%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. If it falls this year (2024), then I may stop the whole blogging thing, but that's all a "wait and see" scenario. An index of topics can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"  Feel free to comment and interact. |
| ARCs Schnujo's Doing Homework asked me a heap of questions. I looked at the easy answers in "20250702 Answering Questions" , but there are two more topics to examine. This is the second.The benefit of ARC readers (at least for self-publishing -- IDK about with traditional) It seems that these questions have been quite anti-trad publishing, but I do understand most people on WdC prefer the self-publishing route. I donāt (and cannot, with very specific exceptions, see why people would), and have put forth my views enough in this blog. Now, for those unaware, an ARC is an Advanced Reader Copy. It is also called an ARE (Advanced Reader Edition) or a Pre-Release Copy. These are the copies that go out after the proof-reading stage. They are sometimes missing things like links, dedication and full publisher details, but they always have the ISBN or ASIN (though nowadays they tend to be as complete as possible). Sometimes the cover is stamped with something to indicate it is a pre-release copy. In the past ten, fifteen years, most ARCs I have seen (say, 95%) have been e-books. They are given to readers who then register them with the publisher (I am guessing this does not happen with self-published, so they can just be shared around) and read them. Why do them? Reviews. It is that simple. You tend to give the ARCs to people who will be sympathetic to your cause to get the first lot of reviews as good as possible. Amazon sometimes doesnāt allow ARC reviews (what day of the week is it?) but Goodreads, personal blogs, Bookgram, Facebook, etc. all do. It gets you out there with a review before the story hits the public, and suddenly people are confronted with a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings, which does help push it in front of more eyes. ARC reviewers will be expected to give more than just a āthis book was goodā sort of fluffy review, but to list some things that they really did like. You want people who read in that genre, and who know at least your name or the name of your publisher. I guess self-published people choose their ARCs. I am a regular ARC reader for poet Sakshi Narula, for example, and have done some ARC reading for some self-published works by people I know. Many publishers, on the other hand, have lists of ARC readers who they know will give honest reviews, but they also pick and choose them from the list based on what they like to read. I was an ARC reader for a US-based company (that sadly died in the pandemic with my accepted book unpublishedā¦) and read around 4 of their books a year. Now, are ARCs important? Publishers seem to think they are. I am in two minds. Yes, because those first positive reviews can matter. No, because thereās a heap of sales Iāve missed out on. But that could be the greed part of me doing this for a living talkingā¦ However, there is nothing better in marketing than to be able to put a five-star review with a complimentary comment on the āplease buy thisā blog post! Anyway, so thatās ARCs. |
| Types Of Editing Schnujo's Doing Homework asked me a heap of questions. I looked at the easy answers in "20250702 Answering Questions" , but there are two more topics to examine. This is the first.The different kinds of edits, when to get them, and why So, there are 4 different types of editing. 1) Developmental editing This is the big picture stuff, and is what a good beta reader does. They look at the plot, the characters, the facts, the inconsistencies, and the way the different levels of story (plot, sub-plots, tertiary character arcs, etc.) work, together and on their own. So it is an advanced form of beta reading. Extremely important in long works. 2. Line editing This is looking at how easily something is able to be read. This is where things like paragraphing, info-dumps, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, etc. are examined. There is also a quick look at grammar, punctuation, spelling and homophones, but the main thing is how readable a piece is. It is like a more detailed beta read. However, the main thing a good line editor will look at is show vs tell. They should indicate where the tell is and leave it up to the writer to change it to show. This is the main thing you will get out of a line editor, and it is so important this is done to make the book the best it can be for a reader. Line editing occurs after beta reading. 3. Copyediting This is where every single line is looked at in detail. The story is ignored here ā the first two look at that ā and this is where the actual technical aspects of writing are pored over. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are hit hard. If a person needs a lot of copyediting, a traditional publisher will generally pass on them, because editors cost a lot, and this is a huge expense; they might have to sell an extra 50-plus books to pay for it. Iāll give a personal example. Invasive Species had a grand total of 23 copyedits needed for a 96k-plus word book when the editor at the publisher went through it. This meant the publisher (AM Ink) did not have to pay a lot for an editor, and used the money set aside for that in marketing, and the book has been my best seller. The publisher had more money because I gave them the cleanest copy I could, and used this to market the book. Many writers ā and I have encountered them here at WdC ā think a copyeditor will clean up their work. Two things ā copyeditors are human, and the more mistakes they are confronted with, the more they are likely to miss; and it makes you look like you donāt care. Self copyediting before submitting to a publisher or paying for an editor (and the more mistakes, the more it will cost you; I have worked as a freelance editor, I know) can save money and improve your own writing technique and style. End rant. 4. Proof-reading Proof-reading is the final run-through. The book has been accepted and edited, or you have done the self-publishing work, and you get a galley proof. A proof-reader goes through to see if anything is amiss. This includes missed edits, names that have changed, formatting issues, things like that. This takes place right before final publication. Even in short stories, I am generally given a galley proof copy of the book and expected to go through my own story to find errors (including the author bio). Last chance to fix mistakes here! And that is the types of editing, and when they happen. A lot of editors will do line and copy editing at the same time, but I prefer to keep them separate. I will do one or the other for a writer. I do feel that a different line editor and copyeditor help. First, it is two sets of eyes; second, the second time they read it, they know what is happening or going to happen and might miss errors through complacency or familiarity. Developmental comes with the beta reader. Line editing is something I feel a writer should pay for. Copyediting is done by the traditional publisher, so a self-publisher will need to pay for it. And proof-reading is generally done by the writer themselves. Hope that explains it all. |
| Answering Questions Schnujo's Doing Homework asked me a heap of questions. I am going to answer the easy ones or previously answered ones here, and use the rest in upcoming columns. 1) Good 1st lines/ Good 1st pages This is so subjective as to be insane. What one editor/ publisher/ reader likes, another will hate. For example, I have been told to never start with dialogue; Iāve sold more than a dozen that start just that way. But one thing that you should never do is start with an info-dump of world-building or personal description. However, Iāve covered it here: "20240612 Starting A Story" 2. Good endings Covered here: "20240618 Endings" 3. Writing unlikeable protagonists we still want to read about Not 100% sure if I did this properly, but protagonists are covered: "20241208 Protagonist and Antagonist" I have to say, I have not come across this much in literature, except where the villain is the protagonist. Artemis Fowl (in the books) is the only great example where this is done deliberately. 4. The difference between alpha and beta readers and why we probably want both (at least for self-publishing -- maybe traditional doesn't) I cover readers here: "20240522 Readers" However, the tl;dr is: alpha readers are not necessary, in my opinion, for any writer. But beta readers are vital for all writers. 5. Writing what readers want to read, not just what you want to write How long is a piece of string? This is sort of like bandwagon jumping, and todayās flavour of the month will be tomorrowās cringe. I always say write what you want to write. You are the first reader, after all. Donāt write to a market is my advice. 6. Book marketing on the cheap No idea. I publish traditionally ā my publishers market for me. But I will say this: nowadays, social media is only selling to friends and people who know you, and whereas in the late 2000s through to the pandemic, socials really helped, now it is not making perceivable differences. I have no idea, in other words. 7. Know your audience Covered here: "20241014 Know Your Audience" So, thanks, Schnujo's Doing Homework, and the other 2 things you asked for will be upcoming topics of their own! If anyone else has things they want me to look at, drop a line in the comments or Newsfeed or in an email! |
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