BIN TO BESTSELLERS: THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR WRITING LIFE

Making money writing is the hardest job on planet earth, however, there are people who do it effectively and make a living out of it. Being not one of them is not your problem, but aspiring not to be one is.

Is finding a publisher the best option for you as a writer? Richard Bach once mentioned in an interview; it’s not a publisher a writer searches for, but an editor. This relationship is one that should last for a lifetime. An editor understands where the music of words has to be slowed down or where it must run faster. But to get one worthy enough, you must do a lifetime’s waiting.

As a beginner in freelancing and in professional writing, how do you get an editor whose service can be worthwhile? Beginners are always stuck with the same problem; lack of funds. This in turn hampers your look out for an editor. Good editors are sale items with relatively high price money. There are many writers’ communities that offer editing services. Even some literary agencies offer you with editing services. However, if you are a first timer and one without enough weight in your bank account, hiring an editor for your book or manuscript will not be, normally, easy.

The best way to tackle this situation is to find reliable and easy options for editors. One need not go much farther for this end. Just look around and you will find yourself to be blessed with many minds, gifted with the one serum of eternal life—love—around you, ready to help reading your manuscript.

Showing your manuscript to your friends and family or girl friend would be a better option. In such a case, the money spent would be much close to null on editing services. The best editors are those who actually care for our work. You must be open to their criticisms; however, in harsh criticisms you can always rely on their lack of professional experience as the hideout from humiliation.

Stephen King, when he wrote his first novel, Carrie, did not think it would make up to the publishing standards and threw it into the bin. But his wife Tabitha King accidentally discovered the manuscript and read it. Thinking that it would be something worth of a quality, she put it back on the table and later helped King to rework on it. The novel went to become a best seller of its times and was made into a successful Hollywood movie.

This is one real life example from the life of America’s most celebrated and enthusiastic writer, Stephen King. This could be yours too. A relationship not just helps an individual to maintain one’s emotional health but the creative output as well. Now wait your sweet heart to tell you where to put the period.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anu Lal is the author of Wall of Colors and Other Stories. His latest book is Clenched Hands, Bloody Nails.  You can catch up with him in Facebook too.  

The Golden Rule of Writing

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  It is a spiritual philosophy of life that transcends all religions and defies any exception.  It also applies to people intent on doing their best work as writers.  I call it “ADOPTING A YOU ATTITUDE.”  As a reminder to me, I have reduced it to the acronym, AAYA, and have written it on a sticky label that holds court at the upper right corner of my laptop’s monitor. 

“What is it?” you ask.  It is a mind-set that prompts you to think, and therefore to write, in the pronoun you rather than I, an attitude that gains you empathy with your reader.  With a “YOU ATTITUDE,” you let go of your own agenda, crawl outside of your self-centered space and inside of the skin of your reader, study her mind and heart, and learn to write in her language—you “OTHER” yourself. 

On New Years Day, for the umpteenth time, I watched the Turner Classic Movies’ showing of the film, Camelot starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero.  It is one of my favorites, and I never tire of it.  I saw it initially in the mid-1960s when it was premiered at movie theaters, and being very young then, I was taken with its romantic theme.  However, with the passing of time, its underlying philosophy has attracted me most strongly.  It is an apt example of AAYA:   Upon discovering the love affair between his wife, Guinevere and his best friend, Lancelot, and after venting his self-centered rage, Arthur poses the questions, “What about them?  What about their pain?”  His posture of “otherness,” gained through a painful process of restraining his ego, is what transformed him into a great king, and by the same token, it will help you to become a great writer.

In formulating this essay on the Golden Rule of Writing, I consulted one of my timeless textbooks (Effective Business English, Fourth Edition, Robert R. Aurner, Ph. D, SOUTH-WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1956, P. 246 – 284) and therein rediscovered the “SEVEN C-QUALITIES OF GOOD WRITING” based on a “YOU ATTITUDE.”  They are as follows:  (1) completeness, (2) courtesy, (3) consideration, (4) clearness, (5) conciseness, (6) concreteness, and (7) correctness.

Completeness – “Say enough, but say just enough.  Learn how much to put in, what to leave out, and when to quit.” 

Courtesy – Adopt good manners as well as a generous attitude and tone in your writing, but be sincere.  Despite your efforts to camouflage a mean or miserly spirit, sooner or later, readers will find you out.

 Consideration – Keep the interests of your reader foremost, and think in terms of her advantage.  For example, even though your ego urges you to show off your braininess by using that polysyllabic (many, or more than three syllables) word, don’t use it unless you are writing a technical treatise to an exclusive audience that requires it, or, as in this case, to make a point!  Ask yourself if some advantage is served the general reader by encountering a haughty-taughty word such as polysyllabic.  If there isn’t just cause for retaining it beyond self-satisfaction, replace it with a simpler word.    

Clearness – Just as you clear away rubble and illuminate the pathway to the front door of your house to make your visitor’s way easier, strive to provide an uncomplicated experience for your readers by cleaning up your sentences.  Whittle them down to the fewest, and most appropriate, words.  In addition, know exactly what you want to say.  A muddled mind makes for writing that is a muddy mess. 

Conciseness – In deciding how long your message should be, bring to mind Abraham Lincoln’s response to the question, “How long should a man’s legs be?”  “Just long enough to reach the ground,” the president replied.  In other words, a man’s legs should be adequate to their job.  It is the same in your writing—too long and your message is murky; too short and it is curt.  Strike a happy medium. 

Concreteness – Descriptive power will be yours if you master the art of concreteness.  The trick is to appeal to the five senses of your reader.  For instance, “an ink-black sky” rather than just “darkness, or “crisp snowy-white sheets” instead of “clean sheets” will make your writing exciting and easy to grasp because the concepts are vibrant, explicit, and penetrating.

Correctness – Part and parcel of the job description of Professional Writer is the task of regularly reviewing rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.  Physician are required to remain adept at their work, and in the same vein, readers have the right to expect writers to be as accurate as humanly possible.  Solely relying on editors to catch writing mistakes is risky business, especially when he is overtaxed by manuscripts peppered with heedless errors. 

That said, I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies in this essay and hope that you will apprise me of them.  Essentially, I am a student of writing, and am always open to improvement.  I welcome mentors, and love to hear from readers.  You can reach me straightaway at lindaleegreene.author.artist@gmail.com.  You have my word that I will respond.   

Linda Lee Greene’s latest novel, Guardians and Other Angels is available in the UK.  In the USA:

  She is also the co-author with Debra Shiveley Welch of the best-selling mystery novel, JesusGandhi Oma Mae Adams .

Early 2013 will mark the release of BUSSY GAFFIN AND HIS CHAMPION ROOSTERS, Greene’s novella for young readers, a story adapted from an excerpt of Guardians and Other Angels.  It will feature illustrations by artist, Edith D. Wadkins.  To read excerpts of her current and future books, log onto www.booksbylindaleegreene-gallery-llgreene.com.  To follow her blog, click onto http://Ingoodcompanyohio.blogspot.com.  An online exhibition of her artwork can be viewed at www.gallery-llgreene.com.