I didn’t get
it. I didn’t get it for 6 ½ months. But my editor, Marc Estrin, patiently stuck
with me, nudging me, until I did: the opening to my novel was all wrong. The
way my characters had met wasn’t “true.”
I’d set the
scene with the couple meeting at a college football party. Al and Sarah ended
up sharing space on a couch to view the game. Despite the team getting trounced
and limping off the field, a slightly inebriated but always loyal Al rose to
sing the Gopher fight song, and Sarah got a kick out of him. I loved that
moment of Al’s, but I came to understand that I had trivialized my characters
in this scene, perhaps made Al look silly, and so I wrote something new. It
didn’t work. Nor did the next effort. Or the next. Marc kept nudging me away
from the whole idea of a party, but every draft, it reappeared. It was just a
different party or location. Then, at his suggestion, I wrote about their first
date.
Suddenly,
two things happened. In the new pages, the best of Sarah met the best of Al. One
glimpses her strength and also his kindness. Right there, in the bright
beginning I gave them, were the traits that would see them through what came
next. No place else in the novel do they shine in quite the same way, with such
hope and confidence. But that mix of hope and confidence becomes their anchor,
as does their marriage, and gives them the ability to survive the bumps. More
importantly, with this revised opening, readers would believe this couple had
what it takes to endure. If they’d met in my original scene, would anyone have
quite believed Sarah and Al could have the necessary grit?
This is an
age in publishing when there are, in my opinion, too few editors. With respect,
I can’t think of one who would have stuck with me, going over the same five
pages for months on end. This short essay is about my revision, yes, but it is
really about Marc. The best of Marc—his patience and keen eye—helped my story
find the best of my characters. So thank you, Marc.
* * *
Caitlin Hamilton Summie earned an MFA with Distinction from Colorado State University. Her story collection, TO LAY TO REST OUR GHOSTS, won the fourth annual Phillip H. McMath Book Award, Silver in the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award for Short Stories, and was a Pulpwood Queen Book Club Bonus Book. Her debut novel, GEOGRAPHIES OF THE HEART, was inspired by three stories in her collection and is due out from Fomite Press in January 2022. She spent many years in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Colorado before settling with her family in Knoxville, Tennessee. She co-owns the book marketing firm, Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, founded in 2003. Find her online at caitlinhamiltonsummie.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"?Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To make my writing life easier, I have an editor, Noah, who happens to be my ex-boyfriend. You might remember that I wrote about him in a 2017 post for WOW’s Friday Speak Out. The post was called “Noah, Best Dressed Editor in Town.”
We were together in the 80s, when I was living in NYC after college. New York was too much for me to handle, and he’s the type who will never leave New York, so we split, and I moved back to Ohio and married a wonderful man who understands how hard it is to find a good editor.
But we’ve remained friends and I like to say we’re friends with benefits, a different kind of benefits; he’s my editor, and I help him out, too. Noah won’t take money for his editing services, so I send him clothes and household goods via snail mail that I can pick up out here in the Midwest burbs for much less than he would pay in NYC. There are several amazing local thrift stores, where I shop regularly for him. (My husband has gotten used to this barter system, and knows that my relationship with Noah is purely platonic at this point. He likes to make jokes about the clothes I send Noah: “Are these socks for me or Noah?” he’ll quip, holding up a package of Gold Toes.)
Since the coronavirus crisis, Noah’s been working at home. A typical New Yorker, he usually buys his coffee on the way to work from a vendor on the street. When I talk to him on the phone in the morning, I can hear him giving his order to said vendor: “I’ll have a bagel with cream cheese, and a black coffee.” But since he hasn’t been leaving the house, he’s been going without coffee. I don’t know how anyone could attempt to “go to work” without a couple cups of this life-giving liquid.
This year, Noah’s been diligently editing my work, and I haven’t gotten around to sending him anything in return. A couple days ago, I decided that the perfect thing to send my editor would be a coffee maker, coffee, filters and a little coffee scoop. I’m calling it “The Coronavirus Coffee Kit.”
The first thing I did was research on the internet to see if “coffee kits” existed. I found nothing, so I decided to make my own. I got on walmart.com and picked out a Mr. Coffee and sent it to him. Then, I went to our local super market and purchased a bag of Joe, 200 cheap filters and a plastic, red coffee scoop, all of which I mailed separately. And presto, in a week or so, he’ll have his daily coffee.
They say it’s the little things during this pandemic that allow us to survive. I’m glad I can help him get through the day a little smoother. Next, I will ship him some bagels and cream cheese via Zabar’s.
How long this pandemic is going to last no one really knows. But at least someone in Manhattan, namely Noah, will go through this crisis with coffee and a bagel as per usual.
And I’ll have a terrific editor.
