Elizabeth Lyon (Part IV) Manuscript Makeover, Revision, and a Haiku

In today's interview, Elizabeth begins her discussion of her most recent book on writing, Manuscript Makeover, with a Haiku.

Donna: Your sixth book, Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques no Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore, has been called “one of the eight great writing books for 2008 . . . and perhaps the most comprehensive book on revising fiction.” Will you please briefly summarize the highlights of Manuscript Makeover?

Elizabeth: Now you’ve put me on the spot! Let’s see, summarize 100,000 words of instruction. There must be a haiku for that.

Use check-off lists

At the end of each chapter

To fix all problems

I made Part I on Style, where most how-to books tuck style into the end and give it short shrift (you got it or you don’t). I placed it first because I’ve heard countless agents say they are looking for “voice,” “a fresh original style.” Without distinctive writing, you’ll have trouble selling your novel. I wanted to help everyone set the imagination on fire and re-capture lost originality, first and foremost.

Then I developed a fat Part II on Craft: structure, structure, structure. Get the architecture of a whole book planned and then shift to interior design. I firmly believe that if novelists start with a solid foundation in structure, whatever they write can be polished into that diamond talked about earlier. Recently, I edited a mystery where the whole book structure included about three novels in one. It’s very difficult to tell a writer that what they may have labored on for years should be demolished. I spent about 30 pages suggesting what great ideas could be salvaged and how to put them into a new solid structure for one novel.

Part III includes 100 pages on Characterization and how to put the characters behind the steering wheel of plot. We should all aspire to such believable and memorable characters that they outlive us. Scarlett O’Hara, Tom Sawyer, Jo March, Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes. We can create classic characters. Deeper characterization is the answer to most problems in writing, and solid techniques of structure serve characterization, not vice versa.

Part IV offers revision techniques for Marketing: how to improve the pitch, query letter, and synopsis, to gain literary agent representation and publication. Because the rejection rate is so ferocious, these marketing documents must be competitive. The great irony is that fiction writers must write fantastic nonfiction letters in order to gain a request to read their fiction.

Donna: Thanks for summarizing your latest book, and I love your Haiku! What can you tell us about the other books you've written?

Elizabeth: As a writing teacher and book editor, I’m a generalist; I edit almost every type of book. My first writing book covered how to sell nonfiction books. I’m proud to say that Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write has been kept in print since 1995 and is considered one of the standards on proposal preparation.

Next I covered how to sell novels at a time when there was zip on how to write queries and synopses. I still get fan mail and testimonials for The Sell Your Novel Toolkit, first published in 1997.

In terms of the books I’ve written, the cart arrived before the horse—how to sell before how to write. With A Writer’s Guide to Fiction and A Writer’s Guide to Nonfiction, I filled that gap, and had the pleasure of sharing my unique style of teaching craft. One of the goals I set for myself with each book was to make a contribution to the literature and not merely to rehash existing ideas.

Second, because I see my approach as exceedingly practical (a Midwest farm girl watching my father fix equipment), I also sought to break down my how-to instruction into steps. The sections “Going South” in the Writer’s Guide books, and all of Manuscript Makeover, are organized by what can go wrong and how to fix it.

I have two out-of-print books. National Directory of Editors & Writers (2005) profiled 520 freelancers living in 48 states. I wanted to provide a resource for writers and non-writers to compare and select a best editor or ghostwriter for their project.

In 1981, I self-published my first book, Mabel: The Story of One Midwife, and intend to bring it back for e-readers. The first third of it was a biography of Mabel Dzata, a midwife from Ghana who moved to Oregon and performed home births (including “catching” my two children) and the last two thirds was a collection of home birth stories. I was once told it is a “midwifery classic.”

I’m sure I was born with a big fat pencil in my hands. From about age six on I was on a joyride of writing—short stories and articles, letters and diaries, very bad poetry, novellas and novels (fantasy, speculative sci-fi, y/a and women’s fiction), how to manuals, ghostwriting, book-length memoirs, a work of philosophy, and a children’s picture book.

