tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post7415287627378635213..comments2024-03-28T01:44:27.279-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Ask the Editors – Self Editing, Part FourDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-25624695842486132422009-01-31T01:08:00.000-07:002009-01-31T01:08:00.000-07:00Marvin- great post. I love On Writing, good recomm...Marvin- great post. I love On Writing, good recommendation. <BR/><BR/>Your advice in practice-<BR/>I have a YA romance novel I tried to get a publisher for two years ago and got 10 rejections. Now I've slashed off 10,000 words, reorganised chapters and sent it out again. I already have one agent asking for 3 chapters and a publisher for the whole manuscript. Less is more.Laurihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11112458658109887868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-92151096947759962042009-01-30T20:20:00.000-07:002009-01-30T20:20:00.000-07:00Good suggestions, Marvin. Nice to have another exa...Good suggestions, Marvin. Nice to have another example of the need to cut excess words. I did, however, have to laugh when you asked if we could see "the impact" of your rewrite. Considering the mental image your example created, it was not hard to see the impact. :-)Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-68629155477561383812009-01-30T12:46:00.000-07:002009-01-30T12:46:00.000-07:00I agree Helen. I have a tendency to write looooong...I agree Helen. I have a tendency to write looooong sentences. My editor advised me to read my manuscript out loud. When I did I realized I could hardly make it through a single sentence without running out of breath. This practice helps a great deal in teaching a writer how to write in a way that sounds "normal." Glad you brought that point up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-1568584544380260372009-01-30T12:17:00.000-07:002009-01-30T12:17:00.000-07:00Thanks Marvin. Cutting the fat takes a conscious e...Thanks Marvin. Cutting the fat takes a conscious effort. You have to slow down as your read so that you don't skim over the words. Cross out words, then read again to see how it sounds. Take a sentence that feels awkward or too long and completely rewrite it. Take a bloated paragraph and see if you could re-write it so it would fit in a Twitter box.<BR/><BR/>Helen Ginger<BR/>http://straightfromhel.blogspot.comHelen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-52931791650170714642009-01-30T11:23:00.000-07:002009-01-30T11:23:00.000-07:00I usually do pretty good with cut the fat. I have ...I usually do pretty good with cut the fat. I have more trouble with expanding on ideas.<BR/><BR/>Morgan Mandel<BR/>http://morganmandel.blogspot.comMorgan Mandelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10118929301591850918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-7139706075942560542009-01-30T11:19:00.000-07:002009-01-30T11:19:00.000-07:00Marvin, thank you so much for recommending The Fru...Marvin, thank you so much for recommending The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Though it's best to have a great editor, we all must self edit some things, sometimes! (-: <BR/><BR/>Your readers may also be interested in a sister blog of mine--The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor, www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com<BR/><BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>Carolyn Howard-Johnson<BR/>www.howtodoitfrugally.comCarolyn Howard-Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15041591136206289558noreply@blogger.com