Jerry B. Jenkins's Blog, page 25

The Secret to Compelling Writing

Believe me, I see it all the time.

Wannabe writers come to conferences and tell me they have done it all. Desire is written all over them. And they’ve paid their dues by:

Setting up their writing area
Reading writing books and magazines
Joining a critique group
Building their platform by blogging
Working on their book every day

I’m telling you, these people even look like writers. If there’s a uniform, they’re wearing it.

But when they show me the first chapter or two of their book, they’re hesitant. And usually with good reason.

Oh, their concept is fine. Sure, sometimes beginning writers have an idea that better suits an article or short story than a full-length novel or book, but usually that’s not the problem.

There are enough good ideas to go around.

The problem is that their work lies flat from the get-go, offering nothing that grabs the reader by the throat.

What’s lacking is that certain something that too many writing teachers—and students—believe can’t be taught.

Trust me…

…it can be taught. The question is whether it can be learned.

Some say writers either have it or they don’t, claiming “such things are instilled at birth.”

Bunkum!

I say the secret is as simple as the Golden Rule.

Write the book you would read. Write it in a way that would keep your interest, and your book will find all the readers you want.

How to Use the Golden Rule of Addictive Writing

Ask yourself: What would keep me listening?

Among our best modern-day yarn spinners are comedians, and the key to a great joke is the build—that careful sequencing of elements leading to a satisfying payoff: the punch line.

The better the comedian/storyteller, the more strategically the anticipation is built. Make them wait, whether listener or reader, but be sure the payoff is more than worth the wait.

Treat your reader the way you would want to be treated. Never let up, never bore. Keep building, keep promising, and keep paying off.

Then, while each scene is promising and building and making them wait before paying off, your book as a whole should do the same on a grand scale.

Notice…        

…how I did this in my most successful novel, Left Behind, the first title in the series of the same name. That first book was released 20 years ago and recently reached more than 8.5 million copies sold.

I open the first chapter with my main character, a 747 pilot, flirting with the idea of cheating on his marriage with a flight attendant, justifying it in his mind because his wife has become so religious-sounding lately.

But before he and the object of his lust can even reach their destination, about a third of his passengers disappear right out of their clothes.

By the time this happens, I’ve established that he and his wife have a college-age daughter and an elementary school-age son, and that his wife has become obsessed with the idea of the prophesied rapture of the church—something he has ridiculed.

Until now.

Admittedly, that’s one big payoff, but notice that there are now many more automatic questions immediately posed. Is this the rapture, and if so…

Has it occurred universally?
Have other flights been similarly affected?
What will my pilot do to keep passengers calm with loved ones having disappeared?
What will it mean to the flight attendant that their potential fling has become instantly meaningless to the pilot?
Will he be able to land the plane?
Will he discover his wife has disappeared?
How about his daughter?
His son?
If his wife has been proven right, does he have another chance?

If you can create a scenario, the payoff of which instantly creates so many more setups that result in anticipated payoffs, you needn’t worry about interest flagging on the parts of your readers.

While you’re keeping track of the basics, like…

Introducing your main character quickly and plunging him into terrible trouble as soon as possible
Keeping your opening lean and avoiding introducing too large a cast of characters
Avoiding flashbacks and backstory and quickly getting to your chronological story

… remember the Golden Rule and write the story that would keep you turning the pages.

Create a scenario that builds tension.

Make them wait.

Then deliver a payoff that sets up another situation that starts the process all over again.

Do that enough times, and before you know it, you and your reader are hurtling toward a huge, satisfying conclusion and, who knows, maybe a bestseller.

What will you do this week to write a compelling book? Tell me in the Comments below.

The post The Secret to Compelling Writing appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

3 Game-Changing Tips that Will Help You Beat Procrastination and Get Back to Writing Today (Guest Post for Positive Writer)

If you’re like me, you’ve had trouble getting your rear end in that chair and writing.

Or if you do get there, the last thing you’re doing is writing.

You don’t have to tell me. I’m a professional procrastinator. I know all the excuses.

We shoo-in first ballot hall-of-fame postponement aficionados love to one-up each other, but before I list my bona fides in that arena, let me tell you what procrastination has wrought in my career:

I’ve had 21 titles reach The New York Times bestseller list, 7 of those debuting at #1.
By the end of this calendar year I will deliver my 188th contracted manuscript to a traditional publisher—on deadline.
My books have sold more than 70 million copies.

Before I do the usual and tell you I say all that not to brag (hey, I write a lot of fiction), let me get back to how accomplished I am as a procrastinator:

When I’m on deadline, I become the world’s most obnoxious neatnick. How am I expected to write with a messy office, let alone a messy desk?
Have the backs of all the cereal boxes been read? What about the prescription bottles?
No, I don’t use pencils any more, but in case I might, all 24 must be sharpened!
I haven’t been consistent with my physical training. I shouldn’t even think about writing until after a vigorous workout.
Better clean up my email inbox. Every bit of it. Yes, Aunt Mildred, that is an incredible international scandal, and coincidence, and likely a conspiracy.

 

(Read the rest at PositiveWriter.com.)

The post 3 Game-Changing Tips that Will Help You Beat Procrastination and Get Back to Writing Today (Guest Post for Positive Writer) appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

How to Write a Devotional: The Definitive Guide

Of all the markets open to new nonfiction writers, the devotional market is by far the most welcoming.

