Today I interview professional editor, Adele Brinkley, who has been editing for 30 years: http://ping.fm/3TUUj

Meet The Editor

JW: Today my guest is Adele Brinkley, a professional editor who can edit anyone’s work ranging from letters to novels and short stories. Good morning, Adele!

Adele: Morning, John. Thank you for an opportunity to promote my editing service, With Pen In Hand.

JW: Tell us a little bit about your background and qualifications to be an editor.

Adele: I’ve been a professional editor for nine years and a high school English teacher for nearly 30. Editing comes as naturally to me as shouting Amen during a southern Baptist tent meeting. I truly try not to walk around with a red pen in my hand, but so far I have failed.

I want my clients’ works to be the best they can be. If they look good, then I look good. It’s a financial ego trip!

I’ve edited papers in all genres from practically every state in the Union. I actually have a couple of clients overseas, one in Sierra Leone.

Also for your Atlanta/Georgia area readers, please note that I am a local editor, located just south of Atlanta in the shadows of the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Please go to my web page (www.WithPenInHand) to “meet” me and review my credentials.

JW: Do people most often employ you for manuscripts and query letters, or is there a broad range of services requested?

Adele: I do edit a broad range of materials, but manuscripts (fiction and non) and dissertations make up the majority of my work. What I have found with the latter is that doctoral candidates do know their material, but most of them do not know the fine points of grammar that APA requires.

I have edited some wonderful manuscripts. There are so many good writers out there who spin wonderful tales. They have not yet reached the level of Anne Rice, John Grisham, or Agatha Christie, but they produce some awesome books. I hope to see them one day on best seller lists.

I also have several clients who pay me a yearly fee to edit their business letters, journal entries, notes, or whatever they need.

JW: Since much of my network consists of writers of prose, short stories and novels, tell us about your fee and approximate length of time between submission and completion.

Adele: My fee is quite reasonable, especially compared to the fees of editors with major publishers or editing companies. I am strictly a freelancer. The cost for an initial novel of any length is $1.00 per double spaced page in 12 pt. font size and Times Roman font. Because I am not editing works of authors such as Rice or Grisham, I cannot charge exorbitant fees.

I had an author tell me one time that he regretted that he could not use my service because I didn’t charge enough. No problem, I’ll raise the price if people feel more comfortable with a higher fee. I wrote to him that he would get the same quality of editing for $1.00 a page that he would get if I charged him $15 a page. Several weeks later, he contacted me again, saying he had reconsidered. After checking out the “big guys,” I looked good to him!

JW: Adele, in editing novels or short stories, is there any one item that stands out as the most common mistake made by authors?

Adele: Verb tense, verb tense, and verb tense! After that come misplaced modifiers and/or dangling participles, word choices, repetition of words or phrases, and the usual culprits: subject-verb agreement, punctuation (especially with quotes and attributions), switching the POV, etc., etc, etc.

JW: During your career, have you had any published work(s) yourself?

Adele: No manuscripts. I can’t sustain a thought that long. I wrote for a newspaper for 15 years and had hundreds of stories and columns published, some of which were recognized and rewarded by the GA Press Association. The wire services even picked up several of them.

JW: What’s the best way to get in touch with you to discuss a proposal of any type?

Adele: On my web page at www.WithPenInHand.net , your readers will find a contact link. Click on it, and we’re in business!

JW: Thank you for an informative interview, Adele. I know my readers are always looking for reliable, professional people who can help them polish their work. It has been a pleasure.

Does Size Really Matter?

Regarding the length of paragraphs--size, or perhaps better stated, length, is entirely up to the individual author. Many of us like to write the way we enjoy reading. Personally, I like short chapters, particularly when I know I don't have a huge block of time to read. I can get several chapters read and not have to stop in the middle of a scene.

How does a writer know when to end a chapter? There is no acceptable template to follow. I've seen books that have fifty or more pages to a chapter; I've also read books with a one-page chapter. It all depends on content and direction. Ending a chapter on a suspenseful note, causing the reader to wonder what happens next, is a great way to end. But to use that same tactic for each chapter is to overdue it and diminish the use of a great writing technique. Some chapters may be necessarily longer in length to resolve a conflict or create a back story, while others may be shorter to illustrate a point, or simply be informative for the reader.

