Hey...When...How...Huh?

No, I'm not going deaf. I just wish I had some way of knowing when they'd changed requirements in formatting out in the publishing world.

When I first thought about writing a book, I bought several books on how to get published, and inside included sections on formatting. NO! I will not tell you when this was. And NO! I didn't use a chisel and stone tablet. ::sigh:: You're worst than my children. Anyway, the rule (yeah, one of the few rules out there in the writing world.) was to type in Courier 12 and each page with typing on it had an average of 250 words. Thus, a 400 page manuscript would be 100,000 words.

Well, then computers took over and now they say, the above was for typewriters and no longer valid, unless you still use a typewriter. Then I wish you luck with the White-Out and just as messy white strips. Hated those things. The agents and editors might think it to be charming that you typed it on an old fashioned typewriter. Problem is, they'll think how chaming it looks in their old fashioned trash can too.

Now, you have to use the word count in the word processor. For example, MS WORD (2007) can automatically count the words as you type and show them to you at the bottom of the page on the left. Cool. AND, they tell us NEW Courier 12 is a true sign you're a newbie. Times New Roman is the preferred font. But of course they also say anything that is easy on the eyes are acceptable too. Myself, I rather use TNR until my agent/editor tell me different. That is, when I get a agent or editor.

If you wonder who THEY are, the internet. I read about twenty different websites to get this information. The one I trust the most was AGENT QUERY.

Oddly, I've found in contests, when I submit a entry in Times New Roman, I normally have higher scores (good thing) than if I submit it in Courier (bad thing).

And don't get me started on where the chapter should begin on the page, or where my stupid address on the title page should be or where I should place my damn name in the header of the manuscript! ::deeper sigh:: I do need my little pink pills more some days than others.

The really sad thing is now I have to add 15 to 30 thousand more words to one of my finished books. Hmmm, I guess that means, technically, it isn't finished, is it?

Thankful Friday

It's Thankful Friday and I remembered to do it this time! LOL!

I'm thankful I can read and love doing it. I couldn't imagine looking at a word and not understand what the arrangement of letters meant. Reading books pushed me to all kinds of greater things, especially writing.

Come On Over

Today is my day to blog at Romance Magicians. Come over and comment about my History Tidbit.

Accepting Criticism

This is a follow up on my last two posts about being a judge, but from the contestant’s side.

When I receive my score sheets and entry back, I glance at the scores, of course, and then thumb through the manuscript pages for the comments. Wherever the judge showed I’d made a small mistake (the mentioned missing words, etc.), I quickly correct them if I hadn’t already. Then I look hard at any grammar problems and sentence structure. This doesn’t come up as often as it had at one time, but I then reword those sections or correct what I believe needs correcting. Then lastly, I look at what I call personal comments. Most times I ignore them as they sometimes show the judge was skimming the story or they were asking questions that would be answered further in the book. Every once in a while, the judge will point out an inconsistency or where I need to explain further because the scene fell flat. Those are always appreciated.

All of that above means the judge was polite and worded her comments accordingly. Now when I receive an entry back where the judge tells me what editors will accept and what they won’t, I usually ignore all her comments and go on to the next one. In one of the contests I was coordinator, I saw the manuscript with the fifth place first-round-score written in as first place by the editor. Judges don’t know. Or if the judge was rude in her comments, I ignore all her work. I don’t need the heartache. Oh, another comment I hate by judges though they mean well but come across as condescending is “Just work harder and you’ll get there.” So they know I just flung it together and hardly worked on it?

There’s been many times in the beginning I had to place the entry to the side and go back to read it again when I was at a better frame of mind. I know when I judge, I spend a minimum of two hours on each entry. And I’m always polite.

Judging Contests - Part 2

Continuing my blog from yesterday about judging contests, if you’re thinking about judging a contest for the first time, please keep in mind the following.

1) This is not an English assignment. I’ve even asked a multi-published author who was an English teacher in her former life, if manuscripts should be judged differently and she said, “Yes.” You can have fragments, passive is allowed and was can be useful. Just remember a little goes a long ways. A manuscript should reflect the genre and your voice. That’s not saying all grammar rules are out of the window, but if it makes sense and doesn’t stop you from reading, let it be. (See, dangling preposition – those are okay to dangle if you try correcting it and the phrase sounds archaic or stiff. Let be it.)

