How to Deal With Manuscript Critiques

June 21, 2018June 22, 2018 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 1 Comment

ANNABEL SMITH

I have my manuscript out to my first beta readers and am anxiously awaiting their feedback and critiques. I’ll admit, it’s nerve-wracking. Will they like it? Were my characters well-developed? Was the plot cohesive? Was the story compelling?

I really want to hear what they have to say. I want honest opinions, but how do I handle the comments and critiques? What if it simply wasn’t their favorite genre? What if I disagree? What if, what if, what if…

Janice Hardy gives us 8 tips in her post, 8 Tips for Reviewing a Manuscript Critique.

Here’s a sneak peek:
Take comments seriously
If you agree, change it; if you don’t agree, don’t.
Not sure? Give it consideration. Why did the reviewer think or make that comment?
Grammar or punctuation – look it up. The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
If something is confusing, fix it. Clarity is essential to the story.
Do what makes your story the best.
Be objective.

Janice covers each of these in more details and provides additional resources. So, stop by and check out her post,
8 Tips for Reviewing a Manuscript Critique.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. I’m all ears and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

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Look, Look, And Look

April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 6 Comments

Before I send my manuscript to the editors, I’m doing my best to clean up my draft copy.

For those of you beginning this process, here are a few tips:

Print out a hard copy – It’s easier to spot errors, holes.
Make notes for obvious holes in the story, and correct grammar/punctuation, redundancies, and repetition.
Turn off autocorrect to avoid missing homonyms ( words with the same spelling but different meaning/ wrong word for the sentence, e.g., pole, pole. Or, the homophones ( words with the same pronunciation but different meanings, or spelling (e.g., to, two, too.
Eliminate weasel words: and/ or weasel words (“to be” verbs: is, are, was, were, had, had been).
Use your search tool to seek out:
1. Misused Words: e.g.,. Who vs. that; few vs. less, which vs. that, in vs. into, etc.
2. Words to avoid: (can usually cut without losing a thing from the sentence), e.g., that, then, about, almost, begin, very, really, somewhat, up, down, over, around, only, just, even.
3. Telling Words: e.g., seemed, knew, thought, felt, wondered, mused, because, suddenly, realized, prayed, considered, hope.
4. Rethink these words – Are they necessary? Is it showing? Or, can you rewrite the sentence to make it stronger? e.g., as, while, since, although, though, though, because, when, before, until.
Repetition – Lord have mercy! I had no idea how often I used certain words. e.g., look/looked, maybe, watch, or good.

It isn’t advisable to do extensive rewrites before sending to an editor, but it’s recommended you send the cleanest copy you can. First up for me is a developmental editor. If you have recommendations for one in women’s fiction, I love the connection. In the meantime, here are a few other resources to help with those first draft run through.

Do have other tips or resources? Share them with the fence jumpers. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Join the conversation. Talk to me or tell me your story. I’m all ears and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

What I learned Writing My First Novel Draft

March 19, 2018March 18, 2018 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 12 Comments

I’ve completed the first draft of my novel! 78, 131 words. Whew! Although the genre is different from most of my writing these days, it was the first story I began more than three years ago. It wouldn’t go away, so I decided it was time to put it down, once and for all. To stay motivated, I joined a group challenge. I put the period on the last sentence on March the 12th and boy, it felt good! Now, the real work begins.

Here’s what I learned.

Find motivation to get the words down. Whether a critique group, one-on-one writing partner or challenges like the one I participated, or a do-or-die daily writing schedule – sign on. Accountability is a strong motivator to keep going.
Stop your obsessive editing and rewriting! Make notes on the manuscript and keep going. You will have more than enough time to edit later.
Develop a method for keeping up with the details –This is something that screamed with each added chapter. I use Scrivener and love it. It’s an excellent resource for writers and has many tools which help you organize your novel. However, I discovered I need something more. I created excel spreadsheets, (several) to keep up with the details: Character, Settings and Timeline, Threads, and Novel Map (more about those later).
Start planning the next steps – there are quite a few: determining whether you want to use Beta readers, finding the right editor, rewrites, researching your genre, agents, and publishers, writing a synopsis, author bio, cover designs, determining your publishing platform, and outlining a marketing plan. I’m sure I’ve missed a few but more on each of these later.
Enjoy your accomplishment. Many writers never get to the end – you did.
Keep writing. Whether it’s on to your next novel, prompts, short fiction, blog post, or article – keep stretching those muscles.

I’ll have more posts in the next few weeks outlining my journey from First Draft to publication. Hopefully, I’ll be able to offer you a few tips, resources, and an inside look at the experience.

If you have any tips or resources you would like to share with the fence jumpers, join the conversation, or better, yet, contact me for the opportunity to be a guest contributor on these topics, for the Cow Pasture Chronicles.