After having two novels reviewed by friends, I’ve discovered it’s better not to give the manuscript out too early. It makes the reviewers work too hard. Once I found my friends that excel at proofreading, I didn’t want to waste their time be making them read an early copy. I think even my first readers deserve the best I can write. Sounds obvious, but I wanted to share it anyway.
Where I write from
After Submiting
Getting advice from experts. One of my favorite things. I heard Antanas Sileikas speak last year and one tip he gave was what to do after you submit your work to an agent or publisher. Star writing your next novel that same day. This worked for me and jump started me on my second novel. It stopped me from obsessing about the submitted novel and got me focussing on writing instead. It only took four months to hear back from Margaret Hart and get the first positive news. By that time I had 60,000 words written.
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Feedback from Friends
Convincing friends to critique my writing was harder than I expected. Lots were willing to help, but none wanted to hurt my feelings. First I had to explain how it helped me write better, then demonstrate I was able to accept the comments without getting upset, and then I showed my early readers the results of their work. Joan Barfoot was the first to critique my writing when I attended the HSW Correspondence program. I’ve kept all her notes and sometimes use them as examples to show my friends what I’m looking for. One of the greatest surprises about writing was how much time and effort my friends were willing to spend on my novel. I have friends who critiqued Fracture Line and The Final Gate and are now offering to do the same for Burnt (my third novel). Amazing.
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Take Your Writing Seriously
In 2011, at the HSW Summer Workshop, I had the lucky experience of hearing Miriam Toews speak. She gave a very simple piece of advice that has stayed with me over the last year. Miriam said, “Take yourself seriously as a writer.” That made me think of how and when I write. I no longer feel guilty about the amount of time I spend writing. When she spoke, I realized that I wanted to write for life and that nothing should stop me. It’s my passion. It was time to dedicate myself and over the last year I completed the manuscript I was working on at the time, finished a second one and am working on my third. Sometimes the simple advice is the best.
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Kindle for Proofreading
I’ve discovered that having my novel read to me out loud helps me find typos. I’ve been reading on my kindle for a while and decided to send my novels to the kindle. It’s amazing how many little typos I found when I heard the words versus read the words.
Words that are easy to miss; such as, ‘if’ instead of ‘of” ring out loud and clear. I set the reading speed to slow and then watch the words as they are read to me. Best thing I’ve found for typo finding so far. If you have a trick you use for proofreading, let me know. Please note I am not a spokesperson for kindle. This is only my opinion on its usefulness.
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Between Agent and Publisher
It’s an interesting time after signing with a literary agent. The contract is in my hands. So now what?
I’ll continue to write my third novel and work on my platform. Twitter has turned out to be a fun surprise. Writing this blog gives me a break when I need it. There is an unbelievable amount of information out there on how to build a platform and after reading a ton of it, I’ve decided to figure it out as I go along. I had to start somewhere, or I would keep on researching it and not doing it. The first post was the hardest. Making it public-even harder. My network is slowly growing beyond the set of “friends” I’ve had for a while.
Any suggestions on how to improve my platform? Let me know.
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Firefighting Research
My good friend, who is a Calgary Firefighter, wrote a long email about the details of working in a burning building. Thanks, Billy. I’m using this info for my third novel. Great to have the thoughts and feelings of a firefighter to add to the technical details of a burning building.
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Writing in the Din
It’s busy at the cottage. Seven kids here makes for a lot of noise. The only way to write is to plug in my Ipod, put on Blue Rodeo, tune out the happy sounds of screaming kids and barking dogs, and find a corner to hide in. Think I’ll go play instead…
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HSW Summer Workshop For Writers
It was around this time last year that I attended the HSW Summer Workshop. I had the great experience of having Mary Gaitskill review 15 pages of my first novel. Talk about helpful insight. I can’t believe a year has gone by and now I have finished that manuscript, one other and am working on my third. Time flies when you’re having fun writing.
