonder where the energy came from!

This was published b y Red Rose Publishing, which is now defunct,(a whole other story) so I went on to revise and publish it in dependently. I thoroughly enjoyed the Indie publishing process and went on to do it a few times more!

So here goes, your taste of the first page of Judgement By Fire! Enjoy!

BLURB: 

Canadian wildlife artist Lauren Stephens swore off men after her marriage collapsed and burned. Instead, she's focused on her increasingly successful art career and made her home in an artists' colony based around an old mansion estate in Ontario.

When a multi-national corporation wants to buy the estate and turn it into a health spa for the very rich, turning the artists and writers out of their rented cottages, Lauren volunteers to lead the protest against the sale. The move brings her into direct conflict with Jon Rush, the powerful CEO of Rush Co. International.

An instant attraction springs up between them, although Lauren is reluctant to trust the handsome industrialist. When Lauren's studio is trashed and her life is threatened, Jon fears she's being targeted by the mysterious person trying to destroy his company – a villain not afraid to use violence in his determination to see Jon suffer.

But is there a darker shadow over Lauren? And can Jon save her from a Judgement By Fire?

Chapter One

“Damn it, Warren, surely you can come up with something better than this?” Jon Rush, president of

one of Canada’s largest independent business conglomerates, glared at the man who faced him across the cluttered mahogany desktop.

“I pay you for facts, not fairy tales. You’ve taken a whole series of unrelated events and turned them into some kind of soap opera plot!” Jon ran his fingers through his thick blond hair in a characteristic gesture of frustration.

It was the gesture the heavyset black man across the desk had been waiting for. Warren Dillon, chief of security for Rush Co., was one of the few men who knew Jon Rush well enough not to be intimidated in the face of his anger. Their friendship went back a long way, back to the dark days of their tour of duty in the burning deserts of the Persian Gulf, where the privileged son of a Canadian industrialist and the angry young black youth from the Southside slums of Chicago had forged a lasting friendship.

Coolly, Dillon watched as Jon Rush slammed down the thick red file folder causing a small blizzard of papers to break loose from their untidy stacks on the desk. Then he let out a heavy sigh and, leaning forward in his leather-covered chair, began speaking slowly and quietly, punctuating his words with a stabbing forefinger.

“Jon, your problem is you just won’t believe anyone would betray Rush Co. from the inside. Didn’t you learn anything in the Gulf? You’ve said it yourself - everyone has their price.” He paused for a moment, waiting for Jon’s face to react as the words sank in, and then continued in the same deep, intense tone.

“Even you have to admit that Rush Co. is in trouble. We’ve gone from being the golden-haired boy of the stock market to a walking crisis center in just a few months. Do you really believe that’s just bad luck? Well, do you? Or would you rather own up to jackass management?”

End of Page One, Judgement By Fire If this tweaked your appetite for more, you can read the entire first chapter for free at http://glenysoconnell.webs.com/firstchapters.htm

Wednesday’s Writing: If You Can Talk, You Can Blog.

@GlenysOConnell
 Blogs are a great promotional tool for writers – and they can be fun, too! I know some people back off from the idea of blogging and there are many reasons.

The most common would be: 1)  What Do I say? 2) Who’d Be Interested? 3) Every Week! I don’t have time! 4) It’s too complicated. 5) I’d feel silly – what would it actually achieve?

Taking number 1) If you can talk, you can blog. The best blogs are conversational in tone, and you can chat about what interests you. I have a blog most Mondays which simply features quotes that I’ve found inspiring and hope will inspire others.

2) Who’d be interested? Lots and lots of readers actually seek out blogs for information and entertainment. Write yours well, make it interesting, post on social media, and they will come.

3) I don’t have time! Sure, I confess that sometimes I miss a blog date because of deadlines, personal happenings, or being just too darned tired to be inspired. But mostly, blogging has become part of my routine and I enjoy the challenge of coming up with a subject and writing 500 words, less or more, about it. Usually I can find something that interests me enough to chat about, either from experience or from research that I do on a subject. Think of it as a way of increasing your own knowledge and strengthening your writing skills!

4) It’s actually not complicated at all. You can dedicate a page on your website - you do have a website, yes? – or use one of the free blogging engines like Wordpress or Blogger. Quite a few writers don’t bother having a formal webpage any longer, as they can use their blog for the same purpose. These blogging sites offer templates and lots of help programs built in. Trust me, if I can do it, you can!