To get the lowdown on this vast opportunity, I went to the leader in the field, my favorite writing teacher in the country, Dr. Dennis E. Hensley.

Doc is chairman of the Department of Professional Writing at Taylor University and a monthly columnist for Christian Communicator magazine.

He’s also the author of 60 books, including numerous devotionals, such as Surprises and Miracles of the Season: for Christmas and New Year’s (Beacon Hill Press), and More Than Meets the Eye and Man to Man (both Kregel Publishers).

He has been head scriptwriter for the daily radio devotional program “Fresh Perspectives” on WBCL radio since 2006.

In more than three decades, I’ve never hosted a writers conference without asking Doc Hensley to speak. No one motivates writers like Doc, and no one knows devotional writing like he does.

So fasten your seatbelt and get ready to break into nonfiction writing with all the goodies he has to offer in this comprehensive guide.

I asked Doc about all aspects of writing and marketing devotionals, starting with what makes this such a huge market, especially for beginners.

Devotional books are released thematically for:
Teens
Men
Women
Grandparents
College students
Veterans
Teachers
Athletes
And just about any other people group you can think of

Devotionals are used by a wide variety of media, including large-circulation daily devotional guides, such as The Quiet Hour, The Upper Room, The Secret Place, The Word in Season, Devo’zene, and Pathways to God.

More than 25 devotional quarterlies each publish 365 new entries each year. Naturally, these need fresh material annually.

Publishers of vacation Bible school and Sunday school materials often include devotionals for teachers and students. Many independent and denominational magazines (such as The War Cry and The Baptist Bulletin) run devotionals in each of their issues.

Some publishing houses produce not only devotional books, but also devotional desk calendars and greeting cards.

Again, this market must be replenished annually. Publications can’t just recycle devotionals they ran the previous year. They depend on freelance writers to provide hundreds upon hundreds of fresh, insightful new ones.

What You Should Bring to the Table

Writers of devotionals should have a pure heart (James 3:8-11). With humility, graciousness, and spiritual sensitivity, you can create a devotional that can alter a reader’s thinking and behavior.

You also need a focused mind (Ps. 1:1-3; 73:28). A succinct and powerful message must be distilled to 150-175 words. This demands clarity.

And you must have a burning desire (Jeremiah 20:9). Ask for God’s guidance to say the right words to someone who may be reading a devotional published a year after you write it.

God is the Alpha, but He is also the Omega. He knows what hurts and needs people will have in the future, and He can use you to prepare materials today to help people during hard times tomorrow.

You won’t get rich writing devotionals. In fact, you may have to write a half dozen to see more than $100. That’s why it’s important to write them in batches to make it worth your while—not that you’re doing it solely for the money.

You can revise and resell your print devotionals as radio devotionals for about the same rate of pay. And you can collect your devotionals and publish them as a book, receiving an advance and royalties.

But beyond payment, you may also enjoy the deep gratification of readers telling you your words changed a mind about an abortion, a suicide, or a divorce.

Meeting Readers Where They Are

People turn to devotionals to meet deep needs. Some have lost friendships, been divorced, suffered from criticism, betrayal, or the death of a loved one. They need the balm of God’s comfort.

Others seek intimacy with God. Their prayer lives are lax, their testimonies weak, and their church attendance sporadic. They need to find their way back to Jesus.

Some just want to grow spiritually or to discover a better way to share their faith. Your devotional may be their only connection to the Bible all day.

A harried mom may read one just before bed.

A busy teacher may read one during lunch.

An executive may read a devotional during breakfast.

The Writing Method

When you settle on a passage of Scripture as your anchor text, read it in different translations. Pray and meditate over it until you’re certain you thoroughly understand the verse in context.

Stay current by offering an illustration today’s reader can relate to. Link modern challenges and questions to longstanding solutions from God’s Word—and make the connections obvious and logical.

Doc Hensley’s Devotional Format Summary

Hook
An excellent lead and a compelling anecdote will grab and hold (hook) the reader’s attention.

Book
Point them to the wisdom of the Bible (book).

Look
Offer some unique way of seeing (look) how the Bible relates to his or her needs.

Took
Finally, provide takeaway (took) value.

Analyze your Scripture for what it says about God, about others, about you.

Does it:

Make promises, like, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”?
Issue commands, like, “You shall not steal”?
Establish principles, like, “What people sow, that will they also reap”?
Offer examples, like when Jesus said, “Follow Me”?
Present prayers, like The Lord’s Prayer?
Provide encouragement, like, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”?

Once you discover the true meaning and function of a passage, you’ll know how to help your readers relate to it.

We’re told that all Scripture is profitable, so explain how this passage will profit your reader. But remember, you’re not writing a Bible lesson, a history lesson, or a lecture. Offer an anecdote that applies the passage to your reader.

How do you keep it current? Ask yourself:

What issues are affecting families?
How are attitudes changing?
In what ways are values shifting?
How is the workplace different?
What national and global concerns make people anxious?

Read newspapers, blogs, and magazines. Listen to the news. Find a contemporary issue and draw a biblical parallel.

Runaway children? Look at the prodigal son.

Rebellious children? Cain and Abel.

Adultery and divorce? Hosea and Gomer.

Barren women? Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth.