* * *
Laura Yeager began her writing career as a fiction writer, publishing at journals such as The Paris Review, The Missouri Review and The North American Review. Currently, she writes for curetoday.com, a leading cancer website, and psychcentral.com, a mental health website. Laura teaches writing at Gotham Writers’ Workshop and at Kent State University. She is looking for an agent for her book The Prodigal Daughter, a collection of short fiction and nonfiction about bipolar illness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Would you like to participate inFriday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was 22, and I had moved to New York because I thought I wanted to become a magazine editor. I’d won a prize in a fiction contest at Cosmopolitan. Since I had an in, Cosmo was the first place I applied for a job.
I needed interview clothes. I bought a blue, flowered, southern bell dress at Bolton’s for $39.99. The thought never occurred to me to invest in an interview suit.
The day of the interview, my boss where I was temping at The American Bible Society, a kind, older gentleman who was watching out for me (babysitting), said when I came to bring him his daily coffee and warm corn muffin, “Now that’s how a lady is supposed to dress.” He wished me luck, and I hoofed it over to the Hearst building on 57th Street.
The young, beautiful woman who interviewed me had advice to impart.
“Don’t become an editor,” she said.
“Why not?”
“You’re a writer. You’ll never get any writing done if you become an editor. Do you want to be unhappy for the rest of your life? Move back to Ohio and write.”
Needless to say, I didn’t get the job. She wouldn’t give it to me.
But what the girl at Cosmo said was weighing on my mind. Should I leave the city?
I plowed forward. I moved from a college friend’s parents’ brownstone to an apartment in Park Slope, rooming with an editorial assistant at MS. Magazine. She occupied the living room, and I got the bedroom. The rent was $450.00 a month. (Those were the days.)
I didn’t have much to move--only clothes and a typewriter. I was still typing everything on a Brother electric. My room was furnished with a box spring and mattress and a creaky, old desk.
Cosmopolitan called and graciously offered me the job of reading their slush pile.
Flattered, I took the freelance work.
The gig consisted of picking up brown grocery bags of manuscripts still in their manila envelopes at the Cosmo office, taking them back to my apartment, reading each story and making an editorial decision about the fiction. If a short story wasn’t worthy of passing on to a “real” editor, I attached a rejection slip to it and mailed it back to the writer in the SASE she’d sent.
I made a salary of 25 cents a manuscript.
Around that time, I found a part-time day job as an assistant to an arts fundraiser. I typed and proofed grant applications for various arts organizations around New York. The commute was long, 90 minutes one way, on the train. I hated it.
Things were going all right for about a week until I had to do laundry in Brooklyn. The nearest laundromat was two blocks away. I loaded up my clothes in my only suitcase and somehow made it to the dirty washhouse.
Let me just say, doing laundry at my neighborhood laundromat was not pleasant.
It was hard living in New York.
The job was going OK, I guess, but my social life, not so good. Basically, I had one friend, Sam.
One lonely Saturday in December, it was pouring down icy cold rain. I called Sam, who lived in Manhattan, and asked him to come down to Brooklyn.
“In the rain?”
“Yes. Come visit me.”
“Not in the rain.”
Life in New York was getting harder. I hated my commute on the subway, hated doing laundry, hated my lonely existence.
I left New York a week later and moved back to Akron just in time for Christmas.
Now if I think about it, if I’d never left New York, I would have never had the life I have now. It’s a good life. I live on a quiet cul-de-sac in a suburb of Akron; I adore my partner; I have a beautiful child.
I’m glad I listened to that young woman at Cosmopolitan. “Don’t be an editor. You’ll never have any chance to write.”
Out here in Ohio, I’m writing up a storm, but truth be told, GOD, I MISS NEW YORK!
I miss the wind whipping down the block on a freezing day, the pavement so bitter cold that it goes right through your cheap, black flats. I miss breakfasts in shiny delis. I miss the pails of red, purple and yellow flowers resting in water, the roses and the carnations and the tulips, in front of crowded corner grocery stores. Riding buses. The musicians playing a classical guitar duet. The dancers in the upper stories of buildings visible through plate glass windows, practicing pirouettes. Broadway shows!
Yes, I miss New York.
New York made me a little tougher and a lot wiser. In this big city, someone stole $650.00, the money from my first paycheck, right out of my blazer pocket, on 42nd Street.
Why did I leave New York?
* * *
Currently, Laura Yeager is writing regularly for curetoday.com, a leading cancer website, and psychcentral.com. Laura teaches writing at Gotham Writers’ Workshop and at Kent State University. She is looking for an agent for her book The Prodigal Daughter, a collection of short fiction and nonfiction about bipolar illness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Would you like to participate inFriday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you know you might be using "naughty" words in your writing? I'm not talking about the four letter words I hear throughout the hallways of my high school. I'm talking about the words that will make your editor cringe.
When my editor sent me a list of words to reduce and their counts, my jaw hit the floor. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed these little words could be such a huge problem. Below are my biggest offenders.
