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Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
There's not much of the old-style editing going on at
publishing houses today. Renni Browne, veteran of William Morrow and other
publishers, founded the Editorial Department in 1980 to teach fiction
writers the techniques professional editors (many of whom have gone
independent) use to prepare a manuscript for publication. In this book, she
and senior editor Dave King share their accumulated expertise in a series of
brilliantly compact lessons. One page from their simply and markedly
improved version of a scene from The Great Gatsby alone would make a compelling
advertisement for their techniques. Very highly recommended. —MTB
The Los Angeles Times
Book Review, April 11, 1993
"A superb tutorial for anyone wanting to learn from pros
how to polish fiction writing with panache.
"Both novice and seasoned fiction writers can ensure themselves greater
publishing success by correcting problems before submitting their
manuscripts to an editor. This exemplary instruction manual offers readers
the wisdom of two experienced editors who focus on writing/editing
techniques (the mechanics of dialogue, characterization, point of view,
etc.). Adhering to fictions' underlying principle of "show and tell," this
lively text includes both good and bad examples in each lesson. At the end
of every chapter is a tip checklist to match against one's own work and two
or three exercises with which to practice and reinforce the chapter's
topic."
The Lost Angeles Times
Book Review, April 11, 1993
"An entire book on improving what you've written is
SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS, which comes from professional editors who
know their stuff."
Book Description
"A superb tutorial for anyone wanting to learn from pros
how to polish fiction writing with panache."—Library Journal
From the Publisher
The term "editor" has taken on a new connotation in
recent years. At today's publishing houses, editors find most of their time
is invested in negotiating contracts, acquiring books, and lunching literary
agents. Because this leaves so little time for working on manuscripts, even
very strong submissions that need editing tend to be rejected. Writers who
use this book can give their work the editorial attention it needs—before
the book ever reaches the publisher's desk. A pre-edited book, short story,
or article makes looks like the work of a professional rather than an
amateur. As such, its author is far more likely to get published—and to
become a better writer in the process.
From the Author
From Renni Browne:
In the years since SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS was first pubilshed,
the publishing trend that in part inspired the book has become more and more
entrenched. In 1991 The New York Times ran an article on independent editors
that attributed their existence to the decline of editing in publishing
houses. In 1998, The New York Times ran an article on independent editors
attributing their proliferation to editors and even literary agents'
expectation or demand that a new writer's manuscript be edited before it
goes out to them.
Until this book came along, paying to have your work professionally
edited was the only was to accomplish the goal of submitting pre-edited
work. Every writer can't hire someone to edit their work—and writers who
can will save a great deal of money if the manuscript's writing style is
technically professional to begin with.
Editing can only be learned, really, from another editor. The writer who
learns to do it will have a better book—and be a better writer—as a
result.
From the Inside Flap
Hundreds of books have been written on the art of
writing. Here at last is a book by two professional editors to teach writers
the techniques of the editing trade that turn promising manuscripts into
published novels and short stories.
Renni Browne and Dave King are two of the country's best-known
independent editors. Over the years they have edited the work of many
writers—including bestselling authors—before the manuscripts went out to
agents or publishers.
In this book Browne and King teach you, the writer, how to apply the
editing techniques they have developed to your own work. Chapters on
dialogue, exposition, point of view, interior monologue, and other
techniques take you through the same processes an expert editor would go
through to perfect your manuscript. Each point is illustrated with examples,
many drawn from the hundreds of books Browne and King have edited.
Every chapter contains hands-on exercises to help you apply these
techniques to your own work. And illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist
George Booth keep everything in perspective.
About the Author
Renni Browne, once senior editor for William Morrow and
other publishers, left mainstream publishing to found The Editorial
Department in 1980. Her son, Ross Browne, now operates the company from an
office in Tucson, Arizona, and maintains a website at
www.EditorialDepartment.net. Renni writes occasional commentaries on writers
and writing for a public radio station as well as articles for Internet and
traditional publications. David King, a contributing editor for Writer's
Digest, owns and operates the Dave King Editorial Service in Ashfield,
Massachusetts.
Excerpted from
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne, Dave King. Copyright ©
1994. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
from the Introduction:
Why self-editing?
Because self-editing is probably the only kind of editing your manuscript
will ever get.
Not too many years ago, an author with obvious talent and style sold a
novel or short-story collection to a publishing house and then revised it
under the guidance of the editor who signed the book up. Gifted editors
routinely spent enormous amounts of creative energy and blue-pencil lead to
bring the manuscript to its fullest potential.
That was then. What about today?
