Bragging on a friend

This week, I’ve been working on galley pages for Into The Fire, the final Night Prince novel. If you’re like me before I was published, you’ll have no idea what “galley pages” are, so I’ll explain: they’re the formatted, loose-leaf pages of a manuscript. See below.

They’re also the last chance that I, as the author, have to spot any mistakes in my book. Before, I would usually find at least one or two pretty major mistakes in the galleys. This isn’t because I don’t try to be careful in the revision process before this. It’s because during the normal writing process, I change things several times as new ideas strike me, or I decide that I don’t like the old ideas anymore. Then, I end up changing things again after getting feedback from my critique partner, then I change things again according to my editor’s feedback, and finally, I change a few more things after a copyeditor points out any remaining mistakes. Getting the picture? A book can sometimes resemble a patchwork quilt after all these changes, and so little (or bigger) mistakes can fall through the cracks. 

However, this time around, I had the lightest copyedit I’ve ever had after writing 15 books, and I’m also finding almost no mistakes in the galley pages.

What changed, you ask? I’m happy to tell you 🙂

It’s been no secret that my longtime friend and fellow author, Melissa Marr, has been my regular critique partner. This means that she gives my books a “content” edit, which is different than a copy edit. If you’re not familiar, I’ll explain: a content edit is an overall critique of the plot, characters, and worldbuilding. Since I’m a foodie, I’ll liken this to editing the “meat and potatoes” of a story. A copy edit, by contrast, is like making sure that the presentation is good (i.e., you don’t have sauce dripping all over the place in form of missing/mispelled words, incorrect grammar, etc.)  Previously, Melissa had only done content edits on my novels, and I’ve said many times before that her notes are just as good (and often eerily similar ;)) as the notes that I get from my traditional New York editors. 

With Into The Fire, however, I had started and stopped the book so many times due to personal issues that I wanted Melissa to do a content edit PLUS a full copyedit since I didn’t have much confidence in my first draft this time. She agreed, and so she edited not only the “meat and potatoes” of the story, but also all the trimmings and the presentation, too. 

The result? The publisher that my copyeditor assigned me (as per traditional publishing guidelines) had almost nothing to do. It literally took me longer write out my Acknowledgements page than it did to implement the NY-assigned copyeditor’s change requests. And once again, my galley pages are cleaner than they’ve ever been. You don’t know what a relief this is. It’s not only less work for me, but more importantly, galleys are the imprints that publishers use to make Arcs (advance reading copies) of books. Arcs are what go out to bloggers and other media for pre-publication reviews. So, error-ridden galleys mean error-ridden Arcs, which means understandably more critical reviews.

In short, as the subject line states, I am bragging on a friend because Melissa did such an amazing job. Never fear, I’m not just taunting you with what you can’t have: in addition to being a bestselling author, Melissa is also a former literary teacher. Since she misses teaching, she recently started doing freelance content-only editing as well as full copy editing. So, if you’re intending to self-publish that novel you’re working on (and I know lots of people doing NaNo are), I can’t recommend Melissa highly enough. If you’re going the traditional-publishing route, and you’re frustrated with rejections and want an overview of what has to be fixed (rejections usually don’t tell you what’s wrong with your book; they just say NO) then I also recommend Melissa. And since I know friend recommendations can sometimes be sketchy, here’s what other people are saying about Melissa’s editing skills:

“Melissa Marr is an invaluable beta reader. Insightful, wise and smart.” — Neil Gaiman,  #1 NYT bestselling author

“I’ve written middle-grade, young adult and adult novels and short fiction, in fantasy, mystery and romance, and no matter what the genre, format or age group, I know I can go to Melissa for top-notch editorial advice.”– Kelley Armstrong, #1 NYT bestselling author.

“Melissa Marr is not just a wonderful editor, but a fierce advocate for the story you’re working to tell. She’ll help you make your work better than you ever imagined it could be.” — Rachel Caine, NYT bestselling author of The Great Library and Morganville Vampires series.

“In my fifteen years as a professional writer and editor, I’ve never worked with anyone more astute, more thoughtful, or more insightful about all aspects of fiction writing than Melissa Marr.” — Tim Pratt, Hugo Award winning author and editor of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

“Melissa Marr has a keen eye for quality literature, and her extensive experience makes her an ideal editor for anyone hoping to bring their work to the next level.”– Beth Revis, NYT bestselling author of YA Science Fiction.

“Melissa Marr is an incredible editor who is simultaneously able to look at the big picture and help fine-tune the nuances that really sell a story. If you’re looking for someone to help you take your plot, characters, or world-building to the next level, you could not find a better, more market-savvy set of eyes.” —  Dr. Jennifer Lynn Barnes award-winning author of The Naturals, Raised by Wolves, and The Fixer.

Melissa’s freelance section of her website is here.