Ministering to prisoners? Joseph, Peter, and Paul.

Any modern problem has a parallel story, lesson, judgment, or prediction in Scripture.

The Makings of a Good Devotional

Your reader is giving you a few minutes, and in exchange you must provide an engaging piece of writing that offers new insights. Be genuine and honest, not grandiose or admonishing.

Good devotional writing says, “Walk with me a few minutes. Examine something with me.”

Keep your style appropriate to your audience. Writing devotionals for teens is not the same as writing for seniors.

Although your anecdotes and illustrations should be drawn from your life, the lesson should always be drawn from Scripture.

Present God’s wisdom in a package your reader can relate to.

Stick with tangible images, things readers can see, touch, smell, hear, and taste.

Be specific, yet precise. Make each word count.

Use visual nouns, punchy verbs, short sentences, and the active voice.

Five Basic Patterns

Learn these and you can begin using them immediately:

 

1.  The Self-examination

Draw on personal experiences and use anecdotes to teach valuable lessons. Often such devotionals begin with:

“When I was in high school …”

“When I was fishing alone one morning …”

“During my first year at camp … .”

The recollection always has a moral or application that ties in with the selected Scripture.

 

2.  An Outside Observer Reports

Here you’re telling what happened to someone else. Real names may be used with permission, or changed, as long as the story is true.

Often these devotionals begin with a phrase such as:

“When my great-grandmother first came to America …”

“My best friend had just gotten his driver’s license …”

“Most people are unaware that George Washington … .”

 

3.  You Interact with Other People

Report on something you learned from a friend, coworker, or family member. Begin with a phrase such as:

“My son taught me a lesson one day when I was walking him to school …”

“My friend could always make me laugh …”

“One day my college history professor was explaining … .”

 

4.  The Object Lesson

Use a tangible object to parallel an event or circumstance. Jesus often used this format, employing such things as a mustard seed, a Roman coin, a lamp and a bushel, or a tower as metaphors.

Object lesson devotionals quickly make readers see the parallel between the object and the lesson. “Trees killed by saltwater brought in by a tsunami will still stand upright and take up space, but they will bear no fruit. People who come to church each Sunday and occupy a pew but do nothing all week to share their faith are like these trees.”

 

5.  The Double Meaning Phrase

Take a well-known line from advertising, history, a song, or a poem and convert it to a Christian message, as in “A day without Sonshine is a gloomy day.”

One devotional writer compared the rigid discipline of being a United States Marine to the discipline Christians should adhere to, calling the devotional, “Corps Values vs. Core Values.”

Developing a Devotional Journal

Because much of what we observe and say has potential to become material for a devotional, keep a journal for ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Begin today by answering:

Did God use a specific verse of Scripture to change your life? Hows did it affect your outlook?
Has God brought a person into your life to alter your direction? Like Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch, how did someone suddenly enter your life as a teacher, friend, mentor, or accountability partner?
When did God make Himself known to you in a dramatic way? Did you receive an answer to prayer regarding a health issue, financial need, or spiritual awakening that proved He was working in your life? Record the details.
Had God ever reprimanded and brought you back in line when you were spiritually wayward? Explain how you felt God’s chastening and corrective hand.
Did God use a deep hurt in your life to make you sensitive to others or to show you new ways to be effective to those you serve?

In answering these questions, you’ll discover your life is a source of great lessons you can pass along.

Brainstorming More Devotional Topics

As you make entries in your devotional journal each day, try to recall:

A sad or funny experience you’ve had in the past year
Things you’ve learned while traveling
Challenging relationships with people at work, home, or school
Something you are an expert on
An item in a newspaper or magazine that fascinated you
An editorial or column you strongly disagreed with
An unusual experience or new challenge you’ve recently faced
An opinion based on years of experience
Something startling or insightful you recently learned from TV or a book
A new perspective you gained from a sermon
Societal trends that concern you
An event that restored your faith in mankind
Something related to science, nature, weather, or time that stunned you
A trip to a museum that awakened a new appreciation for nature
A new job assignment that has stretched you
A family picnic or class reunion that gave you a special perspective
Letters or diaries you recently discovered
A poem or song that keeps coming to mind
Volunteer work that helped you see the suffering of others
A friend’s sickness or accident that alarmed you
Avoiding Blind Spots

Although certain publications use devotionals targeted to teens, working women, or seniors, most devotionals you will write will be read by a broad spectrum. So keep in mind:

People live in many different financial and social conditions.
The distinctive beliefs of many denominations and theological traditions are precious to people and must be respected.
Some readers have limited education, so keep things simple but not condescending.
People in other countries may not understand your slang and pop culture references.
It is usually better not to write devotionals that stir controversy, so avoid topics such as infant baptism, female ordination, or speaking in tongues.
The Basic Format

Before submitting a devotional, obtain a publication’s writers guidelines and copies of the publication itself. Follow the guidelines exactly.

Your name, address, and phone number should appear on each page, but some publications also ask for your email address.

The basic format calls for a suggested passage of Scripture (usually 5 to 12 verses), a title, one printed-out specific verse from the suggested reading, and an anecdote or story that shows how that biblical lesson applies today.

The writer’s byline usually appears at the end.

Some publications ask that you begin or end with a prayer or thought for the day.

Length varies, from as short as 75 words to as long as 225.