When the opportunity presented itself to teach writing and build an editing business, I shifted away from my own creative writing. With book contracts dangled in front of my nose, I couldn’t look at gift horse in the mouth. Twenty years later, I finally figured out that I should stop writing writing books if I want to live long enough to enjoy my own creative writing. That is why Manuscript Makeover is the last of my six books for writers.

Donna: That's an impressive list! And I can't wait to buy my copy of Manuscript Makeover while I'm attending Elizabeth's workshop at OWL this weekend.

Tomorrow will be the final installment of my interview with Elizabeth, so hurry back for her wrap up and final words of wisdom.

Manuscript Advice from Mid Rivers Review Editor, Teddy Norris

Last Saturday, Teddy Norris, English Professor at SCCC, poet, and Editor of the Mid Rivers Review, gave a presentation at Saturday Writers on "Creating Winning Manuscripts." Teddy spoke about the basics and shared some tips she learned while on a sabbatical at a poetry manuscript workshop in Western Massachusetts. Here are some notes I jotted down during her presentation on submitting your manuscript:

#1 Rule: Proof, Proof, Proof, and Revise, Revise, Revise. The competition is fierce to get an editor to select your manuscript. Even if you write like Hemmingway or are a poet on par with Elizabeth Bishop, your work had better have flawless grammar and spelling. Read your manuscript out loud before submitting.

Other suggestions and observations:

* Real the submission guildelines carefully for specifics, such as:

"To clip or not to clip." Some editors prefer paper clips over staples.

SASE should be business letter size.

Cover letter should be short and to the point. Bio should be succinct. Include a statement "edit as needed for space." If listing publishing credits, quality is more important than quantity.

* If an editor asks for changes, respond quickly. Editors are generally flexible and will work with you, but they are working under deadlines.

* Simultaneous submissions - Be honest with the editor. Editors are writers, too, and understand if you have submitted the piece elsewhere. It is courteous to mention that in your cover letter. If your work is accepted in one publication, notify others where you have submitted it right away.

* Online journals are changing the market. There are more places to be published, but check out the publication (both print and online).

* Publication credits - If a piece has been published online or in a student lit mag or publication, it is generally considered published. Again, find out what rights the editor is wanting. Some accept reprints. Just be upfront with the editor.

* In poetry, non-rhyming has the edge. Don't force the end rhyme. Line is critical. Be clear on line breaks and endings. Honor the white space. Each poem gets its own page. Most editors prefer poems that can fit on one page because of layout issues.

* Centering poetry is the mark of an amateur. Left justified is easier to work with.

* Titles are important in poetry and prose. Untitled doesn't work; it makes the submitter appear either pretentious or unimaginative. You can market your piece with the title. Avoid one-word titles. Titles are also a way of layering your work or adding symbolism.

* Don't use fancy fonts or colors. Use standard fonts, such as Times New Roman or Courier.

* Dialogue - Should sound like real conversation. Watch dialogue tags.

* Cut, cut, cut. "Pruning makes trees stronger; it will make your writing stronger, too."

* Watch overuse of adjectives and adverbs - "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." (Stephen King)

* Trust your reader. Rather than summarizing or wrapping up at the end, let your story end naturally. End with a quality of "mystique."

* Produce "small amazements" for your readers.

* Just like "iron sharpens an iron" being in a workshop with other poets or writers and listening to their works will make your writing stronger.

* Editors review submissions quickly. Quality is expected; you must go beyond. Use provocative titles to get their attention, then follow-through from there.

Final word of advice: Proof, Proof, Proof, and Revise, Revise, Revise.

There you have it in a nutshell.

Teddy was so gracious and generous with her time and talent, and she donated her speaker's fee back to Saturday Writers. Aren't writers great?

Today in St. Peters, MO: Sunny, high 58 degrees.