Editors

The fascination of
words and writing

Agents and Editors and Fees, Oh, My!

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Right. I’ve been receiving a lot of questions, lately, about literary agents, mostly from new writers eager to obtain one. And anytime there’s a situation in the marketplace where there is a demand for something, there will be scam artists eager to make a quick buck off that need.

So here’s the scoop on who you should pay, when, and why.

“Literary agents” (quotation marks deliberate) who ask for a fee for editing, or who recommend an editing service, are likely scam artists who have no interest in placing manuscripts with publishers. Run, do not walk, away from this sort of interest in your book. Yeah, it’s exciting to hear their enthusiasm. You’ll be a lot less enthusiastic once you’ve spent time with them.

Legitimate literary agents comply with ethical standards that prohibit them from charging authors a fee (beyond minimal office expenses for postage and copying——many do not even charge for those, and most charge only against advances received).

Agents make their money only on manuscripts sold. Agents pay money to authors; they do not collect money from authors. When your book is sold to a publishing house, your agent will collect an agreed-upon percentage of whatever it is that you make from the book. You should never write a check to your agent.

Now … on to editing.

Authors who are preparing manuscripts for submission to literary agents may wish to take full responsibility for the editing of their submissions. They often belong to peer-editing writing groups, writing workshops, critique groups, etc., and I strongly advise you, if you’re writing a book, to send it through this review process.

While a pass by a professional editor may be a worthwhile investment for the submission package of a few chapters, it is not absolutely necessary.

However, a self-publishing author is a publisher and, like all publishers, is responsible for having the book professionally edited before publication. This is when you write the check, folks. Editing (which may include both developmental editing and copyediting) is a normal part of the publishing process and is best done by skilled professionals, who do not work for free.

So … clearer? Let me know if you have any other questions. Recognizing the various roles in the publishing industry and moving efficiently through them is the best way to be seen as a professional; and it will put you … beyond the elements of style!

Tags: editors, literary agents, self-publishing
Posted in About Writing, Editing, Editors, Getting Published, Proposal, Publishers, Publishing, Submissions, Words, Writing | 1 Comment »

Style Sheets

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Whether you’re an editor or a writer, stylesheets are your absolute best friend. Create them, use them, keep them.

What is a stylesheet? Well, you’ve probably at least heard of or at best worked with style manuals such as The Chicago Manual of Style, the Associated Press Handbook of Style, or the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association. You might even be familiar with The Elements of Style! These manuals tell you how to present your work in such a way that it’s clear and consistent. Wikipedia says, “A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. The implementation of a style guide provides uniformity in style and formatting of a document.”

A style sheet begins where the style guide leaves off. Essentially it’s a document in which you maintain the “right” way to do things for the specific manuscript you’re working on. If it’s a nonfiction manuscript, you’ll want to include formatting issues, header information, and so on. If you’re dealing with fiction, then stylesheets are truly the best way to keep continuity: how many stories have you read in which Mary has black hair on page 14 but red hair on page 362?

Now I expect that most writers who are reading this will by now be shrugging it off. Isn’t that something my editor should do? Why should I be bothered?

There are a couple of reasons you should create a style sheet:

It’s the kind thing to do. I didn’t create a style sheet for a recent novel, and doing so would have saved both the editor and myself a great deal of time, as I had to change some of her changes back to the original, and explain why. It would have been far better to have made that explanation upfront.
It’s the efficient thing to do. How many times have you had to flip back in your book to remind yourself of a minor character’s last name, to check a date, or to remember what you said about Aunt Sophie? Easier just to turn to your style sheet to find the answers.

For nonfiction writers, style sheets are essential to keep you on track and eliminate long conversations with your editor when the time comes.

Many if not most publishers have their own style sheets (sometimes referred to as style guides); ask for them. It’s always easier to set up a manuscript correctly than to go back in and correct it later! Do that, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Tags: manuals of style, style guides, style sheets, Usage
Posted in About Writing, Editing, Editors, Language, Style, Usage, Words, Writing | No Comments »

Contracts Not Optional

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

It’s an interesting relationship, that between authors and editors. Sometimes it’s strong and mutually beneficial; occasionally it’s abrasive. I’m particularly aware of this particular relationship, as I sit in both seats: I’m an author who is edited, and an editor who works with other authors. That’s reasonably unusual, and it gives me a lot of perspective.

Today someone on one of my professional internet discussion lists brought up one example of the author-editor relationship gone badly wrong. A Croation writer had a translated short story published in an American literary journal, only finding after publication that a number of the edits were unwarranted—and uncommunicated to her:

“As no one contacted me about any edits, I presumed everything was fine with the story. Imagine then my astonishment when the Anthology arrived at my doorstep (in December 2010) and I realized that a diligent Dalkey editor not only made quite a few interventions in the text, but they also inserted (!) a piece of text that changed/determined sex of my narrator! As this gender/sex ambiguity is one of the thematic pillars of my story, this benevolent editorial intervention (which made the narrator a man and the relationship heterosexual!) completely changed my story, its aims and effects. To be sure, the author is not, nor can they be, the owner of the interpretation, but surely they should be the owner of their text? The copy editor’s job is not to rewrite or retell the story in their own words—but rather to intervene as little as possible and if they do change something, to check with the author before the text goes to print.”

She has some legitimate gripes, there’s no question about that. The editing was heavy-handed at best and unconscionable at worst. I understand her rage.

But … let’s look a little earlier in the story:

“All seemed well; no one from Dalkey contacted me except to sign a contract that allowed the publisher to use the story, or parts of it, for their advertising and other purposes. There was nothing in the contract about the text of the story itself, nothing about editorial interventions, proofreading etc.”

Aye, there’s the rub. There was nothing in the contract about the text of the story itself…”.

She learned, the hard way, the value of spelling everything out in a contract signed by both parties. I learned it the hard way, too. In my case, the offer on my second novel came in and I couldn’t sign the contract quickly enough. They’re paying me to do what I love? Hot damn! I’m not sure that I even read the contract. I lost a lot of control (like the Croatian author, above), and I lost a lot of money.

I learned a lot.

So here’s the hope: learn from those of us who had to learn the hard way! Never, ever, ever make an assumption about what a publisher is going to do. Have it spelled out. If it isn’t spelled out in the contract you’re offered, insist on it—or at least open a conversation about your needs and decide on the basis of that conversation whether to sign the contract. Most publishers are willing to negotiate points on their contracts; and it’s in everyone’s best interests to be absolutely clear about what the relationship you’re going into entails.

Don’t make assumptions, ever. And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Tags: literary journals, Words
Posted in About Writing, Contracts, Editing, Editors, Literary contracts, Process Matters, Publishers, Words, Writing | No Comments »