On one discussion board, I heard a very cogent argument for short chapters. The participant explained his preference for short chapters by saying he compares long chapters to listening to a talkative person. The individual wants to tell you something, but rambles on until it all becomes boring and tiresome. Keep the reader in mind when you consider chapter length--it's up to you, the writer.

First Person Point of View

I write reviews for the New York Journal of Books, Two of the last three books I've reviewed were written in first person POV. They were good; the writer was able to get the reader inside the protagonist's head much better than if they had used third person.

But for the inexperienced writer, first person POV can be problematic, particularly because there is a tendency to bore the reader with too much narrative and the writer may ramble on causing too many dead spots. When first person POV works, the result is an exciting, thrilling read. When it doesn't, it becomes a major disappointment, even though the story itself may be unique or interesting.

For more on first person writing, check out this piece on Writers Digest: The Ins and Outs of First-Person POV.

Finished writing my review for Chosen by Chandra Hoffman, now on to my editor. http://ping.fm/bhUfL

Top 10 Writing Tips

I ran across Janet Fitch's blog in which she shares her wisdom about writing and enumerates the things that can improve anyone's writing. Janet is the author of "White Oleander" and "Paint it Black," and she teaches writing at USC. The list -- intended for fiction writers but good for many of us -- is reprinted in its entirety below, with Fitch's permission. Enjoy.

1. Write the sentence, not just the story

Long ago I got a rejection from the editor of the Santa Monica Review, Jim Krusoe. It said: “Good enough story, but what’s unique about your sentences?” That was the best advice I ever got. Learn to look at your sentences, play with them, make sure there’s music, lots of edges and corners to the sounds. Read your work aloud. Read poetry aloud and try to heighten in every way your sensitivity to the sound and rhythm and shape of sentences. The music of words. I like Dylan Thomas best for this–the Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait. I also like Sexton, Eliot, and Brodsky for the poets and Durrell and Les Plesko for prose. A terrific exercise is to take a paragraph of someone’s writing who has a really strong style, and using their structure, substitute your own words for theirs, and see how they achieved their effects.

2. Pick a better verb

Most people use twenty verbs to describe everything from a run in their stocking to the explosion of an atomic bomb. You know the ones: Was, did, had, made, went, looked… One-size-fits-all looks like crap on anyone. Sew yourself a custom made suit. Pick a better verb. Challenge all those verbs to really lift some weight for you.

3. Kill the cliché.

When you’re writing, anything you’ve ever heard or read before is a cliché. They can be combinations of words: Cold sweat. Fire-engine red, or phrases: on the same page, level playing field, or metaphors: big as a house. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. Sometimes things themselves are cliches: fuzzy dice, pink flamingo lawn ornaments, long blonde hair. Just keep asking yourself, “Honestly, have I ever seen this before?” Even if Shakespeare wrote it, or Virginia Woolf, it’s a cliché. You’re a writer and you have to invent it from scratch, all by yourself. That’s why writing is a lot of work, and demands unflinching honesty.

4. Variety is the key.

Most people write the same sentence over and over again. The same number of words–say, 8-10, or 10-12. The same sentence structure. Try to become stretchy–if you generally write 8 words, throw a 20 word sentence in there, and a few three-word shorties. If you’re generally a 20 word writer, make sure you throw in some threes, fivers and sevens, just to keep the reader from going cross eyed.

5. Explore sentences using dependent clauses.

A dependent clause (a sentence fragment set off by commas, dontcha know) helps you explore your story by moving you deeper into the sentence. It allows you to stop and think harder about what you’ve already written. Often the story you’re looking for is inside the sentence. The dependent clause helps you uncover it.

6. Use the landscape.

Always tell us where we are. And don’t just tell us where something is, make it pay off. Use description of landscape to help you establish the emotional tone of the scene. Keep notes of how other authors establish mood and foreshadow events by describing the world around the character. Look at the openings of Fitzgerald stories, and Graham Greene, they’re great at this.

