Follow The Guidelines

Follow the Guidelines

I’m sure I’ve told you some things you already know, but maybe I’ve told you something you didn’t, or possibly shed additional light on those things you did.  But I know you’ve heard this.  You’ve probably heard it so many times you’re sick of it, but it’s just as true now as the first time you heard it.

Make sure you follow submission guidelines exactly.  Even if they tell you to send your manuscript in TNR 8, or Jokerman 16, their guidelines exist for a reason.  (And no, I don’t know of anyone who actually has these guidelines! *grin*)  Maybe their email platform does strange things to files, or maybe their software doesn’t play well with certain file types.  Maybe they just like the way the manuscript looks in Jokerman 16.  Or maybe they just want to see if you still remember the number one rule you learned in Kindergarten.

Follow the rules and/or directions.

Even if it seems arbitrary to you, there are usually reasons for the guidelines, so make sure you follow them.  And please don’t ask if you can do something different unless there is a very good reason for the deviation.  For example, if an editor tells you to send your full manuscript in an .rtf, .doc, or .docx file, don’t ask if you can send it as a .pdf.  I had this happen.  The author wanted to send a .pdf because they were concerned the other file types would ruin their formatting.  I explained that if it was accepted, it would have to be reformatted following our guidelines and template anyway, so a .pdf wasn’t necessary.  The author wasn’t obnoxious, but I got the distinct impression the author still wasn’t happy about it.  They agreed to send it, but they were still concerned about their formatting.  This might sound snarky, but I promise it’s not intended that way.  My only thought to this comment from the author was, “What kind of formatting are you using that it would be messed up by not having it in a .pdf file?”  Maybe they were just concerned with the way different programs communicate (or don’t) with each other.  That would be perfectly understandable, but our file had to be a .doc file when our content editors sent the files to the line editors.  I’m not sure what the author's concern was, or if they had tried something special in the .pdf format, something to make it look like a book, but I didn’t see anything wrong with the format when the manuscript was sent as the file type I requested.

So please, please follow the guidelines, no matter how normal or strange they seem.

Mistakes In Submissions Continued -- Research

This week should wrap up my Mistakes in Submissions topic.  Other than one or two posts that were inspired by the posts of other moderators, all of my posts were written out as a single post.  Due to the length, Carol suggested I break it up.  I've enjoyed covering this topic, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it!

At the very least, please do basic research on the elements of your story.  It will save both you and your editor time and possible migraines.  For example, one author I worked with had a scene pertaining to a heart transplant.  A doctor intended to pretend he was going to perform the transplant until the patient was unconscious, and then not do it.  (Don’t ask, it would take a long explanation, and I’m trying to stay away from as many specifics as I can for the sake of anonymity.)  Now, I’m not a transplant surgeon, nor do I play one on TV, but I knew this scene was not right at all.  What the doctor was doing to convince the patient a transplant was about to occur brought me to a halt.  I felt there was a major misconception in the scene, as well as elements that could have proven fatal for a real transplant patient.

 I stopped edits and spent quite some time doing online research, and I called an area hospital with a CCU (Cardiac Care Unit).  If someone there couldn’t help me, my next call was going to a hospital in Atlanta.  Thankfully, I happened to get someone who had assisted in many transplants.  I explained why I was calling and asked if he had a few minutes to spare for a couple of questions, or if there was a better time for me to call.  I’m certain he was a little bemused, but he was kind enough to answer my questions and I thanked him for his time.  Let me go ahead and say this.  When conducting research, it’s always better to try to be as unobtrusive as possible, so if you don’t know someone in the field you need to research, and if you can’t make an appointment for a phone interview, sending an email or letter would probably be best.  I don’t recommend cold-calling like I did, but I was working against a deadline.  Cold-calling could bring you together with someone who’s having a really bad day, or who’s extremely busy when you call.  Neither bodes well for your research.

After the combination of online research and my phone call for verification, I had some very definitive answers for my concerns and I was able to help the author correct the scene.  And yes, I was correct about the things that troubled me the most.

“But wait!” you say.  “If the readers knew the doctor wasn’t going to perform the transplant, why would you even bother with the research?”

That’s a good question with a simple answer.  Remember the patient thought the doctor was going to perform the operation?  Well, the patient was also smart enough that the same things I was concerned about would have alerted them to the fact the doctor didn’t intend to do it at all.  The scene had to look good and be realistic for the patient.  Since the readers would know that this had to look real for the patient, they would be looking at how well the doctor was covering his behind.  You don’t want a reader who just happens to be a member of a transplant team to send you a letter saying, “The doctor would have never done that.  You need to do your research next time!”