2) If you’re rewriting every other sentence, either the author has a widespread problem or you’re trying to change the author’s voice. Chances are it’s the latter. So stop it! If you see a wide range of problems, stick to the basics and the ones easily fixed. The author’s grammar may be atrocious (like mine) but you don’t need to correct every single sentence. Point out the first two or three and then write, “You might want to check your grammar on the rest of the entry.”

3) If you do not like to read paranormals or Regencies or etc., then please do not judge them. You will only irritate the author or give her a low score because of YOUR ignorance. Yes, Margaret, castles had wooden floors, just as they had stone ones. And yes, shape-shifters mean they can change into animals or even furniture.

4) And most important, watch how you phrase your critique. Do not use TSTL, no matter if it is true. Pretend your words can start a war if you’re not careful. So say something like, “I believe you need to reconsider the scene where the heroine attacks the armed robber. From what I’ve seen so far, she isn’t skilled in the martial arts.” An author is most likely to listen to your suggestions if you’re polite. You may never blink an eye when your critique partner calls your latest manuscript a piece of trash. That’s between you and your friend. But the entries you judge don’t know you from Jack. And a hundred smiley faces won’t make it better. Choose your words carefully.

Judging Writing Contest Part 1

During the holidays, I judged several entries for different contests. And there was one consistent thread throughout the entries with lower scores. They needed critique partners.

One entry had a beautiful, unique historical story I had to take off points for so many minor things. Now if the contest doesn’t have many historical entries she may still final, but historicals are usually like romantic suspense, overflowing with entries. So chances are she'll miss out. But I made sure to tell her how much I liked her story and pointed out the few areas she needed to work on and especially told her to get a critique partner. Someone who would appreciate her story and not bother her voice. She had a good voice.

I hate giving low scores and thankfully rarely do, but several of the entries had boatloads of simple errors: missing words, misspelled/mistyped words, and present tense versus past tense (like using is instead of was). All were errors a critique partner or even a reader-friend could’ve caught.

One thing is for sure, I understand more than anyone how easy it is to make those simple mistakes. Too often I’ll change a section in my manuscript before sending it to a contest and then realize later I had left out a word, used the wrong word (desert versus dessert), etc. By not letting someone look it over I’ve shot myself in the foot. Heavens, if you read my blog, you see me do stuff like that all the time.

If You're Wondering

I try to change out "What I'm Reading Now..." but I have a bad habit of reading more than one book at a time. So sometimes I'll take a month to finish a book and other times, I've finished and just forget to change the picture.

Just figured you were wondering.

The Twenties, Thirties and Forties

And that's not about what temperature it's outside. LOL!

I love movies set in the 20's, 30's, 40's and even those that were produced at that time. The hats--men's and women's--the dresses, gloves, the suits and the tough, tough men portrayed in the studio contracted movies.

Well, a new one is coming out in July. Johnny Depp will play John Dillinger in PUBLIC ENEMIES. Michael Mann directs! You probably remember him as the executive producer of Miami Vice, the TV series. Yes, he was the director of Miami Vice, the movie, but we won't hold it against him.

And, oh, Christian Bale will be in it too. Oh, oh, get this, another leading fellow, Channing Tatum, was born in Cullman, Alabama. How cool is that?

Holding a Finished Manuscript

Whenever I print out a full manuscript and hold it in my chubby little hands, I get such a thrill. The stacks of pages make me realize how much work I've done.

Just thinking about holding a published freaking-for-real book of mine in my hands would probably cause me to go into happiness overload.

***added 1/4/09 as usual I forgot to say what I'm thankful for. So here it is, the chance to hold another full manuscript of mine.

Happy Birthday To My Youngest

Today was my youngest daughter's birthday. Lots of presents. Family came to eat. And now I'm worn out (as you can probably tell by my writing). Going to bed now. Have to work in the morning. Talk to you tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, sweet Audie.