It is my pleasure – or is it? – to again welcome my three sisters to my blog. As my guests, they have opted to share their experiences editing my books, and so much more. Please welcome my family.
While Madison Michael takes a much needed vacation, we, her editor/sisters, are going to fill you in on what it’s really like to work behind the scenes with a self-published romance writer. Especially one who is working like a dog to make it to the Amazon Bestseller List.
SISTER ONE – THE ROMANCE TEST
Madison has three sisters, all of whom she had drafted into her self-publishing business. This allows her to compartmentalize tasks amongst us. For example, her first efforts are saved for the eldest in the family. She is a devoted romance reader, consuming countless happy endings in a single weekend. Madison’s draft first goes to her to see if it holds her interest, seems plausible and is not anything too much like something she’s read before. This review takes a very short time. Sister one can’t wait to get to the end and find out how all turns out. Maddy knows if there is no response in just a matter of hours, the book is a flop.
SISTER TWO – IN YOUR FACE
If it passes the eldest sister test, the next stop is the blunt, in your face sister. You know the type –she’s going to tell you all the minutiae she hates, like the settings are wrong, the clothes are bad, the words are repetitive. It is thanks to this editor that Sloane kicks off a lovely Ellie Saab gown in the prologue of Beholden. Her reviews progress slowly and methodically, and when completed prove just how many comments and corrections can appear on a single Microsoft Word page.
SISTER THREE – THE PROOFER
The third sister’s review is right before publication. She is the proofer. Someone has to be the English teacher, catching punctuation, tense, sentence structure, etc. This is also the sister with responsibility for assuring that the character in chapter 6 has the same name he had in chapter 2. Then there’s the seasonal calendar. This sister has to make sure that training for the Chicago Marathon takes place before the actual marathon in Bedeviled or that outdoor sex in Beholden takes place when people in Chicago can actually be outside in an undressed state.
AND ALL THAT OTHER STUFF!
And that’s just the novels. There’s all that marketing Madison keeps trying to teach us. None of us are really blog readers, yet here we are writing one! (Okay, she actually got us to write two.) Every time Madison blogs, there’s a review for content, continuity and grammar, and these all seem to require faster-than-light turnaround.
Let’s not forget covers either. Some of us didn’t even know that electronic books had covers! Our opinions are solicited on fonts, colors, art and even how much skin should be revealed. We are having to become experts on all aspects of social media just to give knowledgeable feedback on Madison’s website. Even something as simple as a banner (what’s a banner we asked?) of the Chicago skyline requires a collaborative effort amongst the family editorial staff.
Now you would think we could learn to accomplish all this; after all, there are professionals who do this all day long and we are intelligent women. But they are not ripping on their sister. It’s a little difficult to tell your baby sister that she has to change something that’s her baby – her book. Criticism can lead to stilted conversations, no communications or round-robin talks amongst the sisters, not to mention the times we speak behind each other’s backs.
This blog may actually be our attempt to indirectly inform Madison that further edits from us are inevitable and she’ll just have to accept our tough love. And, Maddy, you have to keep talking to us.
After all, no one works cheaper than family!
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The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman