Well I'm almost done with my first edit of my book. I'm excited about it. But I must tell the truth. Today I read about a literary agent Madeline Buston. She is the agent for Lee Child. Nonetheless, she said something that I thought was pretty interesting. It'll lead me to have to do two more edits but I'm pretty excited about both.
The first thing she said was that every five pages should have a mini-drama in it. That's good to know because it was something I was struggling with, namely how much action should be packed into each scene in order to make it interesting. Madeline's thought seemed to be pretty much right on the money.
The second was that the chapters should be short and should have cliffhangers after each chapter to propel the reader onto the next chapter.
The third part that I read from Elmore Leonard was taht you should leave out the parts that the reader will skip. I like that as a rule of thumb or at least to minimize them or to simplify to the point where they're not necessary.
I learned a lot about writing today. I plan on using it tomorrow. But most importantly it's guiding my editing process, something that I've been struggling with here a bit. I didn't know how to go about balancing my writing. But now I know. I truly know. I feel that between these three principles I've got a good framework for editing here.
After this I'll be confident enough to send my work out to literary agents. Also I feel confident enough that after this project is done I'll be able to fully go about my next project, my technology project, GFM.
Btw, I've changed the title of my book from Trader to Up and Down: From Waiter to Trader to Titan. I like that. It works for me. But I really feel like after these edits are all done I'll be able to really focus on the next part, the technology project. I'm really excited about that.
I was somewhat worried that I wouldn't be able to do the story justice because of the edit. But now I feel reasonably assured that I will be able to craft a quality product and then to submit it. I'm excited to put it out there for the world to see. I'm also excited to be able to give this project some finality, some closure, and to move onto my next project. Pretty cool. Pretty cool. Pretty super cool.
The first thing she said was that every five pages should have a mini-drama in it. That's good to know because it was something I was struggling with, namely how much action should be packed into each scene in order to make it interesting. Madeline's thought seemed to be pretty much right on the money.
The second was that the chapters should be short and should have cliffhangers after each chapter to propel the reader onto the next chapter.
The third part that I read from Elmore Leonard was taht you should leave out the parts that the reader will skip. I like that as a rule of thumb or at least to minimize them or to simplify to the point where they're not necessary.
I learned a lot about writing today. I plan on using it tomorrow. But most importantly it's guiding my editing process, something that I've been struggling with here a bit. I didn't know how to go about balancing my writing. But now I know. I truly know. I feel that between these three principles I've got a good framework for editing here.
After this I'll be confident enough to send my work out to literary agents. Also I feel confident enough that after this project is done I'll be able to fully go about my next project, my technology project, GFM.
Btw, I've changed the title of my book from Trader to Up and Down: From Waiter to Trader to Titan. I like that. It works for me. But I really feel like after these edits are all done I'll be able to really focus on the next part, the technology project. I'm really excited about that.
I was somewhat worried that I wouldn't be able to do the story justice because of the edit. But now I feel reasonably assured that I will be able to craft a quality product and then to submit it. I'm excited to put it out there for the world to see. I'm also excited to be able to give this project some finality, some closure, and to move onto my next project. Pretty cool. Pretty cool. Pretty super cool.
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