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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 0:40:10 GMT -5
Post by claregurl on Apr 15, 2010 0:40:10 GMT -5
Apparently my editor is too busy to even revise my book at the moment. My editor (who has a degree in college for editing and journalism, and offered to edit my book because she had time to) is my mother. And now, she is involved with an Arts Council in our town...It is now about 7 1/2 weeks from my personal deadline, and I'm afraid that it will not be ready to begin to have a final draft made out of it by then. I cannot even begin to contact the publishing companies (I've thought about HarperTeen Publishing and I-Universe Self Publishing) until it is through revision. I'm worried...
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 13:13:16 GMT -5
Post by moonmomma on Apr 15, 2010 13:13:16 GMT -5
oh, dear. {{{{{claregurl}}}}} As a mom myself (my youngest is 14), I'm, well, frankly, kind of shocked that she would forget about her promise to you like that, or let herself get distracted by an outside interest. Which the Arts Council definitely is. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, it could be that the Arts Council turned out to be more involved than she thought it would be. Can you sit down with her and tell her that you feel very let down that she doesn't seem to have the time to do what she had promised she would do for you and that reaching this goal on schedule is very important to you? If you don't feel that you can talk to her like this, or if you've already tried and haven't gotten anywhere, there are a couple of options. You can join a group like Forward Motion for Writers ( www.fmwriters.com/ or Critique Circle ( www.critiquecircle.com/) to get critiques and suggestions, and maybe get hooked up with someone else who would be willing to edit for you. Or you can start revising it yourself. If you're not sure how to go about that, I suggest the articles on revising at Holly Lisle's site, How to Revise a Novel and One-Pass Revision ( hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/). I'm trying the One-Pass Revision method on my novel and making notes about the process on the "Share Your Wisdom" board. So maybe you can tackles the bigger stuff yourself and then your mom can help you with the fine-tuning. I barely have time and energy to work on my own projects, and I'm not sure I've got the skills to edit something to a level where it could be submitted for publishing, or I'd offer to do it for you. But I don't want to commit to something I might not be able to follow through on. I hope some of my suggestions are helpful to you.
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 15:06:06 GMT -5
Post by moonmomma on Apr 15, 2010 15:06:06 GMT -5
if you really want to up the guilt factor, you could say, "I'm really disappointed that you don't have time to help me with my novel, but I know the Arts Council stuff is important. [note: not MORE important, just important, implying that it's important and you aren't] Maybe I can find somone online who will help me."
This would work if one of my kids used it on me, anyway ;D
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 18:19:34 GMT -5
Post by plasticat on Apr 15, 2010 18:19:34 GMT -5
I would definitely talk to her, if you haven't already. That seems like the best idea to me.
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 20:56:37 GMT -5
Post by moonmomma on Apr 15, 2010 20:56:37 GMT -5
well, maybe "shocked" is a bit extreme. Surprised, maybe. If one of my kids actually wrote a whole novel, I'd be all over it. They'd have to beat me off with a stick.
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 21:34:34 GMT -5
Post by claregurl on Apr 15, 2010 21:34:34 GMT -5
Another thing is, while there are people who think i could write a novel, there are others that believe i cannot. Along with that, there are those who humor me by saying that it's possible, even when they think it is not. I've talked to my mother about my personal goal for it, and that even if she read a page that is printed out each day it would help, and she agreed. Although this was a week ago, and I see the 3 chapters i have printed out sitting on her desk untouched everyday. I've had that printed out for 3 weeks, and I'd even had a early copy of the book from a while ago that went unread. I'm sure you can understand that each time I see the pages lying untouched, it is an impact to my confidence, which is already dangerously low. I plan on talking to her again tomarrow, though. Hopefully i can get her to start reading it. But, if worst comes to worst, i have emergency book money saved up if i need to hire an editor.
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 22:23:04 GMT -5
Post by plasticat on Apr 15, 2010 22:23:04 GMT -5
I understand, and have only this to add: Do NOT listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do it. There is absolutely no reason that you can't, especially after how far you have already come. I'm sure that most of the people telling you that wouldn't be able to get as far as you in twice the time it took you to write what you have. And the only word that I can find to express myself when I read that your mother has not read for three weeks is pure astonishment. Just remember how far you've gotten. That's too far for you to be stopped just because people don't believe you can do it/won't edit your work. Just keep pushing onward and never ever stop believing that you can do this.
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 22:43:32 GMT -5
Post by moonmomma on Apr 15, 2010 22:43:32 GMT -5
I second what plasticat says, and would add: at least you've *written* a book! how many people can say that? How many people say "I'd like to write a novel sometime" but never even try? Even if this first book doesn't get you to your dream of being published, at least you're on the path! So never give up, and don't let the fact that your mom seems distracted or too busy undermine your confidence.
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Editor
Apr 15, 2010 22:57:36 GMT -5
Post by claregurl on Apr 15, 2010 22:57:36 GMT -5
Thank you so much, Plasticat and Moonmomma. What you have said has really lifted me out of a fog I've been in for a while now. No matter what people say, I will try my hardest to get this book published. And it is true, that even though people may not believe it, I know in my heart that I wrote a truly good book, even if it doesnt get published.
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