Do we ever actually finish? Are we all not constant editors?

It came up recently on a forum to which I contribute but was part of the debate about sometimes being rejected coming as a relief; it stops you making a fool of yourself. It was also connected with a discussion about hybrid publishers. A big topic, and the rest of it is for another day. 

I did remark that I'll often alter text as I go to read it out. This is after it has been published or self-published i.e. after a publisher has taken a risk with me or I have taken the risk myself, but both scenarios include a thorough editing process. And it isn't only because you need to the text to be a little different if it's to be read aloud. Most of the time it's because I've noticed another way to improve my text. 

I'm not the only one. Another creative writer / academic friend of mine visited my university and read from her debut novel to some of my students. She paused part of the way through the first page. "Gosh," she said. "I've only just realised; I tell my student never to do that." The book had been edited and published by a reputable publisher. 

Reading is no longer the same for me. Many of my students, whether they study English literature or creative writing, find the same thing. An inner voice constantly critiques the text. However, this constantly analysing mind can offer one advantage; you can enjoy a text you wouldn't normally enjoy because deconstructing it and establishing why it doesn't work for you can be an enjoyable task and brings some education.

Eleven years of marking creative writing and twenty years of critiquing it also add to this process, though I find it harder to do the same to my own work unless I leave it alone for several months.                        

I actually keep a blog of recommended reads. These are for texts that take me out of the editor's head. They are rare: I can be totally absorbed in a story and no longer seeing the black marks on the white paper and something will jolt me out of that dreamlike state; it may be some odd formatting, a missing apostrophe or an awkward phrase.

Still, there is no need for despair. This constant editing activity surely leads to better writing.        

Master class with Melvyn Burgess, Catherine Pellegrino and Shannon Park

This excellent class was offered last Saturday by Commonword, Manchester. It was by invite only and I felt privileged to be invited. We were quite a small group and so there was plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

Over the years, I’ve attended hundreds of workshops, many of them facilitated by well-known people in the writing industry. But I still learnt something last Saturday.

I’m not going to give you all of the detail – much of what I could say would repeat what is contained in the very detailed blogs kindly posted by those who were able to attend the SCBWI-BI  Conference in Winchester last week. I’m just going to go through what for me – an already published but not yet best-selling author – were the highlights.  

The most important points for me from author Melvin Burgess were:

·         The difference between an amateur and professional is about 10,000 hours. Write, write and keep on writing if you want to be published. (I keep totting up my hours and I keep getting a different figure- I never was all that good at maths!)  

·         Ultimately, you learn to be your own best editor – but don’t always start at the beginning as one then tends to rush the end. I’ve put that into practice already this week!

·         Be a little cautious about seeking the opinions of others until you are satisfied with the work yourself. Maybe the questions you need to ask are “Where doesn’t it work?” “Where are you bored?” (I’ll add in here that I also find it useful to get people to tell you what they’ve understood about your characters – have they come out the way you intended them to?)

Agent Catherine Pellegrino assured us that it is all right to submit to more than one agent at once “otherwise you’ll be waiting forever” though there may come a point when an agent wants to read exclusively the whole of a manuscript. This is only fair and other agents would understand this. So, shortly I’ll be sending out a little more vigorously two novels that are doing the rounds.

She advised to mention if we had worked with such organisations as Cornerstones and emphasized that this is a good example of that type of body.  They are expensive and writers should be proactive enough to make sure that they do get their money’s worth.

She emphasized that humour and great voices are important to her.

We were very fortunate in also having commissioning editor Shannon Park with us. She works for Puffin, which is, as she says, the number one children’s publisher. She gave us the usual depressing news about how publishers are taking on fewer but “bigger” books and how all revolves around sales. She highlighted some of the trends.  “But of course,” she said, “it changes all the time.”  I’m always a little wary of this – what is trending now won’t be any more by the time you’ve finished writing. Also, I can only write what I feel confident I can write well. However, sometimes things can be reshaped a little to fit a trend, so it is still worth knowing.

Her most useful tip is to imagine what you would say to the concerned adult wondering whether they should buy the book or not.  I’m quite used to the two-line summary I put at the beginning of the query letter. But what Shannon meant is shorter than an elevator pitch. Perhaps Twitter is good training. Maybe all those tweets have been useful after all! And she also mentioned humour.

It was a really enjoyable and useful day. All of the writers there were to some extent experienced. It was good to be amongst like-minded people. We had a lovely lunch courtesy of  Prêt à Manger and Commonword.  It’s the first time for a while that I’ve some away from such a meeting feeling optimistic.  