The guidelines will state the preferred method of submission.

Some editors like printouts mailed to the publication’s office; some like email submissions; some accept either.

Most publications buy first rights, important because you can then re-use your devotionals in books.

Summary

Writing devotionals is a good way to enter nonfiction writing, earn money, and make a positive impact on thousands of readers. Your experiences and those of others are rich sources for ideas.

How to Get Started

1) List 20 emotional hurts people are dealing with (loneliness, depression, guilt, shame, abandonment, grief, prejudice, etc.), then list what aspects of spiritual growth could come out of each such experience (learning to pray more effectively, learning to bring the Good News to others, cultivating humility, etc.).

2) Start a devotional journal.

3) Try writing a one-page devotional and submit it to one of the devotional markets listed in The Christian Writer’s Market Guide.

You’re on your way!

Free Download:

I’ve put together a tool to help you generate ideas for devotionals. It has:

Brainstorming techniques
Two sample devotionals by Doc Hensley
A proven process for quickly churning out powerful devotionals

You can click here or below to download this bonus for free:

In the comments section, answer this: What will your next devotional be about?

The post How to Write a Devotional: The Definitive Guide appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

How to Evoke Powerful Images in Your Reader’s Mind

A writer wrote me recently and complained she was struggling to get enough detail into her story to give her readers the “same pictures I see in my head.”

At first blush that might seem a worthy goal, one we should all strive for.

But it’s a huge mistake.

If you succeed, you could be crushing your reader’s imagination.

Instead, let me advise you to do the exact opposite: Don’t dictate what your readers should see.

We mature as novelists and artists when we come to realize that the reader is our partner in the effort and wants—needs—a place in the experience.

Engage the Theater of Your Reader’s Mind

The most common response to a movie made from a novel is, “The book was better.” Why? Because the pictures evoked in our minds by the author’s words are far more creative than Hollywood can ever be.

Don’t strive to make your reader see exactly what is in your mind. Trigger the theater of his mind, and however many readers you have, that’s how many views of your story will be imagined.

The late great detective novelist John D. MacDonald once described an orbital character as knuckly. I don’t know about you, but that was more than enough for me. I instantly formed a complete picture of that man in my mind. In fact, I knew him. He reminded me of a hardware store clerk in the town where I grew up.

In Left Behind I described a computer techie as oily. My editor said he needed more. I said, “Really? Why?”

He said, “Well, couldn’t you say he was pudgy, with longish blond hair, and that he kept having to push his glasses back up on his nose?”

I said, “Is that what you saw when you read he was oily?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why do I have to say it?”

“Hmm. Point taken.”

That series was read by tens of millions. If some saw him the way my editor did, and others saw him tall and skinny and without glasses, so much the better.

For my main characters, I provided enough information so readers knew their builds and perhaps their hair color and whether others found them attractive. And I showed them in action so it was clear whether they were athletic or capable or not.

But if some readers wanted to imagine my pilot as Harrison Ford and others saw him as Sean Connery, fine. And if some saw the flight attendant as Julia Roberts and others as Jennifer Aniston, who was I to quibble?

Two Adages to Live By

One of my favorite maxims is “Always think reader-first.” That doesn’t mean to spoon feed them. They want to learn, to discover, to understand.

Don’t do all their work for them.

This fits with another chestnut I used to write in the margins of student writers’ manuscripts and now keyboard into their files: “Resist the Urge to Explain” (RUE).

We all know the joy of reading a book so full of vivid images that we remember it for years, almost as if it were lavishly illustrated in vibrant color.

I once read of a woman who was thrilled to discover in her parents’ home a volume she had cherished as a child, eager to thumb through the beautiful four-color paintings she remembered so well, only to find that the book had no illustrations!

The author had so engaged her, triggering the theater of her young mind, that she herself had created those very real memories.

Get This Right…

And you do more than make your reader your partner and let them in on half the fun. You make them a repeat customer.

It doesn’t get much better than that.

Tell me in the Comments below how you’ll engage the theater of your reader’s mind in your next story.

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3 Crucial Decisions Every New Writer Must Make

I don’t believe in luck.

I believe in faithfully, steadily paying your dues. You grow as a writer. That’s how it’s done, and one assignment leads to another.

Sorry, but there are rarely shortcuts.

Here’s the truth, which also happens to be great news for a new writer: After a few rejections, a few ego scrapings, someone’s going to publish something you’ve written. You might not make much money, but pretty soon you’ll hear from others: “You ought to interview my sister; she has a story,” or “My brother has a blog and, and he’s looking for this kind of a piece.” People will begin to notice your writing.

If you are a young or emerging writer, don’t despise this season. Paying your dues is critical—it’s where your writing voice will begin to emerge.

Decisions Every Beginning Writer Should Make
Decide what matters to you. Regardless where you are in your writing journey, strive for the freedom to write about what really matters to you. Nothing compares with the reality of changing lives with your words.

Decide what you stand for. If you plan to make a life of writing, you must have a carefully considered and lived-out worldview. The road will get rough. You will fight doubts. That’s why it’s critical to discover what can keep you in front of that keyboard day after day. If it’s money, fame, and power, you’ll find yourself quitting once you have achieved those—or once you’ve found you can’t achieve them. Write because you believe in something. I write because I believe God called me to.
Decide on your priorities. I was recently asked, “What did you have to sacrifice for your writing career?” I had to think about that, because the rewards have far outweighed any sacrifices. But one thing I was not willing to give up was my family—time with my kids and my wife.