7. Smarten up your protagonist.

Your protagonist is your reader’s portal into the story. The more observant he or she can be, the more vivid will be the world you’re creating. They don’t have to be super-educated, they just have to be mentally active. Keep them looking, thinking, wondering, remembering.

8. Learn to write dialogue.

This involves more than I can discuss here, but do it. Read the writers of great prose dialogue–people like Robert Stone and Joan Didion. Compression, saying as little as possible, making everything carry much more than is actually said. Conflict. Dialogue as part of an ongoing world, not just voices in a dark room. Never say the obvious. Skip the meet and greet.

9. Write in scenes.

What is a scene? a) A scene starts and ends in one place at one time (the Aristotelian unities of time and place–this stuff goes waaaayyyy back). b) A scene starts in one place emotionally and ends in another place emotionally. Starts angry, ends embarrassed. Starts lovestruck, ends disgusted. c) Something happens in a scene, whereby the character cannot go back to the way things were before. Make sure to finish a scene before you go on to the next. Make something happen.

10. Torture your protagonist.

The writer is both a sadist and a masochist. We create people we love, and then we torture them. The more we love them, and the more cleverly we torture them along the lines of their greatest vulnerability and fear, the better the story. Sometimes we try to protect them from getting booboos that are too big. Don’t. This is your protagonist, not your kid.

American Short Fiction

For those of you who like to write stories, there's a place on the web where you can both read and submit fictional stories. It's called American Short Fiction, and it allows you to submit your story for the paltry sum of two dollars. The site also holds contests for its followers. Check it out; it's another way to become published and get your work in front of others.

Borders Finally In

Borders announced that it has finally entered into the e-book market, by launching its own electronic book store. Although it has taken them some time to join others in capitalizing on what's being referred to as the future of publishing, Borders says its aim is to capture 17% of the industry. Read the entire story here: http://tiny.cc/xv9k4 The store, at http://ebooks.borders.com, has more than 1.5 million titles and thousands of free ones, and will feature various formats suitable for a variety of eReaders.

Check out my Author Page on Amazon. http://tiny.cc/ds3vg

Query Letters, The Worst Mistakes

Drawing from my recent attendance at a writers conference, I took some notes from a publisher who related some of the most egregious mistakes committed when submitting query letters:

• The salutation reads, "Dear Sir," when the publisher is a woman.




• Crazy, non-traditional fonts, all caps, and underlining.




• Getting personal is big. If you've met them or spoken on the phone with them, remind them of that.




• It's okay to say, "I've written about a social issue," etc.




• Stay within the publisher's genre.




• Be professional.




• Have a clear, concise summary of what the book is about--don't ramble.




• Include the genre and word count. If you're not certain, check out books similar to yours at the book store--don't tell them yours doesn't fit into any established genre.




• If a manuscript is requested by mail, don't over-tape the box--it annoys publishers.

Warriors In High Heels, Part II--check it out http://tiny.cc/54wrb

Two New Book Reviews

I just completed two book reviews for the New York Journal of Books, find them here: http://tiny.cc/jlwds. If you enjoy reading thrillers, both books will fill that desire. They're Watching by Greg Hurwitz, and Still Missing by Chevy Stevens.

Creating Suspense

Your novel doesn't have to be a thriller to incorporate suspense, it can be any genre. But including suspense in your writing ramps up the readers' interest. That begs the question: How do I create suspense? I attended a writers conference a couple of weeks ago in which this element was discussed on at least two panels. On one of those panels, Simon Wood, a well-known author, provided some simple guidelines.

Give the reader a lofty viewpoint. Provide your audience with both points of view: protagonist and antagonist.

Use time constraints. Time should favor the bad guy, while the clock works against the protagonist.

Consequences or high stakes. Some dire consequence must be the outcome, one that will devastate the hero.

Creating dilemmas. Constant challenges laid down in front of the hero, causing him to make tough decisions and costing time to solve.

Unpredictability. The protagonist should be unable to solve every problem he faces.

These are some of the elements that go into the mix of creating a story with suspense. And, if you're able to pull it off, using first person POV will allow your reader to get inside the heads of your hero and bad guy.