Research glitches can happen in many areas, but I often see it in medical, law enforcement, military, forensics, and legal aspects of a manuscript.  I've seen:

Medals pinned on the wrong side of a uniform.

Period pieces where words that didn't exist for a hundred years or more after the story's time period were used.

Legal jargon used improperly.

Wines served in ways they would never be served in a fine restaurant.

Complications from medical procedures and injuries that made no sense whatsoever, or that were completely impossible.

Characters accessing files they shouldn't be able to access, from places they logically shouldn't be able to access them, and which would have gotten an innocent family member fired from their job, given them a hefty fine, and possibly put them in jail.

Do your research.  Don’t give your reader the details unless you absolutely have to because it’s integral to the story.  While it’s possible as much as ninety-nine percent of what you learn will never crawl out of your head or your notes, your scene must still be written with that research in mind.  It helps lend your scene the credibility and accuracy it needs to breathe for the readers.  I'm a stickler for research.  I could go on with other examples where it made the scene, and instances where scenes had to be rewritten because not enough preliminary research was done, but this post is probably too long already.  Just remember, research is important, whether it’s a minor aspect or a major one.

Watch the video.  It's funny!

Grammatical Errors

It doesn’t cross my eyes any if you have a few instances where you used double quotations when you should have used singles and vice versa, or if you have the occasional homophone confusion.  It happens, and they’re an easy enough fix.  However, if your manuscript is so riddled with errors I’m starting to think you believe:

The exclamation mark is the standard way to punctuate a sentence...

A rose is a flour and flower is what you coat chicken with before you fry it...

That single quotations are the standard for dialogue (unless you’re a British-English author.  I know that’s one of the ways you do it across the pond.)...

That it’s perfectly fine to do this!?!? or this!!!!...

That it’s PERFECTLY FINE TO DO THIS...

And that you seem to have never cracked open a dictionary to check for spelling or meaning...

I’m probably going to reject it.  For example, literally.  While the dictionary does list a figurative meaning for the word now, it originally meant something actually happened.  So if your character says, “My head literally exploded”, you’d better get a mop, because you have a mess to clean up.  Ick.  And if their head literally exploded, how are we even discussing the matter with them?  Unless it’s from the POV of a dead character.  And while that’s been done quite well, it’s a very hard POV to pull off.  The word has been incorrectly used so much in daily language that even the dictionary has been infected.

And yes, I’m guilty of this.  I talk like that.  My head has literally exploded.  My heart has literally stopped.  I’ve literally been scared to death.  So how did I make this post?  I’m literally a ghost speaking to you from beyond the grave, that’s how.  *grin*  The word should actually be figuratively.

My head exploded, figuratively speaking.

But, since the dictionary now gives a figurative definition for literally, I suppose we’re stuck with it and will just have to suck it up and move on.  *sigh*  But there are other words authors misuse because they think the words mean something else.  It’s not uncommon, so I have no problem telling the author I don’t think they want to use that word there.  But when the author uses a lot of words incorrectly, that’s when I wonder if they’ve ever checked the definitions.  It’s easy to read a word in the context of one sentence and get the wrong impression, but you don’t want to consistently identify soup as gruel.  They’re similar, but not the same thing.

It’s easy to overlook a few of these instances, because the mind glosses over things and sees what it wants to, like the difference between reign and rein.  But, if you have a lot of these mistakes throughout the manuscript, you want to clear them up before submitting.  This is even worse if your query and synopsis contain a lot of these errors.

One additional remark about extra punctuation and all caps for emphasis.  Sometimes you do see it in books published by one of the Big Six, and that’s okay.  One, the “rules” of publishing change from time to time.  What was acceptable five years ago might not be acceptable now, and what’s acceptable now might not be acceptable in five years.  Two, it could also come down to the house style guidelines and requirements of the individual publisher.  If you really want to write, “YOOOOUUUUUU!!!!!!”, I’m likely to suggest changing it to “Yoooouuuuuu!” because several houses tell you not to use all caps for emphasis, and not to use multiple punctuation.  You’re better off not doing it.

Editors Who Write

When I tell people I’m an editor and they know I also write, somehow they’re under the impression my own writing wouldn’t need editing.  I can tell you that is false.  Even an editor needs an editor.  A person can learn to self-edit quite well.  I’ve seen plenty of evidence supporting this in the manuscripts I’ve received, both as an editor for Musa Publishing and in my freelance capacity.  I’ve had manuscripts that were pretty much grammatically clean except for the odd misspelling or occasional homophone confusion.  Most of the work I had to do on those manuscripts concerned things like character development, suggesting rephrasing for flow or clarity, or perhaps dealing with continuity issues.  I’ve also seen manuscripts that suggest the author either doesn’t have the first clue about self-editing, or they don’t even attempt it.