I’ve seen people do that. Until they have enough work or success to write full time, they work full time and write part time. Something has to give, and usually it’s the family. The writer sits behind a closed door, or a book, or a computer screen, in essence telling the family they rank lower than writing.

So what did I give up by keeping my family first and relegating my freelance career to late nights? A little privacy. Some television. Some sleep. Was it worth it? You bet.

How can you rearrange your life to maximize the benefits to your family—and your career?

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How I Learned to Keep My Writing From the Editor’s Wastebasket

I was just trying to expand my horizons.

At the daily newspaper I worked at when I was 19, my beat was high school sports, where I both covered the games and shot pictures.

The entire editorial staff was crammed into one big room with 40 metal desks crammed against each other, no partitions, phones ringing, teletype machines clacking, and—of course—in 1969, 90 percent of the people smoking.

I slipped away from the little sports department corner and suggested to the features editor a piece on a wife who liked to go hunting with her husband and three other men (rare for a woman in those days).

The editor, stogie in mouth, said, “Sure, put it in my in-basket when it’s ready.”

I tagged along on a hunt, shot pictures, interviewed the woman, wrote it up, and stuck everything in the features editor’s wire in-basket.

While I was doing my sports stuff from about ten feet away, I kept peeking over to see if he’d get to it. He finally picked up the pictures. “Wow,” he said, showing them to another editor. “Nice shots, eh?”

Then I saw him reading my pages, scowling, and shaking his head.

He scribbled something on the first page and tossed the piece in his out-basket.

I was dying to go look at it, but that was forbidden.

About half an hour later a copyboy delivered the pages to my desk.

On the first the editor had written, “Great pictures. Bad story.”

I mustered my courage and timidly approached. He was busy editing but finally looked up like I was a cold draft.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong with it so I can fix it?”

“Sure, Jenkins,” he said, leaning back in his chair. I thought I detected a smile.

“It’s sh–.” He turned back to his work.

I staggered back to my desk. My boss, the sports editor, could tell I was shaken, so I told her everything and said, “I was open to any input.”

She said, “Had you had any misgivings about it?”

“Well, yeah, I wondered if I should have asked more about how the woman felt the first time, and how she overcame the teasing. And I suppose I could have spent more time talking with her husband and the other guys about how they felt about including her then, and how things are now.”

“There you go. Anything you think you should have done is what you ought to do.”

And so I got on the phone and finished the job, then rewrote the piece and turned it in again the next day. The features editor edited it and tossed it in his outbox. But since it didn’t come back to me that meant it had gone to typesetting.

So I timidly ventured over again.

“I take it you liked it this time?”

The features editor gave me that same look. “I don’t like stuff, Jenkins. I either print it or I don’t. Page one, section two tomorrow. Forty bucks.”

The memory still chokes me up.

The lesson should be obvious. I’ve never since submitted anything to an editor until I was wholly happy with it.

What lessons have you learned that have stuck with you for years? I’d love to hear them in the comments section.

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21 Self-Editing Secrets that Can Supercharge Your Manuscript

So you want to get your book published?

If you want people to actually read what you’ve written, you must master the art of ferocious self-editing.

These days, anyone can get anything printed.

It doesn’t even have to be good. If you have the money—and often not much—many companies will print whatever you submit, as is.

That’s not necessarily underhanded. Almost any independent publisher would be happy to offer all the services you’re willing to pay for to make your manuscript as publishable as possible.

But you’re the boss.

If you say you can afford only the minimum and you want them to print what you present to them, they’ll say, “As you wish.” And if they won’t, you can easily find someone who will.

On the Other Hand

Ideally, you’d rather be discovered by a traditional publisher who takes all the risks and pays you an advance against royalties and then royalties on your sales. But the odds of landing a traditional publishing contract are slim.

If you do get a contract, of course, the publisher also has the right to edit your work until it shines and they are satisfied.

Regardless, whether you’re fortunate enough to land such a deal or will invest in independent self-publishing, you still must separate yourself from the competition by ensuring your manuscript is the absolute best it can be.

Yes, a traditional publisher will have its own editors and proofreaders, but to get that far, your manuscript has to be better than a thousand other submissions.

And if you’re self-publishing, the only way to stand out against even more competition is to make your manuscript as crisp and clean as it can be.

There’s little worse than an independently published book that looks like one.

So…

You must become a ferocious self-editor.

Whether you’re going to hire an editor, or be assigned one by a traditional publisher, your responsibility is to get your book manuscript to the highest level it can be before you pass it on.

Never settle for, “That’s the best I can do; now fix it for me.”

We all need that second pair of eyes. Every piece of published writing should be a duet between the writer and an editor, not a solo. But you should exhaust every effort to fix every problem you see before an editor takes over.

Sadly, if you attempt the traditional publishing route, could pour your whole life into a manuscript and get just five minutes of an editor’s time before your book is rejected.

Sounds unfair, doesn’t it?

Maybe it’s happened to you before.