1. Look
This pesky little word showed up over 300 times in my original manuscript. Phrases like “he looked surprised” or “she looked away” ran rampant. Though it hadn’t occurred to me at the time, this word is indicative to telling, not showing. Instead of using it, try to describe the character’s reaction using facial expressions or verbal reactions. Description makes for a more engaging scene.
2. Very
Luckily, I didn’t use this word quite as often as I used the word “look,” but I still had to wittle it down. The only way my editor let me keep it is if I couldn’t find any other alternative. When you think about it, it’s not needed, anyway.
3. Just
I used this word – a lot. It popped up everywhere. I used it the most in my character’s dialogue, however, so I discarded it as often as possible and only kept it in when my character needed to use it to make sense.
4. Adverbs
Not the word "adverbs" - I'm talking about all adverbs. Why say “she quickly ran” when you can use a more effective adjective like “sprinted?” Let the verbs speak for themselves. She didn’t “thoughtfully pause.” She paused. Try using terrified instead of “horribly scared.” Out of ideas? A thesaurus is a writer’s best friend.
5. Began
“Amy began to sweat.” Eh. “Sweat beads glistened on her skin.” Better.
6. Felt
Unless I used the word for something the character could literally feel, I had to get rid of it. So my main character couldn’t feel sad, but she could feel the soft fur of her cat. Get it? We often use the word feel to describe emotions but, again, it’s a showing vs telling issue. Instead of writing “she felt sad,” have your main character throw herself on the bed and sob into her purple pillow.
7. Was
The word “was” was (ha ha) my biggest transgression. I used it over 800 times. I’m not joking. For days, I poured over my manuscript, eradicating the word. Each time I took out a “was” I had to re-work the sentence to make it more effective. Trust me, once you’ve been through the trauma of eliminating the same word over 800 times, you’ll never overuse it again.
Word elimination is torture. It is also eye-opening. I keep a list handy, now, so that I can eliminate the majority of my “naughty words” ahead of time - before I submit my work to agents or publishers. Everyone is prone to using certain words. If you’re aware of your favorites, try to keep their numbers down.
Feeling brave? Try searching for some of the words above. You might be surprised how often they appear.
Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here.
It seemed like the right thing at the time...how many times have you looked back on a decision in your life and thought those words? Everything from the hair style that turned into a disaster to the choice to move halfway across the country for a new job you ended up hating to your brief flirtation with the raw food diet. We plunge into our new decision convinced that everything will work out for the best. Because that's what we want to believe will happen, what we talk ourselves into to, what our childhood fairy tales promised us. Our life will be a happily ever after.
Pinnacle Lust by Michelle Dim-St. Pierre is the story of what happens when there isn't a happily ever after. In a Tel-Aviv hospital during Operation Desert Storm, Sharon Lapidot, a beautiful young nurse, is having an affair with a married doctor. Sharon's colorful and exciting life is ultimately destroyed by powerful and eroding mistakes. But her courage and wisdom lead her to an unregretful commitment. Vividly told, this compelling journey of love and lust, honor and betrayal, loss and redemption, will move you--and perhaps even change you.
Pinnacle Lust is a perfect balance of romance and drama--a great addition to your summer reading list or as a selection for your book club. It invites some spirited discussions on the choices people make and just who is the "villian" in Pinnacle Lust.
Hardcover: 368 pages (also available in paperback and e-format) Publisher: BookLogix (2015) ISBN-10: 1610055721 ISBN-13: 978-1610055727
Book Giveaway Contest:
To win a copy of Pinnacle Lust, please enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. The giveaway contest closes this Friday, May 29 at 12:00 AM EST. We will announce the winner the same day in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!
About the Author:
Michelle Dim-St. Pierre was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel, where she spent more than half of her life before relocating to the United States. She lived through four wars and served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years. Unlike her first year of service in an armored division in the Golan Heights, she spent her second year serving in the medical corps where she interacted directly with the injured soldiers of the Peace of Galilee war and their families. This interaction, along with the exposure to the hospital atmosphere, fascinated Michelle and further touched her heart.
After graduating from nursing school with a BS in Nursing in Tel-Aviv, she practiced internationally for 32 years in various positions in the surgical field and quickly advanced into health care administration. During her career she worked in the Operating Room, Recovery Room, and CCU—along with many other duties.
Writing was Michelle’s outlet at first, but it soon became her passion. Recently she left nursing and became a full-time writer. Her international background, along with her military and nursing experience is always at the tip of her pen. Her first novel, Pinnacle Lust, starts the Pinnacle trilogy.
Michelle is a world traveler who enjoys cooking epicurean food and creating original recipes.
Find out more about the author by visiting her online:
WOW:You spent over three decades in the nursing profession. How did writing fit into that? Have you always been a writer or was it recent development?
Michelle: Writing was first a hobby and finally turned into something more. The truth of the matter is that my profession triggered my fiction writing. During my career as a nurse, there were things that I heard, saw and knew but couldn’t share. As I needed an outlet, I started writing and called it fiction.
WOW: Did you jump right into writing a novel or did you start out with short stories, a journal, or essays?
