There's something personal I'd like to share with you: Several years ago, my sister killed herself. It was the worst day of my life. But hope can spring from tragedy. Dr. Reef Karim, a Los Angeles psychiatrist on the faculty of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, interviewed me about suicide -- a theme that runs throughout my mystery/suspense novel "Fast Track," drawn, in part, from my sister's suicide.
The interview is now available as a podcast sponsored by The Depression is Real Coalition, a group dedicated to helping people who suffer from depression. Here's the link to our conversation: http://depressionisreal.org/podcast/archive_2008_01.php.
It's program #34. I hope you'll give it a listen.
Feel free to pass this along to anyone else in your life who you feel might be encouraged by the interview.
Thanks!
John DeDakis
CNN Senior Copy Editor
("The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer")
Author, FAST TRACK
(hardcover: ISBN 1-59507-094-X)
(paperback: ISBN 1-59507-102-4)
web site: http://www.johndedakis.com/
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Whittling it Down: What to do When a Manuscript is Too Long
As usual, my thoughts about the writing process might also be relevant to living.
Case in point: What to do when a manuscript is too long (or a life is too cluttered)?
Answer: Whittle it down.
(These comments will be about writing; you decide how to apply them to your life.)
I recently got a manuscript to edit that was a whopping 141,000 words. The writer obviously had a lot to say. But, sadly, too much to say. An agent or a publisher would not be impressed.
Publishing is a business and most of us are unknowns with no book sales track record. Some 170,000 books are published every year in the U.S. alone (more in the U.K.). That comes to about 475 books a DAY. Many (if not most) don’t earn back the money a publisher spends to produce them. Therefore, it’s highly unlikely a publisher will agree to buy a bloated manuscript because its prospects of making money are too uncertain – but the certainty it will LOSE money goes up the longer the book.
Your goal should be to trim your manuscript to about 75,000 words. This doesn’t necessarily mean that what you cut will go onto the scrap heap. This is because publishers, if they like a manuscript (and the author), will want to know if you have any more stories up your sleeve. You’ll be able to say, “Why, yes. I do!”
Remember: This is a business.
My novel "Fast Track" went through 14 major revisions. At one point, it was a 150,000-word mishmash. One publisher rejected it because it didn't fit into an easily identifiable niche - it wasn't literary, it wasn't a romance, it wasn't a mystery. He said he didn't know how to market it.
So, I took the manuscript to the book review club that met in my neighborhood. They read the story and then let me sit in on their critique. By listening to their comments, I realized I had three subplots I could easily jettison. That was the tipping point. I whittled it down to a lean 75,000 word-mystery that netted me an agent and a publisher -- and some very enthusiastic readers.
Whittling really can pay off. See for yourself on Amazon:
Case in point: What to do when a manuscript is too long (or a life is too cluttered)?
Answer: Whittle it down.
(These comments will be about writing; you decide how to apply them to your life.)
I recently got a manuscript to edit that was a whopping 141,000 words. The writer obviously had a lot to say. But, sadly, too much to say. An agent or a publisher would not be impressed.
Publishing is a business and most of us are unknowns with no book sales track record. Some 170,000 books are published every year in the U.S. alone (more in the U.K.). That comes to about 475 books a DAY. Many (if not most) don’t earn back the money a publisher spends to produce them. Therefore, it’s highly unlikely a publisher will agree to buy a bloated manuscript because its prospects of making money are too uncertain – but the certainty it will LOSE money goes up the longer the book.
Your goal should be to trim your manuscript to about 75,000 words. This doesn’t necessarily mean that what you cut will go onto the scrap heap. This is because publishers, if they like a manuscript (and the author), will want to know if you have any more stories up your sleeve. You’ll be able to say, “Why, yes. I do!”
Remember: This is a business.
My novel "Fast Track" went through 14 major revisions. At one point, it was a 150,000-word mishmash. One publisher rejected it because it didn't fit into an easily identifiable niche - it wasn't literary, it wasn't a romance, it wasn't a mystery. He said he didn't know how to market it.
So, I took the manuscript to the book review club that met in my neighborhood. They read the story and then let me sit in on their critique. By listening to their comments, I realized I had three subplots I could easily jettison. That was the tipping point. I whittled it down to a lean 75,000 word-mystery that netted me an agent and a publisher -- and some very enthusiastic readers.
Whittling really can pay off. See for yourself on Amazon:
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Dealing with Criticism: Some Suggestions
These are comments I made recently to a woman after I edited her manuscript. But I believe they could apply to life, as well:
A lot of my criticisms are my subjective reactions to what you've written. If I make a suggestion, it's only that: a suggestion. You are totally free to accept it, reject it, or come up with something entirely different.
-go through the comments and let them ruminate
-make decisions on how you plan to rework, revise, and rewrite.
-start making your changes
-TAKE YOUR TIME. Part of you will be impatient to give birth to your masterpiece, but as all good moms know, letting nature take its course is the wiser way. If you've been with the project for a long time (9 months or even 9+ years), it's only natural to want get it over with, but don't rush the creative process.
-Once you're done rewriting, find people who - because they love you - are willing to read the manuscript at no charge and give you their honest feedback. It probably won't be as nitpicky as a professional editor's, but - if it's HONEST - it'll help you know where the story is good and where it still needs reworking.
Writing a manuscript is like living life: We are all works in progress.
A lot of my criticisms are my subjective reactions to what you've written. If I make a suggestion, it's only that: a suggestion. You are totally free to accept it, reject it, or come up with something entirely different.
-go through the comments and let them ruminate
-make decisions on how you plan to rework, revise, and rewrite.
-start making your changes
-TAKE YOUR TIME. Part of you will be impatient to give birth to your masterpiece, but as all good moms know, letting nature take its course is the wiser way. If you've been with the project for a long time (9 months or even 9+ years), it's only natural to want get it over with, but don't rush the creative process.
-Once you're done rewriting, find people who - because they love you - are willing to read the manuscript at no charge and give you their honest feedback. It probably won't be as nitpicky as a professional editor's, but - if it's HONEST - it'll help you know where the story is good and where it still needs reworking.
Writing a manuscript is like living life: We are all works in progress.
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