blog by Bill Worth
I’ve been editing book manuscripts for Tom Bird since July of 2015; my latest count shows I have completed almost 200 of them over that time. I got the job partly because I attended one of Tom’s workshops in Atlanta in 2009, and one of his appearances at the annual conference for Unity Worldwide Ministries in 2015. And partly because I have more than 30 years of experience editing daily newspapers in Ohio, and a weekly newspaper in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
In this blog, I’ll share some of my best tips for submitting a manuscript that you expect to become a bestseller – not forgetting the all-important query letter to accompany it. These ideas will help your editors – and readers – eagerly turn the pages to find out what happens next.
- When you write, use a serif font like Times New Roman as the typeface. A sans-serif typeface, such as Arial, is harder to read.
- Indent the first line of each paragraph, rather than separate paragraphs with an extra line space. All this does is waste paper, and publishers don’t like it.
- Punctuation almost always goes inside quotation marks, not outside of them. There are rare exceptions; if in doubt, put punctuation inside.
- Speaking of punctuation, be careful how many exclamation points you use!! Trust me on this!! (Exclamation marks are a signature of amateurs.)
- Use spell-check. And grammar-check if necessary. And remember this: spell-check needs to be double-checked. By you. Before you submit the manuscript.
- If you use quotations from others, or references from scripture, for example, check the source or attribution. Make sure they are accurate.
- Watch for anachronisms(a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists) in your writing. Example: Someone listening to rock music in the ’50s in your novel cannot possibly text, call on their cell phones, or share the experience with friends on Facebook.
- Use robust, active verbs, not puny, passive verbs. Example: The wedding crowd packed the dance floor, but parted in awe as the newlyweds shimmered across the parquet like Fred and Ginger.
- Subtle “foreshadowing” helps prevent surprises. Readers are often confused by surprises (unless it is a surprise ending), so go back and write a clever hint earlier that something surprising might be coming. When readers get there, they will be delighted that they had already figured it out.
- Try really hard, especially when writing fiction, to leave your readers “hanging” at the end of each chapter. It’s called a “cliffhanger” or page-turner,” because that’s its purpose.
Thanks for reading! I hope to be back with more ideas on good writing; I certainly have a lot of them.