Editors who are also writers need an editor just as much as any other writer.  Sure, they may be good at self-editing, but like any other writer, they’re also often too close to the story to see certain things.  For example, motivation.  What motivates this character to do or say the things they do, or react a certain way?  In my current manuscript I had an early scene where two characters were interacting with each other.  My beta made a comment along the lines of, “She’s got a chip on her shoulder about something, doesn’t she?”  That was a bit of a shock, because I hadn’t intended for her to come across that way.  When I looked back at her interaction with the other character, I saw what my beta meant.  I knew why my character was responding the way she was, but the readers wouldn’t.  They didn’t know her yet, not like I did, and it’s likely other readers would have perceived her the same way.  I wanted her to come across as feisty (she is a redhead, after all!), but it wasn’t working at that particular moment.  Needless to say, I corrected the issue.

What does this have to do with mistakes I see in submissions?  Everything.  My point is all writers make mistakes, even writers who happen to be editors.  Obviously, not every writer makes the same types of mistakes, and not every writer makes the same number of mistakes.  Tomorrow I’m going to start listing some of the most common mistakes I’ve seen in manuscripts.  And yes, I’ve made these mistakes myself, but I try to get rid of them during revisions.


Please note that while I have used examples from actual manuscripts and submissions, including my own work, the examples are kept as non-specific as possible to avoid embarrassing the author.  (There are no quoted passages!)  My goal is not to embarrass or ridicule anyone.  In the course of writing, we all make mistakes that make us cringe when we’re called out on them.  These mistakes do not in any way reflect on the story as a whole, or on the quality of the entire manuscript.  Writers learn from the mistakes and triumphs of other writers, which is one of the reasons we’re encouraged to read all we can.  The examples I share are merely intended to illustrate a point.

Plot Holes and Predictability

Let's learn about plot holes and predictability through more fun google images.

And just so you know, those are three of my favorite movies. 

Now, I think movies can get away with plot holes a lot easier than books. We get caught up in the visual impact of the moment and don't catch them or think about them until later. And, sometimes, as in Harry Potter, there were so many things going on that I didn't think about the time turner dilemma until someone else pointed it out. What can we learn from that?

1. You can get away with one plot hole when the rest of the book is amazing. 

2. Sometimes the plot hole doesn't change the overall plot awesomeness because it's not the MAIN thread that has a hole in it.

A really great editor can help you find your plot holes and help you determine how to fix them. They can even help you decide if that little thing you put in (that doesn't make complete sense) because you needed to get your character to a certain physical, mental or emotion place is small enough to squeak by. Or if they're really good, they can help you come up with a more plausible way to achieve the same goal. 

Great beta readers and critique partners can help with those things too, but once again I'm a big fan of hiring an editor after the betas and crit partners get finished. 

So, if predictability is boring and the path to failure, how do we make sure our stories are NOT predictable? I mean, we hear all the time that there are no new stories. That means everyone is familiar with the pattern and will anticipate the end, right?

Come on, where's your imagination? Here are a few more things I'm sure you've heard before.

Put your character up a tree and throw rocks at him.

Here's where you get to make a story you're own. Those metaphorical rocks can be anything! Every person, and therefore every character, is different. Their life experience has given them a unique set of fears and strengths. As writer, you play to those. Find ways to challenge that individual regardless of the genre or conflict formula. 

Think of the absolute worst thing that could happen and do that.

Here's the trick. Don't do the first thing that comes to mind. Those are usually cliche and therefore predictable. 

Note for romance writers:

Readers of romance want want thing to happen EVERY time. You have to have a HEA (Happily Ever After). That's what makes it romance. Make the fact that they WILL get together and have a HEA the only thing that's predictable. Try to find unique ways to keep your lovebirds apart and make them fight for every step to being reunited. 

Questions for You

What are some stories with plot holes that bugged you?

What are some stories where the plot hole didn't bother you and why?

How do you feel when you know exactly what's going to happen in the end by the first third of the book?

Helpful Links:

Checking for Plot Holes: Does your story add up?

How to fix a plot hole by Roz Morris

Why Doesn't the Dog Bark?

How to fix a plot that feels lightweight or predictable

Is Your Plot Predictable?

How to Prevent Predictable Plots

What Does Work

This week I've been discussing the mess of a chapter three I made of Elswyk's Moon. And it is a mess. A hot mess. A disaster…

Okay, I’ll stop.

I can sit here and belittle my writing. It’s easy to do, especially considering the evidence… Right. I said I was going to stop.

