Final Update

Well, I launched my new blog, StarLit, in August. It's going swimmingly and I've had an influx of requests for book reviews. Swing by and check it out for yourself.

Ciao, and thanks for reading!

The end of this incarnation

After months of struggling to post, I've decided to change the focus of my blog to something I feel I may be more prolific at: writing about reading. Books I love, hate, and want to read. What sets these books apart and why these authors are worth caring about.

I will post more details soon. Thanks for reading!

Audience is everything

You've written a novel. You want to get it published. So, you think, "I'm gonna send this off to some publishers."

That's probably not the wisest thing to do (unless this is your fifth manuscript and you have a contract lined up already). Instead, I would suggest the following course of action:

1. Think about your audience. This means deciding who's going to enjoy your book, or figuring out who it was you were writing to (there's always someone, or some group).

Photo by El Chupacabrito

 2. Define your audience. You should be able to answer the following questions on the demographics of your audience: Are they women? Men? Both? What age range do they fall in? What are they getting out of my novel?

3. Evaluate your manuscript against your audience demographics. Is my language level, voice, and tone suitable for this audience? Will this audience enjoy my content? Am I presenting the content in a way they'll understand and appreciate?

4. If necessary, re-write or edit your manuscript to address any audience-related problems. If you've hired an editor, they can help you with this step.

You can bet that any publisher who considers your manuscript for publication will be asking these same questions. To a publisher, your manuscript is a product they're trying to sell. If they don't see a market for it, or if they need to make large-scale changes to make it marketable, it's unlikely they'll offer you a contract.

An open mind is a valuable thing

I always have this expectation that my clients will get defensive when I bring up touchy issues about their manuscripts. It's not easy telling someone they've written themselves into the manuscript, and that this mirror-character is unnecessary and could be removed without making any difference to the story.

Photo by Nic McPhee

I was buffeted with warnings from professors to take care when offering comments and critiques. Writers could be nasty, they said. They could ignore your comments because they don't like your tone. They could get down on themselves and give up. They could do any number of aggravating things if they thought you were being snotty or flippant.

But I haven't encountered any of these terrifying writers. All my clients have been open-minded and interested in improving their work. It might be that first-time authors are still unsure enough of themselves to be open to suggestions without a lot of bargaining. Or maybe I've just been lucky. In any event, I'm prepared for that unavoidable client who thinks being edited isn't so much a chance to improve than an opportunity to waste money on someone determined to blast their work with red pen.

So, to you writers considering being edited, I say keep an open mind. Maybe your editor has some good ideas, and maybe they don't. But refusing to even consider an option would be like closing the door in the face of opportunity.

A defense of bandwagon fans

Having a hockey fan for a father has meant being aware of the NHL my entire life. I could probably tell you the name of every hockey team if I thought about it long enough, which is pretty impressive considering I don't especially like hockey. Not watching it on TV, not playing it, and not talking about it.

But, somehow I know that the Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup (they, along with Buffalo, have the 2nd-longest Cup drought--40 seasons). And somehow, this seems to matter to me.

I think it must have to do with regional pride and national identity. Even us Canadians who don't like hockey care about the status of our teams. The position of the Canucks in NHL hierarchy seems to be one of the ways we measure our value on the North American stage. Canadians in the East are cheering for the Canucks, because they're the last Canadian team standing.

So, here I am, jumping on the bandwagon. I want our name to move to the bottom of the drought list. I want to see Henrik Sedin hoist the Cup to the jubilation of thousands of screaming fans. I want the Canucks to bring Stanley home to Vancouver!

The miraculous powers of the follow-up email

I used to think that people who didn't get back to me were a) jerks,  b) not interested in hiring me, or c) not worth the effort. But it turns out that most of them are d) slow responders or e) forgetters.

Hence the power and importance of the follow-up email. It usually takes place after I've sent them my estimate for working on their project. I wait a week, and if I haven't heard anything, I send the follow-up. 

I get one of two responses: 1) Sorry, I'm not interested for x, y, z reasons, or 2) Hi. Thanks for emailing me! I want to hire you to do a, b, c. I didn't get back to you because of l, m, n sound reasons. Voila! A contract! All for five quick minutes of my time.

I think there are some people who want to be wooed, especially if they don't know you yet. And while it is often true that someone who doesn't get back to you isn't interested, finding out from them that's the case, and why it's so, is invaluable. You can use the information to tailor future estimates and to understand your market better.

Upcoming event for writers in the Greater Vancouver area

I'm an active member of the Editors' Association of Canada. As the PR chair for the BC branch, it's my job to come up with useful events that promote the branch and our members. So, on August 13, EAC-BC will host a Blue Pencil event in downtown Vancouver. It's an opportunity for writers to get free input on their work from EAC-BC editors.

As coordinator, I will provide a selection of editors with varying specialties (fiction and non-fiction) for writers to choose from. Interested writers can submit an excerpt (no more than 15 pages + synopsis) of their book, story, or article manuscript, and indicate their top 3 choices for editor. The editor will read the excerpt and prepare a reader's report. At the Blue Pencil event, writer and editor will meet to discuss the report, and the editor will be available to discuss any questions the writer has about the editorial process.

Having a professional analyze your manuscript for strengths and weaknesses for free is wonderful opportunity. All of the editors taking part in this event will be doing so in the hopes of gaining new clients, so I expect top-notch work from all of them. There will be between 40-60 spaces available for writers who want to participate, on a first-come, first-served basis. 

We have a lot of great editors in our membership, and I hope you'll be able to find someone to create a lasting relationship with.

I'll be drawing up an official info sheet soon. I just thought I'd give my readers a heads-up. If you have any questions, you can post them here, or email me at bcpr [@] editors.ca.