But as one who has been on both sides of the desk for more than four decades, let me tell you there are reasons for it:

Editors can tell within a page or two how much editing would be required to make a manuscript publishable; if it would take a lot of work in every sentence, the labor cost alone would disqualify it.
An editor can tell immediately whether a writer understands what it means to grab a reader by the throat and not let go.
Have too many characters been introduced too quickly?
Does the writer understand point of view?
Is the setting and tone interesting?
Do we have a sense of where the story is headed, or is there too much throat clearing? (See below for an explanation.)
Is the story subtle and evocative, or is it on-the-nose?

Yes, a professional editor can determine all this with a quick read of the first two to three pages.

If you find yourself saying, “But they didn’t even get to the good stuff,” then you need to put the good stuff earlier in your manuscript.

Google Self-Editing and you’ll find dozens of checklists that include examining your manuscript for things like:

Active Voice
Description
Character Motivation
Context
Engaging the Senses
Hooks
Pacing
Reading Aloud
Similes and Metaphors
Synonyms
…and more

These are all important, and I urge you to study them as you get time. But I want to zero in on tight writing.

Author Francine Prose says:

For any writer, the ability to look at a sentence and see what’s superfluous, what can be altered, revised, expanded, or especially cut, is essential. It’s satisfying to see that sentence shrink, snap into place, and ultimately emerge in a more polished form: clear, economical, sharp.

I’ve learned that all writing is really rewriting, so I’ve become a ferocious self-editor.

I attribute a great deal of my success mastering this discipline. If you’re ready to become an expert at this, here’s what you need to do:

21 Self-Editing Secrets to Make Your Book Shine

1. Develop a thick skin. Or at least to pretend to. It’s not easy. But we writers need to listen to our editors—even if that means listening to ourselves!

2. Avoid throat-clearing, a literary term for a story or chapter that finally begins after a page or two of scene setting and background. Get on with it.

3. Choose the normal word over the obtuse. When you’re tempted to show off your vocabulary or a fancy turn of phrase, think reader-first and keep your content king. Don’t intrude. Get out of the way of your message.

4. Omit needless words—a rule that follows its own advice. This should be the hallmark of every writer.

5. Avoid subtle redundancies, like: “She nodded her head in agreement.” Those last four words could be deleted. What else would she nod but her head? And when she nods, we need not be told she’s in agreement.

“He clapped his hands.” What else would he clap?

“She shrugged her shoulders.” What else?

“He blinked his eyes.” Same question.

“They heard the sound of a train whistle.” The sound of could be deleted.

6. Avoid the words up and down—unless they’re really needed. He rigged [up] the device. She sat [down] on the couch.

7. Usually delete the word that. Use it only for clarity.

8. Give the reader credit. Once you’ve established something, you don’t need to repeat it.

Example: “They walked through the open door and sat down across from each other in chairs.”

If they walked in and sat, we can assume the door was open, the direction was down, and—unless told otherwise—there were chairs. So you can write: “They walked in and sat across from each other.”

And avoid quotation marks around words used in another context, as if the reader wouldn’t “get it” otherwise. (Notice how subtly insulting that is.)

9. Avoid telling what’s not happening.

“He didn’t respond.”

“She didn’t say anything.”

“The crowded room never got quiet.”

If you don’t say these things happened, we’ll assume they didn’t.

10. Avoid being an adjectival maniac. Good writing is a thing of strong nouns and verbs, not adjectives. Use them sparingly.

Novelist and editor Sol Stein says one plus one equals one-half (1 1=1/2), meaning the power of your words is diminished by not picking just the better one. “He proved a scrappy, active fighter,” is more powerful if you settle on the stronger of those two adjectives. Less is more. Which would you choose?

11. Avoid hedging verbs like smiled slightly, almost laughed, frowned a bit, etc.

12. Avoid the term literally—when you mean figuratively.

“I literally died when I heard that.” R.I.P.

“My eyes literally fell out of my head.” There’s a story I’d like to read.

“I was literally climbing the walls.” You have a future in horror films.

13. Avoid too much stage direction, feeling the need to tell every action of every character in each scene, what they’re doing with each hand, etc.

Especially in Fiction (but also in nonfiction anecdotes)

14. Maintain a single Point of View (POV) for every scene. Failing to do so is one of the most common errors beginning writers make. Amateurs often defend themselves against this criticism by citing classics by famous authors who violated this. Times change. Readers’ tastes change. This is the rule for today, and it’s true of what sells.

15. Avoid clichés, and not just words and phrases. There are also clichéd situations, like starting your story with the main character waking to an alarm clock; having a character describe herself while looking in a full-length mirror; having future love interests literally bump into each other upon first meeting, etc.

16. Resist the urge to explain (RUE). Marian was mad. She pounded the table. “George, you’re going to drive me crazy,” she said, angrily.

“You can do it!” George encouraged said.

17. Show, don’t tell. If Marian pounds the table and chooses those words, we don’t need to be told she’s mad. If George says she can do it, we know he was encouraging.

18. Avoid mannerisms of attribution. People say things; they don’t wheeze, gasp, sigh, laugh, grunt, snort, reply, retort, exclaim, or declare them.

John dropped onto the couch. “I’m beat.”

Not: John was exhausted. He dropped onto the couch and exclaimed tiredly, “I’m beat.”

“I hate you,” Jill said, narrowing her eyes.

Not: “I hate you,” Jill blurted ferociously.

