I’m nearly done revising a digital-only, self-published novella for a charity anthology benefitting breast cancer research. ENTANGLED (9.12.11) has a great group of paranormal romance and supernatural thriller writers and I’m thrilled to be included. Because we’re self-publishing it, and because all the royalties for the first year will be donated to charity, I’m not going to see any money on it. And that’s okay because it’s for a good cause. I’ve written other free stories–for International Thriller Writers and for my website–so I’m just happy to do something that contributes back.
I decided to write a Seven Deadly Sins short story — originally, it was supposed to be 10-15K words, but right now my “short story” is novella length at 27K words. I’m editing it down tonight and revising. (I’d hoped to cut it to 20K, but I think it’ll end up being 22-23K.)
For “Ghostly Justice,” my Seven Deadly Sins novella, I hired my former editor to read and offer editorial advice. I could have submitted the story as I wrote and edited it and it wouldn’t have been bad. But I’m used to a certain level of editing, and I know that every one of my books has been better because of editorial input. In fact, I’ve written seventeen full-length novels and each one I have done one or two rounds of editorial revisions. I would panic without editorial input. And ultimately, if my name is on it I want to make sure it’s as strong a story as possible so that fans of the series won’t be disappointed. I don’t work with beta readers–my editor has been my first reader since book #4. (Books #1 and #2 I had a critique group, and then an agent read them; then book #3 my agent read first.)
There are two types of editorial — story and copy. Story is the editorial that I care most about. Yes, I want the copy clean (and honestly, I’m very spoiled ibecause most of my copy editors have been wonderful) but for me, story is king. The story has to be there–well-paced, great characters, organic conflict. Plus, I want the suspense to be as strong as I can possibly make it.
As the creator, I am so close to the story that I often can’t see the flaws. I know what I was thinking when I wrote a scene or chapter, and sometimes I think something isn’t clear and I over-explain. Or I think something is perfectly clear, because I know what I mean, but it’s not clear to the reader. A good editor can read the book and not only know what’s wrong with each scene, but how the book works as a whole. She can identify the small issues that take the story for good to great, and the big picture ideas that take the story from “this doesn’t work” to “this totally works.”
The Seven Deadly Sins series has two full-length novels, a novella and a short story all in the world I created. Because MORTAL SIN is delayed, I wanted to give fans a meaty story in this charity anthology, so I took a scene from CARNAL SIN where a witch (Julie), when on the astral plane, encounters a ghost at the L.A. County morgue. The ghost is stuck there because she’s a Jane Doe–no one knows her identity. She tells Julie who she is, and Julie’s dying wish is for her boyfriend (a cop) to find out what happened to Amy so she will no longer be trapped at the morgue. “Ghostly Justice” is the investigating into Amy Carney’s murder–it’s my take on vampires.
Charlotte identified some minor things through–confusing sentences, repetition, and some dialogue and character decisions that didn’t ring true. All easy fixes. But there were two big story issues that need fixing, which is what I’m doing right now.
1) Backstory. Some was easy (making it clear that Moira and Rafe are demon hunters) and some is more work (removing some of the unnecessary backstory.) As Charlotte pointed out, only the backstory relevant to the current story should be included, and that needs to be clear as soon as possible. But I’d included information about Moira’s mother Fiona and what happened in Santa Louisa and talked about characters that have no role in this story. All that is going, while making the relevant backstory clearer.
2) Why was Amy Carney not ID’d for six months?
The second one is the hardest. Because they have a recognizable body, she’s from a family who reported her missing, why didn’t they ID her? That’s what I’ve been thinking about all day. Because the whole story hinges on her being a Jane Doe–that part was already published in CARNAL SIN.
I think I have the solution, but it’s taking a bit of time to work it through. But this is what I love about revising–it makes me dig even deeper into my fictional world, my characters, and pushes me to be a better writer, and ultimately a better storyteller.