5) What would it actually achieve? Wow! Obviously that depends on your subject, why you’re blogging, and how you go about it. The first thing, really, is to give some value to your readers, something they can take away. That can be as simple as information, with links to further information if you can, (mentioning the source, especially if it is from someone else’s blog, with a link will get you brownie points!) or something to think about, or a smile that brightens their day. Blogging makes you visible, and the reason many authors aren't selling their books is because of 'invisibility'. Readers need to get to know you, and a blog is great for that.

A title helps bring people to your blog – look at the one on this page: If You Can Talk, You Can Blog. It got you here, didn’t it?

Blog titles are a bit like book titles: they grab the readers attention either by offering information or by something intriguing. I have a book titled The No Sex Clause and yes, that grabs a lot of attention. Sounds a bit raunchier than it is, but people want to know why there’s a need for such a clause, and what happens between the sexy couple on the cover…an attention getter.

This blog is called Romance Can Be Murder, because that’s what I write about: Stories with romance and mystery (and a few murders). I also have a touch of humor in my books, which is reflected in the blog title, too  

Some of the most successful blogs combine information with a style like chatting to your best friend. They can be very short, or quite long, but bear in mind this is work that will appear on the Web, so try to keep paragraphs short, dole out in formation in little bits rather than huge lumps that would choke a reader.

Most of all, while blogging is a great way to get your name in front of readers, it shouldn’t be used to constantly sell, sell, sell your work. Mention a book release, use your work as an example, but constantly asking readers to buy, buy, buy your books without giving them anything else is going to mean your blog gets lonely fast.

So, now it’s your turn. What adventures have you had in the Blogosphere?

Wednesday’s Writing: The What If? Game, Characters, Motivation, & Ideas.

@GlenysOConnell

Today I’m going to talk about characters, motivation, stereotypes and The What If? Game.
Now, you might think that some of this applies only to fictional writing, not to personal essays or to non-fiction. But all forms of writing involve characters, and to paint them well in your writing, you need to understand them, who they are and what makes them tick.
There are lots of stereotypes out there and there’s an argument to be made for stereotypes rather like the one for cliches: that there a number of traits in humans that appear over and over again. Think more closely, though: the jolly fat person; the ruthless Type A personality; the sweet granny; the crazy cat lady; the nutty professor; the neurotic housewife.
All stereotypes; all have some truth in them. But how many really jolly overweight people do you know? Happy, well adjusted housewives? Contented Type A’s? Smart, ambitious grannies? Perfectly ordinary professors? Jolly fat folk, not so many. But plenty of people who exhibit one or two traits but do not fit the stereotype.
Because we’re human. we all have many different traits rolled into one personality and it’s a big mistake – and lazy - to stereotype your characters along these simplistic lines.
Motivation, experience, and characterization go together. People react differently to different events based on their own natural inclinations colored by their experiences. Even if they appear, on the surface, to fit a particular personality stereotype, they won’t react true to that stereotype because of their different experiences.
So your characters shouldn't be stereotyped, either.  Everything your character does is a reaction to events (or perceived events), based on his own personality and past experiences. For example, someone who is very confident, from a safe, financially secure family background, reacts a whole lot differently to a setback than someone who has never had money or family support, has no backup systems and a lot to lose.
For example:
The company folds:
The company CEO, we’ll call him Jack, is probably relieved. After years of work, he looks forward to early retirement with his golden handshake
The tea boy, Stu, knows he doesn’t have much by way of qualifications and doesn't have much chance of finding another job, so he’s depressed.
Lizzie, whose husband owns his own car dealership, shrugs and thinks she'll have to persuade her husband to pay for her facelift, after all.
Peter just got married and took out a mortgage, sure that he’ll get promotions and raises to build a secure future for his family, one he didn’t have growing up. Probably the worst hit of all, unless his wife has a very good job and even then he may experience panic or depression.
Superficially, you would imagine that they would all react according to their circumstances. But we can shake that up a bit. This is where we play the What If game -
What if Jack, the company CEO, has been embezzling and knows that the auditor will look at the books closely now the company has folded? He may be looking at jail time.
What if Stu, our teaboy, doesn’t give a damn about his lack of qualifications for another job, because he just won the $4.5 million lottery?
What if Lizzie was planning to leave her abusive husband and this job was a way of squirreling some money away for herself?
What if Peter's new wife is the daughter of a very rich family who hate Peter and will use his lack of a job to try to pry them apart?
Do you see how the storylines can emerge – and what a difference the non-stereotyped personality and motivation makes?
It's important to avoid stereotypes. People are complex beings, and nothing ruins a good book more than putting obvious motivations onto clichéd characters.
Taken from Naked Writing: The No Frills Way to Write Your Book.