"These days, many writers lack faith in the editing process at publishing
houses," Edwin McDowell worte in a New York Times article on independent
book editors. "Other writers, novices, want their manuscripts polished
before they even submit them. And the recent cutbacks and consolidations at
publishing houses have left many of those houses editorially short-handed."
Author loyalty isn't what it used to be. It no longer pays a publishing
house to develop a manuscript to its fullest potential and its author to
fame and/or fortune. Authors who sell well are almost certain to go to the
highest bidder, and publishers can't reasonably afford to develop an author
for a competing house.
Nor are editors what they used to be. An acquisitions editor who signs up
fifteen or twenty books a year couldn't possibly edit all of them, even if
encouraged to do so. And one of the casualties of recent publishing
evolution is the apprenticeship system by which editing used to be taught.
The only way, really, to learn editing is to learn it from another editor.
Which is what you'll be doing with this book. We aren't going to tell you
how to plot your novel or develop your characters. What we're gong to do is
teach you the craft of editing,. The mechanics of dialogue, point of view,
interior monologue; the tricks to striking the most effective balance
between narrative summary and immediate scenes; the techniques whose
adoption brands your manuscript as the work of a professional instead of an
amateur.
Our purpose is to train you to see your manuscript the way an editor
might see it—to do for yourself what a publishing-house editor once might
have done. Exercises and examples will show you how to become an editor as
well as a writer.
A word of warning: writing and ediitng are two different processes
requiring two different mind sets. Don't try to do both at once. The time to
edit is not while you're writing your first draft. But once that first draft
is finished, you can use the principles in this book to
increase—dramatically—the effectiveness of the story you've told and the
way you've told it.
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| Spotlight Reviews
Good summary of key points, August 31, 2002
There are a lot of books on writing out there. Many carry the same
messages. But this one is different. It talks about those points that
areTRULY salient. Using it, side by side with your latest project, is like
having a friendly instructor standing by, saying. "Wait, you might want to .
. . " or "It would be better if you . . . " Especially good sections are on
point of view and character. I highly recommend this book, especially for
writers who are serious about taking their writing over the greatest of
mountains.
Read it and re-read it, December 17, 2002
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Reviewer: brownr7
from Brookfield, WI USA |
This is a wonderful, very practical book. I've purchased it more than
once, because I loan it to other writers and they don't give it back!
This is the only good how-to book I've found for many of the topics
covered. While most writing books will cover topics like showing not
telling, or choosing the right word, Browne and King dig into specifics of
beats (he said, she said) and porporton in ways I haven't seen anywhere
else.
All Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
This is required reading., July 19, 2002
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Reviewer: Victoria
R. Tarrani from CA USA |
Read, follow the checklists, and complete the exercises included with
each chapter. Check your versions in the Answers to Exercises section of the
book. Applying the techniques within this book will help you write, not just
for publication, but something that is memorable.
"Authors who sell well are almost always certain to go to the highest
bidder, and publishers can't reasonably afford to develop an author for a
competing house." (Browne, King) The business of publishing changed, and
those great editors who supported their clients and helped create stellar
books are gone. The business is about making money. Therefore, "self editing
is probably the only kind of editing your manuscript will ever get."
Chapter 1: Show and Tell. The difference is 'to tell' is to describe what
happened through a narrative summary, while 'to show' is to experience what
happens. With the use of cartoon sketches, the concept is clearly revealed.
Yet, pacing is important and you accomplish this by slowing the scene with
narrative summary, or descriptions.
Chapter 2: Characterization and Exposition. "A lot of readers seem to
feel they have to give their readers a clear understanding of a new
character before they can get on with their story." This stops the story.
Each character is psychoanalyzed and physical details are listed. It may not
seem like a list, but it is. "When you define your characters the minute you
introduce them, you may be setting boundary lines..." rather than letting
your characters grow.
Chapter 3: Point of View. Many times a switch in POV is subtle, but it
changes the perspective and makes it hard for readers to relate to the
characters in the scene, story, or book. The first person POV is limiting,
yet it is an excellent exercise because you can only know what "I"
experience. The omniscient POV is informative, and narrative summary is an
aspect. In using the third person POV, which is the compromise between the
two, it is imperative to stay in one person's mind for the entire sequence,
or no interior monologues by multiple characters.
Chapter 4: Dialogue Mechanics. "If the dialogue doesn't work, the
manuscript gets bounced." Many writers hate to use said, but it is
transparent and does not require the reader to interpret the author's
expression, which has taken the reader into the writer's head and away from
what the characters say.