But writing is not just about WRITING, it’s about editing, a essential piece of the writing process. Which is why when I hear that some people don’t think they need editing, I cringe.
The other night, I retweeted a comment by agent Jessica Faust:
“It concerns me how many times I hear a self-pubbed author talk about taking on marketing themselves, but never once mention an editor”
This stuck out to me because I’m paying for an editor for a story I’m not getting money for because I think that editorial is the single most important component of writing a book after the first draft. EVERYONE can stand to be edited. SOME writers need less editing than others, but ALL writers benefit from editorial input. (And there is the issue of editors who aren’t a good match for the author and that creates creative conflict, but that’s a completely different issue.)
After I retweeted that comment, a fellow writer/teacher said yeah! She wished she could convince her students of that–that one guy said he’d hire a marketing person, but not an editor. Which prompted me to respond with a flip, “If I only had $1000 to spend on a self-published book, I’d spend $800 on an editor and $200 on a cover designer.”
That was an off-the-cuff comment, but as I thought about it I realized I truly believe that. Cover = package (the package reflects the type of story the reader will get in a compelling and graphically intriguing way) and editor = quality-control (does the content support the package? Is the story worth the readers time and expense?)
I recognize that not every editor on the planet is a good editor. And every editor has a different way of working–and sometimes, finding the right editor is like finding the right agent. The first or second person might not quite fit with your style or needs. But when you find that golden editor and you click — you will never want to give her up. A good editor shines a light on the flaws, but doesn’t tell you how to fix it–she leaves the story in your hands. You may not always agree with the editor — and that’s okay. Sometimes, I leave something as is, or tweak it because it was obvious my editor didn’t understand my intent. But I consider every editorial comment on the manuscript.
The other writer/teacher said her student planned on using free cover art from someone he met on-line. Great … if they’re good. But if they’re good, why are they designing covers for strangers for free? Cover art is something else I’m willing to pay for because that draws in readers of the genre who may never have heard of Allison Brennan.
If you’re going to put your name on a book and want to build a readership and go the self-published route, paying for an editor is worth it, IMO. Not just a copy editor, but a story editor.
Now, for something (sort-of) completely different … I’ve written several short stories recently. When I wrote my first short story for the KILLER YEAR anthology, it was one of the hardest things I ever did (and it wasn’t all that great, either–too much going on in six thousand words.) But after writing several short stories and novellas, I’ve discovered the joy of writing short. (Meaning, stories between 10-30k words. Much shorter than 10K is very hard for me!) Writing short helps me write tighter and more focused stories, but it also lets me explore ideas that wouldn’t sustain a full-length novel. (Though, I’ll admit, “Ghostly Justice” could easily have been a 100K word book. I had to consciously remove secondary story threads to keep it as focused as possible.)
Some readers don’t like short stories or novellas because they don’t feel like they have enough story. My mom isn’t a big fan of short stories, for example. However, I grew up reading Stephen King’s novellas and short stories and loving them. For the last decade or so, there’s been a contraction of the short story market — particularly magazines which were the main places for short story placement. I think there’s a resurgence of short stories in the last couple years, not in magazines, but on-line and in multi-author anthologies. I think this is a great thing, but what do you think? Do you like reading shorter stories? What’s the last short story/novella you read that you’d recommend to Murder She Writes readers? Or do you not like short fiction?
I don’t really like to read stories under 100 pages unless it features a character from a series so I have lots of backstory in my head already.
I recently read a new anthology (Naked City, all UF) with a Dresden story by Jim Butcher. Since I’ve read the books in the series and live near Chicago and am familiar with the Cubs/bad luck goat story, I enjoyed it. I don’t think it would really appeal to new readers.
I can’t think of any short story/novella that was really great, especially in the mystery/crime genre. The only ones that come to mind is J.A. Konrath’s Jack Daniels Stories, and they are hit or miss. Again, you get more out of them if you’ve read the full length books.