Michelle: My novel, Pinnacle Lust, is the first work of fiction I ventured into. Again, in the beginning, it was not meant to be a published novel—it was more of an outlet at the time.
WOW: When did you decide to take your hobby of writing to the next level and decide to pursue publication?
Michelle: The first step was when I sent my manuscript for review by two professionals. Both said that I had a very good plot, and that they would love to edit it. The real deal, or the final push, was when Sherry Wilson, my editor sent me an e-mail saying, “You have a good book in your hands. I think you should publish it.”
WOW: So many people with rich professional lives who begin writing find that it has an autobiographical element to it. Did you find that was the case with your writing?
Michelle: I believe that any work of fiction carries pieces from the author’s life. Pinnacle Lust is not an autobiography, but it is fair to say that some of my personal experiences inspired my writing. Whether I witnessed these events or was part of them, I can’t tell…:) I believe that every minute of my life is another brush stroke to my writing—military service, nursing school, work, social, news, gossip, and even the grocery store—you name it.
WOW: How did you navigate the writing world? Did you join a writing group, take classes, hire an editor? Do you have any tips for newcomers to the writing world?
Michelle: Navigating the writing world was a huge challenge, and in a way it still is. I hired an exceptional editor who took me through the process, and taught me the secrets and the craft of writing. I was fortunate enough to hire an editor that also teaches creative writing in the educational arena. With this being said, you can only imagine how much material and guidance I received. I hope to continue to learn more about the craft of writing and am planning to continue to work with Sherry on all my future projects. The best tip that I would give newcomers in the writing world is that an editor is a critical player—hire a good editor, don’t just give your work to a family member or a friend for editorial services…it may save you a little money but it may not produce the product you desire.
WOW: What was the most challenging part of writing Pinnacle Lust? The most rewarding?
Michelle: The most challenging part of writing Pinnacle Lust was to detach myself from the manuscript and to shorten it from its original word count of 140,000 to no more than 100,000. It was as if I had to cut the umbilical cord from my own baby. As far as the most rewarding part, I think holding the hardcover in my hands and becoming a published author was the most exciting moment. It was a long journey but well worth it.
WOW: What are you working on now?
Michelle: As Pinnacle Lust is the first in the Pinnacle Trilogy, I am now working on the next book in the series. I will soon announce its title, and include more information on my website and in my newsletter. I am also working on a unique cookbook, blogs and more surprises down the road. My newsletter, Pinnacle Insider, is a great source for my readers to follow my work. I welcome everyone to subscribe to my newsletter via my website at http://www.michelledimstpierre.com/newsletter.html.
----------Blog Tour Dates
Monday, May 25(today!) @ The Muffin
Stop by for an interview with Michelle Dim-St. Pierre and a chance to win Pinnacle Lust! http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/
Friday, May 28 @ All Things Audry
Can Writing Be a 9 to 5 Job? Find out from Michelle Dim-St. Pierre, author of the novel Pinnacle Lust. http://allthingsaudry.blogspot.com
Monday, June 1 @ Vickie Miller
Author Michelle Dim-St. Pierre, an experienced traveler, shares why she believes everyone should visit another country. Don't miss a chance to win a copy of her romance-suspense Pinnacle Lust. http://www.vickiesmiller.com/
Wednesday, June 3 @ Renee’s Pages
How does a nurse become a novelist? Stop by for the story of Michelle Dim-St. Pierre, author of Pinnacle Lust. http://reneespages.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 5 @ Building Bookshelves
Take a mini-vacation with author Michelle Dim-St. Pierre and learn five things you should know about Israel. http://blogs.republicanherald.com/bookshelves
Monday, June 8 @ Empty Nest
Don't miss your chance to win a copy of Michelle Dim-St. Pierre's debut novel Pinnacle Lust. http://www.emptynest1.net/
Thursday, June 11 @ Romance Junkies
In the mood for one of the many faces of romance? Enter to win a copy of Michelle Dim-St. Pierre's Pinnacle Lust. http://www.romancejunkies.com/
Wednesday, June 17 @ Between the Pages
Don't miss a review of Michelle Dim-St. Pierre's debut novel Pinnacle Lust. https://amshuman.wordpress.com
Thursday, June 18 @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
Stop by and meet a new author, Michelle Dim-St. Pierre, who wrote Pinnacle Lust, the story of an Israeli nurse and her doomed love affair. http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 26 @ Deal Sharing Aunt
Need a great book to read this summer? Stop by for a review of Pinnacle Lust by Michelle Dim-St. Pierre. http://www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/
Keep up with blog stops and giveaways in real time by following us on Twitter.
Get Involved!
If you have a website or blog and would like to host one of our touring authors or schedule a tour of your own, please email us at blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com.
Book Giveaway Contest: Enter to win a copy of Pinnacle Lust! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. We will announce the winner in the Rafflecopter widget this Friday, May 29.
