To Answer Your Question...

Some people ask when I know my novel is done. The answer is . . . I don't
think I ever would ever be finished if it wasn't for a deadline. How could
one ever look at a whole body of work and say, "It is perfect."

There are always descriptions to deepen and dialogue to make more
believable. The ending . . . well, is never quite right, and there are
always those few places that bug me. The words I can never get quite right.

Working with critique partners helps. Working with editors does too. But
still I can see so many weak spots.

Even now I'm reading the galley for my upcoming novel. I'm suppose to be
just checking for errors, but I can STILL see things I'd like to change.

Since I am human, I'll never write a perfect novel. But still, as I send the
comments back with the galley, knowing that whatever is there will be in
print ... I have to say "It is finished."

Just like a day is finished, without everything getting done, the
realization comes that a novel will never be perfect. And it never can be.

Still, I can rest easy at night knowing God strengthened me and guided me
and knowing that I gave it my best . . . and knowing that even without
perfection God can use my story to touch hearts. And with that I can say,
"It is good."

To Answer your question...

Every Tuesday will be dedicated to answering some of the GREAT questions you all have asked!

Today's question is: What is your opinion on hiring a professional editor to edit my manuscript before sending it in to a publisher?


And today's answer will be given by Nikki Arana! Take it away Nikki...

The biggest reason that new writers receive rejections is because they send out their ms (manuscript) before it is ready. So many unpubbed writers think when they finish their first ms, they've finished a book. In almost all cases, they've finished a first draft. If it has been written with the guidance of a critique group of other unpublished authors, it's probably a good first draft, if it was written without any mentoring, it's probably a detailed outline. That's what the first draft of my first book was . . . the agent I sent it to is the one who told me. (grimaces)

The first step toward publication is to learn how to write a book. This takes time unless you hire a professional. There are professional editors, Sometimes called developmental editors, who can do that. But it is VERY expensive, around $75 an hour. They work with you step by step as you write. Like going to college and you're the only one in class. You end up with a book that only needs polishing. You always think of improvements after the first time through. But by then you are knowledgeable enough to make informed decisions on your own.You only get one chance to make a first impression with an editor or agent.

The concern about somehow the writing is not your own if you use an editor I find no basis for. I've never had any editor change a word of my writing that changed my voice. The concern that you can't deliver that quality of writing after you get the contract isn't true either. I'm writing my fifth book and still use the same professional structure editor I did on my first book. I still occasionally have payoffs without setups, have the hero do unheroic things, and have something in the story that doesn't make it to the page. But now, those things seldom happen, so it takes the editor less time and has become much more affordable. I consider the money I spend as my college tuition. Most editors accept payments.

After you know as much as your unpublished critique partners, professional editing is the next step toward publication. Yes, there are always those stories of a newbie sending out an ms and selling it. But out of the hundreds, even thousands of writers who submit mss, that happens very rarely. It is getting harder and harder to break into print. If difficult finances prevent you from using an editor, then try and find a pubbed author to guide you. They can be just as valuable, but often can't give the time needed. There are also conferences, workshops, and classes. It will just take a little longer going that route.

Pray with all your heart and work with all your might. Give your God-given call and God-given talent every opportunity to prosper.

Nikki Arana
www.NikkiArana.com

2007 Excellence in Media Silver Angel AwardAmerican Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year - Women's FictionWinner of The Beacon Award
Jessie Cameron Alison Writer of the Year Award
Conference Speaker - Workshops

3 Qualities...

You will be published if you possess three qualities - talent, passion, and discipline. You will probably be published if you possess two of the three qualities in either combination - either talent and discipline, or passion and discipline. You will likely be published if you possess neither talent nor passion but still have discipline. Just go to the bookstore and pick up a few 'notable' titles and you'll see what I mean. But if all you possess is talent or passion, if all you possess is talent and passion, you will not be published. The likelihood is you will never be published. And if by some miracle you are published, it will probably never happen again."

~~Elizabeth George, Write Away, p.253