Good point Anne–and I agree, writing a short story within an existing world is fun for the series readers, but much, much harder to attract new readers, which is what makes writing short stories so hard. I think Stephen King is the master, so I’m re-reading his short stories as I get a chance. But his short stories aren’t really “short” — they’re mostly novellas. Thanks!
Allison, what a terrific post! Editing is essential for each story no matter how many you’ve written for a number of reasons, all of which you’ve clearly defined. And also because you learn something every time! Learning keeps you on your toes!
I do learn something all the time! I remember when I got back the line edits for either Love Me To Death or Kiss Me, Kill Me and they were very light. I was stunned. (My first few books were heavily line edited, then my next six or so were moderate.) My editor said that my writing had become sharper and he didn’t need to edit as much. I was thrilled–I think I absorbed a lot of his edits into my writing because I was making a lot of the same *errors* (not really errors, but sloppy writing.)
I do enjoy shorts stories. I enjoy them more if they are part of a series that I have read and I enjoy full length novels the best, but if I don’t have a large block of time and just want a little enjoyment for a short period they really hit the spot. I have a problem putting down a book once I start it if the story is really good and reading a short story will help me not obsess over the story when I should be doing something else 🙂
Amy, I’m the same way about books–I don’t like to put them down!
Speaking of short story/novelles, I received the copy of Love is Murder just in time for my *short* 4-day family vacation to the fishing condo. Yes, I’ve plastered a smile on my face and am marching out the truck in a few hours for a weekend of – fishing.
Thank you so much, it arrived just in time!
I’m not a big short story/novella reader. The last two I read were “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” by Stephanie Meyer and “Tales of Beedle the Bard” by J.K. Rowling. I preread them before my kids.
I liked both because they were additions to stories I already knew.
My biggest problem with books under 100 pages is that they usually don’t set up the story and scenes well enough which is why I think they work better as additions to an established novel series.
Congrats on the final edit! I know that feels good. 🙂
My daughter has read both those short books–
I’m glad you got the novella in the nick of time! LOL. Enjoy!
Ya know…self-publishing has a bad rap because it seems many authors DON’T bother with an editor. When I work with my CP, I’m tough! But my own stuff? I’m way too close to the story to see the story flaws. I’ve learned to write POV, active voice, and check for pet phrases in the first draft but for my life, story continuity and following up on threads is my bugaboo! I’m slowly learning techniques to fix that, too, but self-pubbing without an editor’s input? *holds up crossed fingers and shudders*
Now, for short stories, I’ve had two shorts published for an anthology series centered around a 25th year high school reunion. They were fun to write, but man, I had to scramble to learn to keep secondary characters to minimum and focus on the main story thread. Now that I have them under my belt, one of my current WIPs is a three-novella anthology, all written by me with a common story arc. Each of the stories can stand alone but none of them can stand alone as a full-length book. This is a new format for me and I’m rather enjoying exploring it. If it doesn’t sell, I may attempt a self-pub venture with it, just for fun.
Keep us posted on the ENTANGLED project. I’ll snag a copy as soon as it’s available. What a great cause!
That’s the thing with short stories — trying to keep them focused.
Hi Allison,
I saw the quote, too. Maybe you re-tweeted it? And I wholeheartedly agree. Good editing is critical to any book. I think a lot of people lose sight of that. I was amused recently to read a BLOG about self-publishing that was 13,000 words. To me, that shows a lack of editing. I always need an editor to help trim, develop, and point out story holes before my work is ready for readers.