Although I love greeting cards and the idea of sending a literary hug to someone you love, the prices ($3 a card!) have put the brakes on my greeting card purchases in recent years. So when fellow writer Barbara Barth sent me an announcement about her new e-book A Cup of Christmas with the tagline "Instead of a Christmas card send a Christmas e-book. It costs less!" I knew I had to check it out. I had so much fun with this book. I'm a sucker for sappy Christmas movies and watch them endlessly and there were a few tearjerker stories in A Cup of Christmas but it was a great mix. I laughed, I cried, I got hungry(there are recipes), I was even creeped out a bit by some paranormal elements thrown into the mix. All in all it was a fun book/Christmas card (it even has Christmas card-like illustrations to accompany each story) and I know just who on my Christmas list will receive one. Here's a bit from the editor Barbara Barth about the mania of creating an anthology:
Barbara, you've written a memoir and a romance-suspense. How did you take a turn at editing an anthology? Did you just wake up one day looking for a new challenge and say, "Hey, why don't I edit an anthology?" Was it a protest against incredibly expensive greeting cards, after all, in your intro you did write "Give an e-book for less than the cost of a greeting card? Or are you just a sucker for Christmas?
You have me laughing with this first question. Yes, I did wake up one day and say, I think I’d like to pull together an anthology. I’ve never been a planner; I just get an idea and run with it. Once I decide on a project, it gets all my energy. I saw the cover image on a website and it clicked.A Cup of Christmaswas created in six weeks. Originally, I expected ten or fifteen authors to participate, but the final e-book has 30 writers (and me, making it 31) with everything from holiday stories, memoirs, poems, and a few tasty recipes.
I loved the idea of sending a book for Christmas. Amazon makes it so easy too. They have a ‘gift button’ that lets you buy an e-book and send it, along with a personal greeting. Our slogan became ‘Why send a card when you can send an e-book!’ Catchy, fun, and practical. It is a gift that keeps on giving too. All proceeds go to First Book, a children’s literacy charity.
The e-book is visually festive. The bright red cover, the titles of each piece in red script, and a small graphic for each story. My sister (PD King Design) worked magic with her design. The book is published through my company Gilbert Street Press.
A Cup of Christmas was my way of reaching out to others. I remember how much fun I had as an antique dealer, decorating my shop (and the occasional show) for Christmas. I loved connecting with customers during the holidays especially. I miss that interaction since I no longer am in business. The anthology put me in touch with so many different writers, it was a celebration of the season, and a way for me to connect to folks I might otherwise not meet.
Tell us about the process of creating an anthology, since I'm sure we all have a topic nearest and dearest to our hearts that we would like to see featured in an anthology. How did you pick your topic?
It was a given it would be a Christmas anthology the minute I saw the cover image. We were also just heading into the holiday season and I wanted a project to share immediately. Christmas is close to most everyone’s heart and I figured it was an easy topic for folks to write about in the short time-frame I gave them. I had my work cut out for me, but the authors stopped what they were doing to participate in a project that pulled together in less time than it takes many to plan a Christmas party. It was an awesome experience and a learning one for me.
How did you find your writers and, not just writers, but writers that were willing to write without compensation? And why didn't you ask me?
I contacted authors through Facebook. Some I know personally and others are just Facebook friends through the writers groups there, or through friends liking friends. Sort of the six degrees of separation theory. I posted a ‘call for writers’ on my timeline, then sent Facebook private messages to many authors I hoped would participate. In addition to my own writing, I love to promote others with my various book blogs, and I think that helped give credence to the project.
Several of the authors recommended students from their workshops, who would be wonderful additions to the anthology. The thing I love best about A Cup of Christmasis the range of writers. The contributions are from award winning authors, traditionally published authors, self-published, and those never published before. Many are southern writers, but we have authors across the country, from England and Australia. Each brings their special talent.
I planned for the e-book to be free (I did not want to collect money and distribute it, and I didn’t want any of the writers to think I was making money off the project and their work.). In exchange, each author would have a short bio and live links to their website, blog, and/or Amazon Author Page at the end of their piece. It was a fun way to share during the Christmas season with a bit of PR for everyone involved. After that plan was in place, and halfway through the project, an author e-mailed me advising Amazon’s minimum price for an e-book was 99 cents. That took us in a new direction, and one that was kismet for everyone, bringing a charity on board, and one that all the authors agreed was a perfect selection, First Book.
Shame on me for not asking you, Jodi. Next time you will receive a personal invitation! And there will be a ‘next time’!
Was it difficult choosing who would be included? Did you have to edit some people out because of size constrictions?
The guidelines for the anthology were simple; the contents of the book had to be in the spirit of Christmas, no sex, no violence, something that anyone could read and enjoy. It could be a story (word length up to the author, but preferably less than 6000 words – so short or long), memoir, poetry, and, since I know a few chefs who are authors, some holiday recipes. Everyone who contacted me was included. I had a wonderful author come in the last 48 hours before the e-book design was completed. Time, not space, was the final decision maker. I was very fortunate that everyone involved had something lovely to share.
