I feel like an idiot

romancewriter · Dec 11, 2006

I don't know if anyone else has had this experience, or knows someone who has, but right now I'm feeling like a total idiot and need some advice.

Over a year ago I got a request for a full from Harlequin, and the story was later rejected because the line changed guidelines. I really liked the story and thought I'd done a pretty good job with it so I've been trying to find it a new home. My latest rejection came about a week ago from an epublisher. She seemed to like some things about it but she said there was so many missing words and punctuation that it was difficult to read.

I know that comes across one of two ways. Either I didn't care enough to edit it properly before sending it off, or that I'm just stupid and can't handle editing. Unfortunately in my case it's the later because I have gone through that ms many, many times, and thought I had it pretty good shape. Of course I always thought it possible I'd missed a few things, but those comments suggests it's more than one or two things.

(sigh) So my question is how big of an idiot do these editors who I've sent this ms too think I am? I've been thinking of emailing this editor and suggesting that if I fix the missing words and punctuation if she would be willing to review it again, but if she's cringing at the thought of reading something I've written I don't want to waste her time.

Any thoughts?

WildScribe · Dec 11, 2006

Did you have anyone else read over it? You can only read your own work so many times before you start skipping every other line in your head.

WackAMole · Dec 11, 2006

Gosh, I really wouldn't worry about that! Over time, as you write, writing is going to continue to improve and someday you are going to look back at something you submitted again and say OMG I sent that IN????

Heh..seriously, dont be so hard on yourself. Writing is all about growing and learning. It's clear from your sense of shame that you desire to do things right, so just keep at it! And Yeah, I totally know how you feel!

veinglory · Dec 11, 2006

Did the Harlequin editor mention this issue--it seems they were pretty happy with it? I would suggest that you get an impartial opinion from someone about whether there really is a problem. I have had an epublisher "editor" suggest I was near illiterate when really it was just a matter of dialect, and not even a very severe one--and frankly I had more editing experience than that editor (often her judgement was simply incorrect).

kristie911 · Dec 11, 2006

Did you send a hard copy of your MS or did you send it by e-mail? I'm just wondering if there was a problem with the format.

Julie Worth · Dec 11, 2006

If you mean the e-publisher, she's probably just waiting for you to respond in that very way, sitting there like a spider in her web, ready to suggest an editor you could use. Run!

JulesJones · Dec 11, 2006

I can see several errors in your post, so it's possible that she's seeing something that's really there. However, they're typical "conversational typing" errors, people don't proof-read forum posts the way that sensible people proof-read manuscripts, and I don't think you would have got that request for a full from Harlequin if your query package to them had had this problem. Missing words and punctuation, coupled with epublisher, sounds to me as if you sent in an electronic submission and the file has been garbled in some way.

IrishScribbler · Dec 11, 2006

Something good for technical editing--read it backwards, sentence by sentence. You won't be reading the story you know so well, so you'll be more likely to catch things.

LilaDubois · Dec 11, 2006

I got that same comment from an editor (at an e-publisher) about my sample chapters when she requested the full. Before I send the final in I obsessively proofread and then went on-line and offered $30 for someone to proof the whole manuscript for typos and simple errors.

I know many people may not like this, but for me, knowing that I am a bad proofreader becuase I don't see what is actually written, I see what I think should be there, I wanted to make sure simple errors weren't what stopped me from being published. There were still plenty of grammar changes that need to take place but they didn't pull you out of the story.

You have to be careful, get the person you hire to sign a pending copyright acknowledgement (avalible throug ha google search), but overall that was the best $30 I have spent.

The book releases Jan. 1

Cathy C · Dec 12, 2006

Either scenario presented here is possible, romancewriter. What you might consider doing is to post up the first page of the ms you sent in our Share Your Work section (password is vista.) Instead of asking people to critique it for content, ask if they can spot any of the errors mentioned. In fact, just moving it to this forum might help you notice them. If the editor mentioned MISSING words, rather than misused ones, it's possible you've discovered "wrap syndrome" where words that should appear next in the sentence are missing because it wraps to the next line on the page. The fix for this is to change your margins to 2" instead of one on the screen. You'll spot a LOT of things you might have missed, because you'll be forced to read every word. You won't be "expecting" things to appear that aren't actually there.

Don't be down on yourself, though. Trust me, it's pretty common even in bestselling authors.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Gillhoughly · Dec 12, 2006

Simple fix:

Change the font and font size throughout, then read it aloud to yourself. All three together should do the job!

And why not re-tinker to fit other guidelines and send it to print houses where you can get a CHECK for all your hard work? An e-credit is not going to boost your writer's resume into the pros.

Promoting an e-book to get people to read it will eat into your writing time on other projects. You can't learn to play the piano well without practice, ditto for writing. If you're too busy selling pianos you can't play 'em.

One round of rejections is just the start.

Maprilynne · Dec 12, 2006

Gillhoughly said:
Simple fix:

read it aloud to yourself.

I was going to suggest the same thing. Reading my MS aloud sis AMAZING things for me in terms of nitpicky errors. I really like the idea of changing the font and size before you do it. I think I'll have to add those in next time I'm proofing.

Maprilynne

romancewriter · Dec 12, 2006

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I do have a tendency to skim when I read, especially when it's something I've read a hundred times. I do my best to read my submissions several times as thoroughly as I can, but most likely I'm just not seeing the errors. And yes it was email submission, but I think I sent them as an attachment so that would eliminate the chance of the material being garbled.

