So at the Tony Hillman Conference, they had a session where you could put your name into the hat for a reading of your first page in front of two best-selling authors and an agent.

I got lucky (gulp!) and my number was drawn, so I read my page, voice shaking with fear.

And they all loved it! I was so stoked, especially when I approached the agent after the session, and she said to send her the first 50 pages.

Just got an email from that agent this week, too. She wants to see the entire manuscript once she gets back from her holidays!

Wish me luck, guys!

The manuscript is back from the copy editor already!

I think that’s a good thing. She said it was a good story, and this is a PhD in English, so I’m going to believe her and start working on those query letters!

A few niggles – some instances where I spelled a minor character’s name one way in one chapter, and slightly different in a later chapter, some words I hyphenated one time and didn’t hyphenate later – that sort of thing. And, of course, the inevitable missed comma errors (I tend to add too many) and misspellings that the Spell-Check doesn’t catch because they’re real words (just not the word I intended to spell).

Overall, I’m satisfied that “my baby” is ready to send out into the dangerous world of Publishing. I never had kids, so I don’t really know, but it feels less like sending a child off and more like entering a science project in a huge science fair and hoping for a prize. I did my best work – and I know that will improve as I keep practicing the craft! – and now it’s time to let the judges see what I created.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Over the years, I’ve attended a lot of writing conferences, and one of my favorite types of sessions is the “How Not To Get Published” panel. This is where you put a bunch of published authors, editors, and agents at the table and ask them for their worst experiences. Not only do you have an hour of belly laughs, but you come away thinking that you can’t be all that bad compared to what you’ve just heard.

Here are 10 of my favorite manuscript submission stories … that actually happened.

Top 10 ways NOT to get your manuscript read:

10. Enclose a chocolate bar for the editor … to a publishing house based in Atlanta, GA … in July

9.  Fill the box containing your horror manuscript with tiny plastic spiders

8. Douse your romance manuscript in perfume

7. Address the package to “To Whom It May Concern”

6. Fill the box containing your manuscript with glitter and confetti

5. Enclose a bribe

4. Misspell the editor’s name

3. Print the entire manuscript in Lucida Handwriting

2. Cut the pages into a cute bunny shape

and the Number 1 way NOT to get your manuscript read …

 

…leave it in your desk drawer!

This is courtesy of Michael Stackpole’s lecture at Dragoncon.

First, remember that you are not editing as you go along. As Stackpole says, “first, dig the hole” – get the manuscript down before you play with it.

In order to edit the most effectively, Stackpole recommends printing the manuscript out and working on it in a different location from the one in which you write. This forces your brain to switch to editor mode and keeps those two “jobs” separate for you. You should be able to “turn off” one side of your brain and work either as a writer or an editor, but not switch back and forth at the same time.

When editing, if you come across a place in the manuscript where you want to make changes, simple write “FIX” in the margin and keep editing. It’s very important not to switch back into writer mode, but to keep working with the analytical side of your brain to complete your edits. You will go back to writing once you’re done with the edits.

Here are four tips to help you with this process:

1. Create a scene inventory for the manuscript. This is a one-line description for each scene, giving general plot points, tone and nature of the scene (action, technically intense, emotional, etc). For each scene, ask yourself whether it moves the story forward – if not, cut that scene
2. Check the story arcs for each of your characters. Are they genuine? What are the character’s goals, and what obstacles prevent them from reaching those goals? What is the character’s emotional journey? Be sure you have not dropped anything from the arcs, or left out any important information.
3. Make sure your content is genre-appropriate in terms of emotion, action, and thought percentages. For example, for a science-fiction work, you should have something in the ratio of 40-45% action scenes, 40-45% problem-solving scenes, and 15-20% emotional scenes. For romance, the ratio would be more like 15% action, 5% problem-solving, and 80% emotion.
4. When are you through editing? You’re going to write the first draft and then edit, then write a second draft and edit that, and maybe even do a third pass. Stackpole proposes a 10% Rule: when you change fewer than 10% of the words at the end of an edit, it’s time to wrap it up and send it out.

The thing to keep in mind about writing and editing is to keep them separated in your mind. When you’re writing, just write. When you’re editing, just edit. In this way, you’ll develop two different types of skills which will work together to produce your best possible manuscript.

What are some editing tips you’ve learned that help you improve your manuscript?