Were you nervous about being the editor? Is this your first experience editing?
I was so nervous about being an editor, I was going to put assembled by next to my name, hoping to avoid the editor title all together. I don’t trust my own writing, punctuation, etc., and I felt very insecure about ‘editing’ other authors, especially those with credentials so far ahead of mine. As I read each piece, I decided I had to put on my editor’s hat, and get to it. I contacted most of the writers if I had questions. I realized two things: if there were glaring problems, I would look bad and the author would look bad. Being an editor is a huge responsibility and I knew everyone trusted me to produce a professional product. I was fortunate to have input from a few authors who helped with my editing questions, and actually looked at some of the pieces with me. You also have to remember, that no one had any real time to fluff their work, because the project came together so quickly. I am proud of the finished book and now brag I am the editor. Don’t hurt me if you see something wrong!
Tell us a little about how First Book became involved in this project.
As I mentioned earlier, the anthology started out to be a free Kindle download. Then I found out we couldn’t list it for free (although I could do a free promo through KDP Select). We needed to bring a charity on board, because this was never about money for us. I had read about First Book some months back and suggested them to the group. It seemed a perfect match – writers helping to bring books to children. I contacted First Book directly, their Washington DC office, to tell them about the project, and to be sure I could link back to them in our anthology and in all our marketing. First Book has distributed more than 120 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. All proceeds from the sale of our anthology go to First Book, but even better, we are spreading the word about First Book through our group and individual marketing and encouraging readers to donate directly.
What was the most rewarding and difficult thing about creating an anthology?
The most difficult thing about this project was the fact I jumped in without a plan other than to get it done. It was a huge learning process for me. Next time I will have better instructions for the authors in how to format their work so there is a consistency in what I get. Double space, single space, story embedded with illustrations, two spaces between sentences, etc. I received stories in every format imaginable – and that was my fault. It just created extra work for me, but it taught me so much! Then the snafu with pricing, I did not research that before I started. While I had to make adjustments along the way, it was a remarkable process, and taught me by trial and error what to do next time.
I am very proud of our marketing efforts too. The anthology launched for free, and now is for sale at $1.99, with all proceeds to First Book. I had a great time with graphics for Facebook, my own timeline, and our A Cup of Christmas Authors Facebook page.
Two authors, Tori Bailey and Doug Dahlgren, created YouTube videos for the anthology. Kerry Alan Denney spent most of the first day tweeting and reposting on every site imaginable. The team effort was awesome. Our launch landed us as number 3 in the top 100 free anthology e-books on Kindle.
I love working with other authors. Writing for me is more connecting with people, sharing experiences, making new friends, doing something meaningful. A Cup of Christmas is full of the spirit of giving and it doesn’t get any better than that in my book!
What's up next? Another anthology?
Most likely, there will be an annual Christmas anthology. This was so much fun we would like the tradition to continue. As for me, I am almost finished with my dog memoir. I hope to have it available by early spring. The hounds are impatient to see their stories in print.
Jodi Webb is still toiling away at her writing in between a full-time job, a full-time family and work as a blog tour manager for WOW-Women on Writing. For Jodi's take on reading and writing (no 'rithmetic please!) stop by her blog Words by Webb and a new one Building Bookshelves (no hammers required).
I consider myself a writer. I also edit copy for a living. But in the past few months, I've also taken on the role as the editor of a nonfiction magazine. I'm on the other side of the desk now and it's a strange feeling.
(Please note: It's a publication within the organization where I work and, unfortunately, it doesn't allow for pitches or assignments for freelance writers.)
This editor position is a different role than the writer positions I've had before. I'm still evolving as an editor. But I've learned some important lessons that I've tried to pass along to my writers, which I thought I'd pass along to readers of The Muffin:
Tell a story. Although facts and figures are important, a story will captivate the reader more than a recitation of the facts. Stuck on the numbers? Think of ways you would explain the story to your mother or good friend and they ask: Why do these facts or numbers matter? That can help you crystallize the heart of the story.
Research. And research some more. If you haven't found a story yet, keep looking. In my role as a writer, I've often worked to tease out a story and that sometimes involves having to dig deeper into your research. More research can uncover a thread that can lead the reader through your piece.
What interests you? Good chance that if you write, you probably read a lot. Take a look at some of the articles that you have enjoyed reading and figure out what attracts you to the writing. Did the story start with a quotation? Is it a first-person tale? Try to apply some of those elements to your own writing.
Ask a peer to read your work. When you are writing an article, ask for feedback from your peers or, if you know them, readers of the magazine. Oftentimes if someone is familiar with a magazine, she can help identify how to make your article stronger.
Proofread! So, you've found your story and you've layered it with the best you have to offer. You are ready to turn it in. Or are you? Step away from it and give yourself some distance. When you return to the piece, read through it and look for rough patches and typos. Make sure you turn in your best work.