I did RT the quote. I think I’m kind of stunned when I hear anyone who says, “I don’t need to be edited.” I know of a NYT bestselling author who writes extremely clean books that truly need nothing but copyediting, but even she has said she wants editor input. I know I need it, and I want it. If a book is really strong, I still can tweak, trim, and layer for an even better book.
i passionately love short stories, and would be happy to see a resurgence. ironically, my big fear is related to your post today. now that people are self-pubbing shorter works they happen to have on hand, a great many are going out without proper editing and attention. the *last* thing we need is a glut of underdeveloped short fiction. the best short works – going back to masters we love like mccullers and o’conner – were very, very carefully written, every word
I have four unpublished manuscripts–the first four I wrote. I will not be self-publishing them. They need far too much work. Are they total crap? No–well, one is, but the other three have potential. But I’ve become a much better writer since, and it would be much easier to completely rewrite the stories rather than edit them. And that would take as long as writing a brand new book.
I do love short stories — remember THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson? I STILL think about that story!!! Stephen King’s best movies came from short stories. (The Shawshank Redemption, The Langoliers, The Secret Window.)
I love writing short stories, even more than reading them. In fact, I don’t even know if I can write and finish anything longer than a short story or a novella. The longest I have finished is 27K ish. I don’t know, short stories work for me because I hate description. I often skim through it in books. Once it starts to get too descriptive, I start to drift away and I have difficulty to focus, especially lately. So, short story are good because they have no space for stalling, they’re very straight to the point, only that’s essential to the story. They tell a whole story in a concise, precise manner, and I really like that. Yay for short stories.
I’m not that much into writing description, either … or reading it. But some short stories (I’m thinking Jack London, Edgar Allan Poe) are full of long descriptive passages. They often set the mood, but today, I’d suggest trimming 🙂
What a thoughtful gesture. Best wishes for the success of Entangled.
I picked up a copy of Dr. Susan Love’s book; then, a few days later, a newer edition was available to me. The differences between the two made clear what incredible strides in basic understanding are being made, thanks to research and people like you who help fund it.
Research is the key, and most funding is private. I’m happy to do a small part. My daughter does the walk for life (relay for life?) every year. One of her teachers had breast cancer and now a large group of kids are involved in the walk.
I don’t know alot about the whole book making process from start to finish but i will say a editor is a very important part of it. I imagine some authors do need it more than others but if it’s not done well all the other work to get a completed project i would think would be a big waste of time without editing. It ticks readers off when a books has so many spelling errors and plot points that go no where. A few things maybe but some are pretty bad. i can usually skim over it and in my mind figure out what they really meant and move on but others really get ticked. One of the last really good novella’s i read was new author Sierra Dean’s The Secret Guide to Dating Monsters. I’ve been lucky enough to read her stuff early and review it and i was so into it that when it ended i really said No no no it’s not done lol It is a part of her Secret McQueen series. I love novella’s for in between books in a series. Keeps my interest peaked. Christine Feehan’s Magic in the Wind intro’d the Drake sisters series and got me into her books. I’ve read them all since reading that Novella. I guess I’m saying they matter. lol
Lisa B
I enjoy reading a short story when I don’t have a lot of time to read. So I read them pretty often.
I’m not a reader of fiction so could not recommend any short stories for that genre but I do read short stories in the genres I enjoy.
The best short story I read recently was Hearts in Darkness by Laura Kaye. How it managed to be hot and sweet at the same time and managed a whole story in 87 pages on my nook, I will never know. But it managed all that and managed to stay with me long after the last page was read.
I like short stories. Not for all of my reading but sometimes. I like to mix up what I am reading and short stories are a great break in the action. Also, I am able to sample lots of authors and decide if I like any of them enough to read more.
i think i would prefer to edit a short story as well, it sounds very appealing to me. i hope i will get this chance later and then will be able to share my experience
I prefer a full length book. I get frustrated often with novellas.
The editing is always appreciated.
Sorry I’m a day late with this comment (took the kids to a water park!) but I just have to say that the note about backstory/relevance is something I’ve never heard but WHOA AND DAMN is that a good piece of writing advice. Thank you!
I also have to say that I have never met an author who thought she didn’t need to be edited, so either that is folklore or (more likely) I am hanging with some insecure writers. I would die without a good editor!!
Great, great post, Allison! xo