There are two really positive things that came from this, though. First, I recognize the problems. When I first "finished" the novel, I looked for beta readers. The little feedback I got back was not helpful. I knew it wasn't quite right, but I didn't know what else to do. So, I shopped the novel around. I got no response.

Now that I've gotten some more experience, I see what is wrong. And I've learned enough to know what to do to fix the mess.

The second positive thing is that there are some things that do work in the chapter.

I did need to show where Elswyk starts. Her life transforms so completely during the course of the novel. Chapter three shows Elswyk at work. We meet her coworkers. We see what she thinks her life is going to be. And that is all good.

I also needed to introduce the best friend. She plays a vital role, especially in the lead up to the climax.

And the basic plot for chapter three works. Sure, there are whole sections that can be jettisoned. However, the bones that I started with can remain. I just need to fill them out with a little less than was there before.

Chapter three. A mess. But it can be fixed. And that’s a good thing.

Now, on to chapter four…

Finding the Info Dump

At the end of chapter three of my first novel, Elswyk's Moon, I have my main character and her best (and only) friend having lunch together. The primary reason for the scene is so that the friend can tell Elswyk at length about how much she hates another character who is yet to be introduced.

"Oh, where to begin? He’s condescending. He always seems like he’s laughing at you, unless of course you are a nubile young thing, and then he’s probably flirting with that obnoxious charm of his,” she explained.

And the friend goes on about this. For 782 words.

On the one hand, I do want to introduce this character. He shows up in chapter seven, and he plays a major role in the rest of the story. His relationship to Elswyk's friend becomes very important towards the lead up to the climax.

But, we haven’t met the guy yet. And we will. His relationship to Elswyk's friend is readily apparent the minute he shows up.

The whole section reads like an info dump, probably because it is.

At the time, I thought that it would be better to mention this character early so that his arrival wouldn't come out of nowhere. Now I see the mistake. Sure, I can mention the character’s name. As he’s connected to several of the other characters, his name will naturally come up. My mistake was drawing too much attention to him before his entrance.

This means that entire lunch scene can be cut. That’s no major loss. It was a stupid scene anyway.

How do you subtly introduce a character who will become a major player later in the story?

...And Then This Happened

Chapter three of my first novel, Elswyk's Moon, needs help. A lot of help. I made some rather obvious mistakes. (At least, they appear obvious to me now.) The second major mistake I made was to spend way too much time going over the minutiae of Elswyk's typical day.

Elswyk returns to her new home after a long day. She does a little work before getting something to eat and going to bed. She gets up in the morning, and then she goes to work. (She works in a book store.) She deals with customers all morning until her friend comes by to visit. They talk. Then the friend suggests that they go out to lunch. They do. Over lunch, they have a nice, long conversation.

I spent pages on this. I went into detail.

A couple important things do happen in the chapter. I do want to give a sense of what Elswyk's typical day is like. But I can imply a lot of it. I don’t have to go into painstaking detail about everything, such as…

I had a large pile of papers on my desk—about what I’d expected. I didn't look up until I had gotten through the pile. Tomorrow Basalt had meetings and other business matters that would take him out of the building, so I wasn't going to get to spend much time in the back office. An empty desk meant that I wouldn't have to stay here too late tomorrow night catching up on things.

I can cut that entire paragraph and much of the page it appeared on and the story will still make sense. A quick conversation between Basalt and Elswyk when she gets to work (which is already in the chapter) is enough.

Remember how I said the novel was 77,000 words? With chapters like these, I’m going to be down to 50,000 words in next to no time.

Show, Don't Tell

I opened chapter three of Elswyk's Moon with my main character talking to the reader. It was an interesting idea, and if I had executed it better, it might have worked. (Just let me lie to myself about this, okay?) However, I committed the biggest fiction-writer sin of all. I did a whole lot of telling. Showing, not so much.

Don’t believe me? Let me give you a small sample:

I had been working for them for about three years, and I was just promoted and moved to the Torindal location. I had been in Torindal for nearly seven days, and so I was still unpacking. I was given an apartment on the third floor of the building—not as transient as the second floor where those who transport the books stay when they’re in town and not as nice as the fifth floor where those who have lived here for generations make their home, but serviceable. It was enough for me, and soon enough I would make it my own.

It goes on like this for a couple pages. Ugh.

It’s early in the story. I do need to establish a base from where the character starts. But I don’t need much of that backstory. In fact, some things will have more impact if I imply them rather than stating them outright.

I can cut all the talking to the reader stuff. The basic plot of the chapter takes place during a normal work day for Elswyk. I can establish that she’s new in one short exchange of dialog, and the rest of it can just go.

Have you ever tried a talking to the reader section? Could you make it work?