In my new role, I'm also making it a point to keep an open dialogue between my writers and me. If they have questions, I encourage them to ask. And I'll even try to help them with their drafts.
I'm still learning how to be a magazine editor. What lessons have you learned from an editor you've worked with? What's the best advice you've ever received from an editor? Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer and editor living in Wilmington, North Carolina. The azalea blossoms are this weekend's distraction.What's your weekend distraction?
As an assignment for a class that looked at the job of an editor as a manager, I had the pleasure of interviewing a friend who was once an editor with management responsibilities. (The purpose of the class assignment was to find someone who has been an editor and manager.) My friend had some neat things to say about her process of editing, which I found illustrative of the process of crafting pieces of writing. Below are some outtakes from the interview. I hope you enjoy!
You could approach a topic from different points of view,” she said. “When I think about editing something, I think about it having a larger view of an issue. It’s not just writing an article...it's getting to the vision.
About managing writers and others on her team:
What I loved about that was the creative process and the interaction with the reporters and the editors. Whether breaking news or long-form feature story, there is a different kind of serendipity for each.
My friend helped writers shape their work and enjoyed learning something new and honing a story “until the story means something.” Whether working with a graphic artist, photographer, or reporter, she said she became energized as she worked with individuals or with the collaborative, working groups, such as editors.
Working together, she says, a group’s creativity starts to explode and take over. She compares it to medical school, as residents make their rounds and discuss a patient’s situation as a group.
That’s what makes working for publications so wonderful. A whole group of people are collaborating and building on each others' best work.
She found herself helping people with their work by getting them to talk about a piece and giving them feedback, but without changing their work. The writer was responsible for re-working the piece, but developed patience as an editor and with the process of writing.
Without that approach, she says, writers keep “making the same mistakes over and over again. Instead, she recommends reflection and feedback. Her writers’ writing improved, she believed, after she spent time asking a reporter questions. A more creative and collaborative process because, she says, she doesn’t have all the answers—and doesn’t get them by sitting in a room with others asking, “what do you think this really means?” Instead, the writer “externalizes the writing and tells me ‘here's where I'm going.’” As a manager, she did learn over time to make decisions. However, she also learned that a manager cannot be directive all the time and it is better to be a “creative collaborator.” Growing up, she never imagined she would be working with words and editing the work of others.
I was amazed to think that people telling stories from all over the world, people call that news. An actual reporter saw that and wrote about it.
She doesn’t see editing going away and thinks that people who say editing is not necessary only need look at something that hasn’t been edited and compare it to something that has. She likened it to watching raw video versus a finished movie.
An unedited piece is often impossible to navigate, has no credibility, and is not efficient. I love having a hand in shaping how people navigate something. An editor provides the invisible hand to guide the reader.
Elizabeth King Humphrey is writer and editor living in North Carolina. She earned her MFA in creative writing from UNC Wilmington and is currently taking more writing and editing classes!
When Your Nonfiction Book Idea is Stuck in the Mud
by Andrea Campbell
I’ve been teaching online for over twelve years now and there is one problem that people who want to write a book all commit—at least in the beginning. They get what they think is a great idea for a book and then get stuck. For some reason, they can’t get going. The title won’t come. They can’t find a way to start the Overview or Introduction, and they get frustrated thinking they’ve got writer’s block or maybe they figure they haven’t spent enough time staring at a blank piece of paper. This is usually the state at which they come to me. I hear, “I’ve got a great idea but can’t seem to pull it together.” Or, “I started this book proposal six months ago and just seem to keep procrastinating. What am I doing wrong?”
What’s It About?
I’ll ask them what their book is about and listen as they try to explain their book to me. Most can’t seem to articulate what the book topic is in one sentence, often they can’t even do it in one paragraph. Typically, it turns out, they can’t even explain it with a full page of writing!
First Level Thinking
Nine times out a ten it’s what I call first-level thinking. This is a term I use to explain when someone has an idea that is usually very generic. It could be a common idea or something that has come to the attention of people-consciousness with a “groundswell” of information, (meaning, it’s been in the universe so long that many people have picked up on it). Since thinking and true brainstorming are so difficult (we get tired after five concentrated minutes of it), these writers can’t get past the initial idea. They get stalled thinking that their first idea is their best idea. Now, in reality, in order for their idea to be even mildly successful, they need an idea so strong that it provides true visceral feelings or emotions. This idea then has to provide the structurefor every important element in the book proposal—from title to chapter sample. Their idea must do some heavy-lifting. And it must Wow! us at the same time.
Parse the Book
So after the basic market research and several library-type exercises I require, I suggest to students that they parse their book. Now parsing was originally what you did in high school English when you broke apart a sentence into its basic parts: noun, verb, adjective and so forth. “Parsing a book” is a twist on the original concept and my own invention, because I use it to express the need to do it for book ideas. The best way to explain how to do it is by using an example to demonstrate how, through parsing, it can help you to recognize the most perfect direction and focus for the book.