I was just worried about the powers that be thinking I'm an absolute idiot. That wasn't my first request, and I'm not a total newbie at this, but it does make me wonder about the quality of all the work I have submitted in addition to this one. Maybe this has a been a problem all along, but Harlequin is famous for they're "thanks, but no thanks" replies if they don't want the work, and rarely bother to say why. That's not a slam against Harlequin, that's just stating a fact.

This has been a definite eye opener, and I have already decided to run future submissions by a third party before submitting. Thanks for letting me vent

romancewriter · Dec 12, 2006

Cathy -
I've posted the first page on the share your work forum. Thanks for the suggestion. The story is called Nothing To Hide if anyone is interested.

Thanks

Sandy

SaraD · Dec 12, 2006

Gillhoughly said:
And why not re-tinker to fit other guidelines and send it to print houses where you can get a CHECK for all your hard work? An e-credit is not going to boost your writer's resume into the pros.

Promoting an e-book to get people to read it will eat into your writing time on other projects. You can't learn to play the piano well without practice, ditto for writing. If you're too busy selling pianos you can't play 'em.

I'm not trying to start a fight. I've just seen you post something like this a few times, and I wanted to clear at least a little up.

Books that are e-published can earn royalties, if published through houses that offer them. If the house is big enough, print houses do pay at least a little bit of attention.

Do your research and decide from there.

pepperlandgirl · Dec 12, 2006

Re: e-publishing, I never promote any of my books. I'm lazy and I don't care that much. And yet, I'm receiving and cashing (decent) royalty checks on a regular basis.

kuroisama · Dec 13, 2006

Another thing to do is just print it out.

I know that sounds like a waste of ink. But, I tend to catch so many more typos when I print out my mss than on the computer. After hours of staring at a computer, you tend to see things that aren't there (words, punctuation, complete scenes

).

And, beta readers are my salvation. Just a handful of my close friends (that I've known for a loooong time) who won't spare my feelings and will bleed all over the work like my English teacher used to do back in high school.

Honest friends are a God send.

ElleF · Dec 14, 2006

IrishScribbler said:
Something good for technical editing--read it backwards, sentence by sentence. You won't be reading the story you know so well, so you'll be more likely to catch things.

I've never seen this suggestion before. Thanks!

brainstorm77 · Dec 14, 2006

I would suggest having others read it over .... I hand out copies to people I trust and have them read it and mark it to pieces if needed be. They tell me what they think is working and whats not.

Scarlett Sanderson · Dec 18, 2006

I'm terrible at proof reading my MS. When I look back, I could cringe at some of the mistakes in sentences. I get so excited to actually be finished, I don't take enough time to re-read.

romancewriter · Dec 19, 2006

In response to my email asking if I could revise and resubmit the editor agreed, but I was told the submission wouldn't be treated as a revision request. It would go through the usual submission process. Not sure how to take that, but I'm thinking if they totally hated it they wouldn't agree to review it again. Now I just have to find time to do it.

Thanks again everyone for the editing suggestions. Apparently I need all the help I can get.

Del · Dec 19, 2006

romancewriter said:
but right now I'm feeling like a total idiot and need some advice.

Just a suggestion. Microsoft has a reader (MSReader) and there is a Word Plug-in to create MSReader files. They are easy. They are free. MSReader has a PLAY feature that will use an electronic voice to read the text. Make certain you set your computer voice (SPEECH in control panel) to LH Michelle or LH Michael. MS Sam makes mistakes.

The point; MSReader will read back to you EXACTLY as the words are written so many punctuation errors and missing words stand out vividly. While reading along with the voice you can pick up on wrong word usage and other errors we tend to over look while editing.

Short of this I'd suggest hiring an editor or making buddies with someone more able.

Read more too. The more you see the right way the easier it will be to pick out errors.

If you need help with MSReader just ask me.

Heather Lewis · Dec 19, 2006

LilaDubois said:
You have to be careful, get the person you hire to sign a pending copyright acknowledgement (avalible throug ha google search), but overall that was the best $30 I have spent.

The book releases Jan. 1

As a freelance editor, I want to add that $30 for proofing a whole manuscript is a *really* good deal. Anyone who is thinking of hiring a professional editor should expect to pay more.

Congrats on your book release, Lila!

*~*

Another suggestion if you're not sure about the validity of the "too many typos" comment is to hire a professional editor to review a sample 10 pages of your work. That should give you an idea of what might be needed (or not) in your manuscript.

Reading out loud and reading backwards are great tricks for catching errors. Another tip is to place your finger on each word as you read.

MR

LilaDubois · Dec 21, 2006

MelRandall said:
As a freelance editor, I want to add that $30 for proofing a whole manuscript is a *really* good deal. Anyone who is thinking of hiring a professional editor should expect to pay more.

Congrats on your book release, Lila!

*~*

Go for the starving college students who are getting their MA's in english. You might even be able to pay some of them via In-n-Out burger.

IrishScribbler · Dec 21, 2006

ElleF said:
I've never seen this suggestion before. Thanks!

No problem--it works quite well for me, especially if I've been working on a piece a long time.

I feel like an idiot

romancewriter

WildScribe

Slave to the Wordcount

WackAMole

WTF?!?!

veinglory

volitare nequeo

kristie911

Happy to be here

Julie Worth

What? I have a title?

JulesJones

IrishScribbler

LilaDubois

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor

Maprilynne

Author Waiting in the Wings

romancewriter

romancewriter

SaraD

pepperlandgirl

American Aquarium Drinker

kuroisama

ElleF

brainstorm77

practical experience, FTW

Scarlett Sanderson

romancewriter

Del

Sky isn't falling, ground is rising

Heather Lewis

LilaDubois

IrishScribbler