Sometimes people whisper or shout or mumble, but let your choice of words imply whether they are grumbling, etc. If it’s important that they sigh or laugh, separate the action from the dialogue:

Jim sighed. “I just can’t take any more,” he said. [Usually you can even drop the attribution he said if you have described his action first. We know who’s speaking.]

19. Specifics add the ring of truth, even to fiction.

20. Avoid similar character names. In fact, avoid even the same first initials.

21. Avoid mannerisms of punctuation, typestyles, and sizes. “He…was…DEAD!” doesn’t make a character any more dramatically expired than “He was dead.”

Your Assignment

Apply as many of these hints as possible to the first page of your work-in-progress and let me know if it makes a difference.

I’ve added a downloadable self-editing checklist below with all 21 tips included. The more boxes you can check for your manuscript, the leaner, meaner, and more ready it will be for submission to a publisher.

Click here or below to download it free:

 

The post 21 Self-Editing Secrets that Can Supercharge Your Manuscript appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

How to Know You’re Really a Writer

Do you ever wonder whether you’re really worthy to call yourself a writer?

You have a deep desire to impact people with your words.

But doubt creeps in and you ask yourself:

“What makes me a writer? I’ve never published anything, let alone a book.”

“What I have written is no good. I’m not even sure I should be doing this.”

“I can’t honestly call myself a writer. I’m nowhere near good enough!”

Sound familiar?

If you let it, that voice will keep you from ever sharing your message with the world. So let’s fight the voice of doubt with a dose of truth.

How does a person actually become a writer?

Every once in a great while you’ll hear of someone who decided to write something, or was badgered into it, and surprised everyone by becoming known as a writer.

But usually becoming a writer takes a normal course. You become a writer the way you become a bike rider or a gymnast or a dancer, singer, cook, or plumber.

See where I’m headed with this?

You walk—and trip and tumble and plop—before you run.

Your bike tips over and you skin your knee, perhaps a dozen times, before you catch on to riding a bike.

You ruin a lot of recipes, burn cakes and pies and assorted fowl and bovine, before you become a cook.

You soak your clothes and floors and everything else in sight before you learn the ins and outs of plumbing.

Being bad at something we want to succeed at is part of the process.

It’s how we pay our dues.

If you’re not willing to fail, to stink, to be lousy, to make mistakes, to accept correction and criticism and counsel from experts, you’re not likely to progress.

So when can you call yourself a writer?

As soon as you’re willing to dive in—regardless how good or bad you are.

Just do me one favor:

Don’t call yourself a writer before you’ve mustered the courage to try.

Accept that you will be bad at first, just like we all are at everything we try for the first time. Humility is a good starting point.

But if you’re only talking about being a writer, only reading blogs about it, only going to writers conferences, hobnobbing with writers, dressing like a writer (whatever you think that means), you’re not a writer. You’re a wannabe.

Wannabes talk about writing. Writers write.

They may not write well yet, but they write.

When your seat is in the chair and your fingers are on the keyboard and the words are appearing on the screen, you’re in the game.

Otherwise, you’re talking, but no one is listening.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be a writer.

But if you want to call yourself a writer, you have to write.

How I tell the difference:

I can tell within the first minute of talking to a writing student whether they have what it takes to succeed.

How?

I’m not mean, but I’m straightforward. I assume they want honest input on how to improve, and so I tell them. It can be hard to hear.

Their expression and body language tells me immediately whether they are eager to learn and grow or if they were merely hoping to be discovered.

I know it’s hard.

It can be scary to show your work to a professional, even more so to an editor or publisher who will decide whether to buy it or reject it.

But real writers want the feedback. They want to get better, to learn, to grow, to succeed.

Are you a writer?

If you’ve failed and are still writing, if you’re scared and are still writing, if you’ve stood up to a stinging critique and made your piece better by applying what you learned, if you’ve stayed at it despite that pervasive fear of failure, you are!

How do you know when you’re really a writer?

When you’re writing. Good, bad, fearfully, courageously—regardless.

If you’re in the game and plying your trade, say it loud and say it proud:

I am a writer!

Are you a writer? Tell me below and tell me why.

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The 3 Game-Changing Lessons I Learned Writing My First Book

All right, no smart remarks about how my first book was written in Sanskrit.

Yeah, I’ve been writing for money for 50 years and writing books for 40. And yes, by the time I wrote that first book, I had graduated from a manual typewriter to an electric.

Remember those?

I told some college students about starting my career on a manual typewriter and—thinking I was being funny—said, “I’m sure some of you have heard of the typewriter.”

A girl shouted, “I think I saw one once!”

Where? Jurassic Park?

Well, I drive an actual car into town these days; no more hitching the horses to the buckboard when the wife and I need to stock up on flour, sorghum, and molasses.

And not only do I keyboard my books and novels electronically now—and sometimes even dictate passages that magically appear as copy on the screen—but some things are changeless, like the lessons I learned writing my first book four decades ago:

1—There’s a reason the task appears overwhelming.

Because it is! You’ve heard the rusty adage about how writing a book is like eating an elephant—one bite at a time.

Adages become clichés because they’re true. I had to break down the book-writing steps into tasks with target dates, and that helped keep me sane and gave me the momentum feeling of accomplishment so crucial to success.