Take Your Idea
Let’s use “walking” as an example. Perhaps you just discovered walking for fitness and are really jazzed about how you feel. Unfortunately, no matter how enthused you are about walking it is a dull subject. There are walking magazines and the public has known about the virtues of walking for fitness for a very long time. But, you still don’t want to leave walking, what can you do? Well, let’s look at walking in different ways. Do you have other experiences with walking?
How about: a method? Sprint walking, Full body walking. Walking backwards.
How about: a group? Marathon walkers, charity walkers, dog walkers.
How about: history? Famous walkers. Walking records.
How about: location? Walking botanical gardens. Walking Iraq.
Now we’re getting somewhere. With “walking botanical gardens” you can provide a guide to the best, most inspirational gardens in the United States, complete with maps, and some tips on how to prepare. (And the gardens themselves usually have gift stores, so you’ve also identified a market for sales!)
And walking Iraq. That’s interesting too. If you’ve done a tour there you can talk about the citizens you’ve met, the dangers you’ve encountered, and the changes your walking there has made in you. And you can format your stories with interviews and maps. (Plus, the military who have been there too, would most likely help make up a readership.)
So, we’ve taken an unlikely, unpublishable topic, walking, and found out through book parsing, two possible ways in which to focus our topic and get a book proposal subject that just may work. Truth is, if you believe in your subject, you need to develop ways to work with it, but at least you have a start: a viable idea.
***
Andrea Campbell is the author of twelve traditionally published nonfiction books on a variety of topics including forensic science, criminal law, primatology and entertaining using interactive games, among others. Andrea is currently working on the 3rd edition of Legal Ease: A Guide to Criminal Law, Evidence and Procedure, which has been fashioned into a college law textbook, and she will featured in an upcoming anthology, Now Write! Mystery, Thrillers and Crime, the next in the writing series published by Penguin/Tarcher.
Andrea is a member of several professional organizations and stays current with book business. Her classes always offer students much more than they thought they’d get. One of her students recently got a “very good deal,” and, according to Publisher’s Lunch, a $100,000-plus book contract.
Andrea is also a WOW! Women on Writing Classroom instructor. Her interactive workshop THE GATEKEEPERS: ALL ABOUT AGENTS AND EDITORS—Getting them, Working with them, and Growing as a Career Author starts Monday, April 25th. This class is limited to 10 students, so make sure you reserve your spot today. Click hereto sign up now!
I love writing and I love my editors. Well, on most days. Sometimes, I guess, I feel a little fickle and want to reconsider the high school job counseling which said I should become a funeral director or a beekeeper. Now, I have nothing but respect for funeral directors or beekeepers, but chose not to follow those particular areas of work. (Although I often wonder…what is it about both of those that would have suited me?)
It’s not often that my thoughts turn to those careers, until I’ve had a particularly bad day with an editor. I’ve had two recent events—interspersed with an awesome experience. Nonetheless, the bad experiences gave me pause.
One editor requested such a serious re-write that I verged on crying out “But this reeks of being a new assignment!” While I swallowed my pride, re-wrote the piece and thought of career changes, I slowly came to realize that the editor had forced me to improve the piece. Just as a teacher wants you to reach into your skill set, this editor was challenging me to better my game. Begrudgingly, I appreciated the editor’s request and will probably cherish the clip for that experience.
I have a couple clips like that. Sometimes, for me, it is hard to discern if the published piece is very good or if I pull it out as one of my clips for sentimental reasons.
In the second instance, an editor alerted me to a published article similar to a piece I had turned in days before this other story appeared. In the e-mail, I was asked if I wanted to massage my piece, based on what the other writer had written. The published piece was a different take on the same thing. While I respect the direction the other writer took, it was not the way I interpreted my assignment. I responded to the editor that I trusted the editorial direction given and would make any changes upon request.
So, while I wait for this editor’s response, why do I feel the urge to search the classifieds for jobs in the funeral industry?
Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer and a certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach. She writes about motherhood at Coastal Carolina Moms and creativity at TheWriteElizabeth. Find her on Twitter @Eliz_Humphrey to follow the saga: will she start applying for funeral jobs? Will she dive into beekeeping? Or will her editor *pay* for a massage instead of asking her to massage the article?
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Caitlin Hamilton Summie earned an MFA with Distinction from Colorado State University. Her story collection, TO LAY TO REST OUR GHOSTS, won the fourth annual Phillip H. McMath Book Award, Silver in the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award for Short Stories, and was a Pulpwood Queen Book Club Bonus Book. Her debut novel, GEOGRAPHIES OF THE HEART, was inspired by three stories in her collection and is due out from Fomite Press in January 2022. She spent many years in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Colorado before settling with her family in Knoxville, Tennessee. She co-owns the book marketing firm, Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, founded in 2003. Find her online at caitlinhamiltonsummie.com. 