Final Portfolio Groups

I had my two Final Portfolio groups today. Each group has just six students. They are a joy to teach. Half of them submit work in advance of our meeting. We all look at it, give feedback, discuss generally and then look forward to the next week when the other half of each group submit work.
We often notice same items. Sometimes though there are disagreements. Sometimes the writer may disagree with everyone else. This is actually an important point for new writers: they have to take responsibility for the decisions they ultimately make about their work.
We learnt a trick today: if the reader understands what we want them to understand we have written well. It is often hard for us to judge these things ourselves. This is a really effective way we can gain useful feedback on our work. Ask open-ended questions about the impression the reader has gained.
Often more general topics come up in these sessions. What should we do after we’ve finished this course? I offer my five suggestions, go on to post grad work, write your bestseller, go into a job that uses the same skills (advertising, teaching), become a jobbing writer or pick an uncreative job to allow space for creative activity. Then there are discussions about how to clearly mark changing points of view, how we often have to get rid of the first parts that we have written for that is how we ourselves get into the story and how it can be useful to get the story down quickly and then go back and worry about the details. We are using an art with a little craft. Writing is not an exact science even though we may look at it scientifically.
Yes, it’s great working with these lively minds. Again I say I have a fantastic day job.

The Joys of Marking

I’ve finished marking. I am surrounded by piles of paper and I no longer recognise what they are. Odd papers have been missing then turned up again. Occasionally you mark one and then put it down and you can’t find what you’ve done with it seconds later. They all look the same. Should we go to electronic submission? Would that be as confusing, or more so in fact? Then oddly, or perhaps predictably, all the missing bits turn up.
The marking / moderating process is an involved one. It always takes longer than you think, even when you rush it – maybe especially if you rush it.
I don’t mind too much. After all, I am reading what other people have written. It’s not that different from looking at martial from a critique session, except in that you’ve got to make a summative judgement about it. Judgements in week by week session and for your critique groups are more formative. When it comes to acting as reader / editor, you have to make a final one off decision. That, I guess is a bit different. I’m attempting to do that electronically. I’ll keep you posted

Ring-Fencing Writing Time

I’ve been rather bogged down over the last few days marking my students’ work. Most school teachers and a few other HE teachers would say my teaching load was light. I would probably agree. But the marking is a different story. Each script takes about one hour to mark and then there’s quite a lot of admin to do afterwards. In the middle of all this, various colleagues send emails with deadlines for reply. One even sends an email asking for information they’ve already had. We do have to keep repeating the same information, it seems.

So how does my writing fit into all of this? At the moment, it doesn’t. I haven’t written since the weekend, despite this being my most important work.

No worries, though, Today is my research day and everything else can wait. Write I shall.

There is a sense, also, that reading my students’ work contributes to my writing process. As I read and find their faults and triumphs, I learn more about the writing process, including my own work.

One of my publishers contacted me yesterday. Had I had the guidelines for submission? Could she check the submission dates?

Yes, I’d had the guidelines. The submission date remains the same. I’m on schedule. In fact, I’m actually a little ahead. Just as well. The day job is taking over a little at the moment.

Critiquing, Editing ,Abandoning

I have now started working in earnest with our new students. New on all three levels. I’m convening the Level 1 creative writing course. I’ve also got two good groups in Level 2 and Level 3.

I met my portfolio groups for the first time today. They are certainly on the ball, and I think I was also able to give them a lot of detailed feedback on their work. Was it good quality, though? I hope so.

It is amazing how looking at other people’s work actually helps you to understand your own even better. There is always an intensity about it. All those things we talk about: is the structure solid? Does it grab the reader? Are you showing instead of telling? Is the punctuation okay? Are there darlings to be killed off? Does the dialogue work? Is there enough description? Is the writer making use of their senses? Does this character convince?

When is the work finished? Could they come the week they have to give it in and have one last one-to-one? Of course they can. It’s programmed in. What if then, we give them advice and they don’t won’t or can’t take it? Or they think they do and the piece still doesn’t work?

How we go on and on. A piece of work is never finished. Just abandoned. I used to think that that was just so much of a piece of rubbish. There is, in fact, more than enough truth in that.

Academic / Writer

Most of my writing yesterday was academic. I am wrestling with a book proposal which builds on my PhD thesis. It’s almost harder than writing from scratch. I’m submitting three sample chapters, one of which is actually the introduction. The chapters should be about 7,000 words long. Currently the one I’m working on is running at 5,800. I think, like I tell my students, I need to add more concrete examples.

I’m also making progress with the Creative Café. I’m getting quotes for designing the logo and getting the first bits and pieces printed. It’s potentially a very exciting time. I just have to keep fingers crossed that I get the funding.

I really value my job. It’s as if someone has said, “Gill we value what you do. We’ll pay you a retainer.” So, I have a living wage and get to do what I do anyway:

· Write books

· Give talks

· Critique other people’s work

· Talk to people about writing

· Write critically about writing and literature

· Go to interesting conferences

· Give papers at interesting conferences

· Research into interesting matters.

· Look for funding for projects

. Occasionally I get what might be described as a bonus. I get a royalty cheque or I go to a reading and sell a few books which my publisher has sold to me at a discount.

What a fun life!