Chapter 5: See How It Sounds. "The creation of character voice ... is one
of the most ... challenging acts you can create as a writer." Why? Every
individual is different, each has their own voice, and so must your
characters. In addition, the dialogue has to be meaningful. An inane
conversation does not move the story forward, it is boring, and it stops the
story. Listen to your dialogue aloud. Would you say it?
Chapter 6: Interior Monologue. Thoughts are constant, they interrupt our
conversations by taking our attention elsewhere. We live different lives in
our own minds, so do your characters, it is emotion and perception that
makes them real, and interior monologue is the technique.
Chapter 7: Easy Beats. This is rhythm. A waltz is playing, what do you
see? It is the Tennessee Waltz, your images change. Patti Page is not
singing the song, a reggae band is. Each change creates a different feeling
because each type of music has its own beat or connection. Scenes, words,
dialogue, and events pace your story. "Beats enable your readers to picture
the action in a scene."
Chapter 8: Breaking Up is Easy To Do. Frequent paragraphs can add tension
just as a rapid-fire talk show host does. Readers' eyes move down the page
more quickly, which adds momentum. However, maintaining this pace will wear
you out, there will be no sudden surprise. Slowing the pace lulls the
reader, provides intimacy, and creates suspense. Both are needed.
Chapter 9: Once is Usually Enough. Repeating words, phrases,
descriptions, and effects are boring. When a reader knows that a map is
missing in chapter one, they still know it in chapter five, they know it
until it has been found. "When you try to accomplish the same effect twice,
the weaker attempt is likely to undermine the power of the stronger one."
Chapter 10: Proportion. The setup in chapter one must be resolved in the
climax, but if another event becomes more important, then the impact of the
problem resolution is lost. If the object is to find the missing map, then a
duel in a romantic liaison cannot take half the book; the proportion is off;
that single event becomes more important than the premise itself.
Chapter 11: Sophistication. This contains a very good description of "the
hack's favorite construction." Take care in using -ing words or linking
events with as.
Chapter 12: Voice. "A strong, distinctive, authoritative writing voice is
something most fiction writes want — and something no editor or teacher can
impart." It is individual, it belongs to you, and to each character you
create. They are different; make sure your interior and exterior dialogue
for each character is theirs.
Five stars. I recommend two books to writers, this is one of them.
Victoria Tarrani
Maybe U're Looking 4 Self-Editing Skills—Not Writing Tips!, June 14,
2002
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Reviewer: A reader
from Winston-Salem, NC United States |
This book is written in Laymen's terms so it's very simple to understand.
One very mentionable thing is that many writers like me think they are
looking for writing tips to improve their writing when in fact they're
looking for self-editing skills on how to correct writing problems.
I was looking for info in which to strengthen my work. Get rid of the -ly
adverbs and things such as telling how a character felt instead of letting
the character speak for him or herself. That's just the half of it. Other
things were knowing something was wrong with my work, but having no clue
what it was, or if I did know, then having no clue on how to fix it.
Now there's no problem. Everything that I needed was in this book. The
book explains how to balance dialogue with narrative, how not to weaken your
work of fiction with overly poetic composition. There's much more. Such as
trying not to force a voice you don't have. How to find your own voice.
Basically everything. There's not one thing in this book that wasn't covered
that had been a problem for me at some point or another. Now it seems that I
have no more problems whatsoever, except maybe a little brush up on my
grammar.
The entire book is well organized into 12 chapters that can be thought of
as helping you work through 12 major weaknesses (plus many minor ones). It
explains thoroughly on how many novices end up looking like novices or
amateur writers by trying not to. For example, by trying to avoid the
overuse of "he said," by replacing it with similar statements like he
replied, he yelled, he blurted out. But that quickly draws attention to
readers or editors and publishers that that's an act of a novice or just as
bad—it draws the reader away from the story.
Also there's the chapter that helps greatly on keeping your characters
from sounding too stiff and unrealistic. I thought I had all that worked
out... then I read the chapter and found out that I was wrong.
And for those like me who have been looking for years for an organized
system in which you may go through a creative writing process and then edit
your work in a way that doesn't require you to become overwhelmed, or
require you to intermix your editing with your writing. You will start to
see just how it can be done as soon as pick the book up and start reading
through several chapters. You'll know how to separate the two, and finally,
what to edit and how to edit it.
The book is not missing any single problem that all writers haven't been
through at one time or another. You double this book up with a good
punctuation book or grammar book (just to strengthen your knowledge to help
you avoid grammar problems) then you'll have a sure path to getting yourself
published if you've got the ambition.
Most importantly, I think this book is a big blessing for people like me
who might feel like if anyone else edited their work then it really isn't
their work entirely. |
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