My first book was an as-told-to-autobiography, so—though a new challenge for  me—the steps were fairly logical. I needed to:

Amass enough information on my subject to sell a publisher on the idea
Gather all the published information I could find so I could have my subject confirm or correct it as a way to begin the interviewing
Shape a rough outline of my subject’s life
Interview my subject to get never-before-published material and insight into the events the public already knew about
Transcribe the recordings of the interviews
Reorganize the transcripts chronologically for ease of use
Carefully schedule the writing, the review by the subject, and the rewriting to meet the deadline

I confess I was spoiled by that first experience so long ago. It happened that my first subject was a bright young man who came with his own ideas and outlines, and he was totally prepared.

How could I know he was unique and that I would not enjoy that much help from a subject in dozens of similar projects since?

2—What I learned about publishers

They need your help. They really do.

Don’t be timid, even if you’re brand new. Offer, suggest, advise. No one knows your book the way you do. If the publisher doesn’t want your input or thinks you’re overstepping, they’ll let you know.

But you’ll regret it if they miss something important simply because you were too polite to mention it.

I wish I’d written my own back cover copy. They assigned it to someone who worked from my original letter and proposal, not the final manuscript. I had written that when I knew as little about the final product as she did, and it showed.

By the time I saw it, it was too late to change.

I wish I’d had input on the advertising copy, even though it was just one sentence on a page full of books. I’ve not mentioned the title or the publisher because I don’t want to embarrass anyone—despite that none of the principals are still there after all these years.

But get a load of what someone thought was a compelling sales pitch when all they had was one line to work with. It actually began, “A typical story of…” Can you believe it?

I couldn’t either, but because I didn’t know enough to speak up, I missed my chance. Lesson learned.

It’s sell copy! How about, “The dynamic story of…” or “The moving, or unforgettable, or life-changing, or dynamic story of…”?

3—You can do this

I’ve made a life of this book-writing thing, and you can too. If you’ve been hung up by procrastination, self-doubt, or rejection, just remember that I’ve been there—as have countless others before you.

Believe it or not, procrastination doesn’t have to be all bad. You can learn to harness it and train your subconscious to be working for you while you’re doing something other than writing.

Developing a daily writing ritual is key and will make you more productive than you dreamed possible. Determine whether you’re a morning or a night person, and schedule your writing hours accordingly.

My goal is to regularly offer free tips and inspiration right here, because I believe you have a story that deserves to be well told.

In the Comments section below, tell me what you’re working on and what’s standing in your way, and I’ll give you a little feedback.  :-)

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What Your Family and Friends Won’t Tell You about Your Writing

Why is it that the only people who seem to love your prose are those without the power to purchase and publish it?

Your parents love it.

Your friends are impressed.

Your spouse thinks it ought to be a movie.

To them you can do no wrong. You have a gift, a knack—they don’t know how you do it.

They wish they could turn a phrase they way you do, come up with that word, paint literary pictures like that, show life the way it really is.

When I was a teenager, not even old enough to drive yet, I read my sports reporting to my mother on the way to the newspaper office. I regaled her with a dozen different adjectives for how high school wrestlers in as many weight classes defeated their opponents.

She shook her head admiringly as I breathlessly listed Jones defeating Smith, Green obliterating Miller, Tilden smashing Burke, Caldwell drilling Vickers, and on and on.

With her waiting in the parking lot, I took the stairs two by two, bounding into the sports editor’s office, triumphantly handing him my copy and settling in across from him.

He would always kindly break from whatever he was doing, give my story a quick read, and tell me what worked and what didn’t, trying to make a writer of me.

Somehow he was never as impressed as Mom—and today was no exception.

He could tell I was excited about this one, and he would have been within his rights to knock me down a few pegs. Which he did. But, fortunately for me, he was kind about it.

“All these adjectives are creative,” he said, as he quickly deleted them with his blue pencil. “But they’re not the story. You’re intruding. You’ve been following this team for what, five weeks now?”

“Six.”

“And they’re undefeated, right? So, were any of these individual matches upsets?”

I pointed out of a couple. One kid suffered his first loss and another surprised last year’s state champ by beating him.

“There’s your story. What’d the coach say?”

“Said it was good for Burke to take a tough loss and that he still thinks he could win the state title.”

“Let’s get that in there. Telling who beat who is good, and showing by how much is news. How they did it and how hard it was, that’s interesting. But you showing off your command of adjectives, not so much, follow me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Looks like eight of your twelve original inches will survive this week, so that’s eight bucks in your pocket. Next week give me the story of the meet, and give me a feature on Burke with quotes from the coach—another ten inches. And cover the basketball game between Maine East and Proviso West.”

Bottom line: your loved ones and friends are encouragers, but they’re amateurs.

We writers need to take our cues and our input from people in the know, people in the business, the ones who know what sells. They know that good writing is not a thing of adjectives and adverbs and creative writers intruding to show off their vocabularies and turns of phrase.

Good writing—writing that sells—is a thing of crisp nouns and verbs that communicate simply and directly and tell a story people can understand.

That doesn’t mean it has to be boring or carry no music. But the writer has to stay off the stage and out of the way and let the content be king.

When you need a compliment, a pat on the back, an expression of love and encouragement, show your stuff to someone who loves you and cares about you.

But when you want to write better, to learn and grow and communicate and, yes, sell—show it to an editor.

And then listen.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned from someone in the business?

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