OK, start with the general basics and work myself to specifics.
Frankly, this site confuses me a little. There are several ways to do different things, and some of the stuff that seems obvious isn't. BC is very deep, but in good ways, I just have to learn the in and outs.
Question 1. Which the best way to ask questions, this forum, FAQ, or blogs? I think they are cross linked to some degree, but I'm not sure how that works.
Question 2. Is it possible to write a story on this site with its editors without other people seeing? My preferred way is Office 97, Word. I write technical articles for a set of text books online using that sites editor. It has the advantage of making the article accessible where ever there is internet. That probably doesn't apply for this site with net nannies.
Question 3. What is the best way to find an editor or proofreader? Just post a query? If so, where? Blog, Forum?
Question 4. Relates to the above. What is the best way to transfer the raw unedited story? Is there a way to do it here? Email?
Question 5. Relates to Q3, is there a difference between an editor and a proofreader? In my mind they are the same thing, but I would rather ask than stay ignorant.
Question 6. Does it matter if there is a teaser or not? I believe a teaser is a synopsis to draw people in, correct? My last story I chose to do that with the first 3 sentences. I think it worked pretty well overall.
My first story went well in spite of my goofs. It was well received, but there are a heck of a lot of revisions wasting disk space and I corrected typos of various types.
I had a story spring full blown in my head last night. Not really, but it feels that way. I want to spill it out my fingers, but I would like it to go better than last time in terms of proofing and editing. I will need a vict... volunteer to proof it when it is ready.
What To do
1. I think the way to ask questions is just the way you did it. It works just fine.
2. I write in Word, also. It seems to work pretty well. I copy what I write and paste it into the create fiction section. I can edit it there using the little tool bar. It's easy to view the result without posting the story. After you've done some editing, you can click on preview to see if it looks the way you want it to. If there's an error, just scroll down to the block where the raw text is, and edit what you want to fix using the tool bar and any html extras you know. Authors have posted some good things, such as html for dummies. I have a copy of that and a copy of something Holly Hart sent me about fonts. Once you are satisfied about how your story looks, hit the submit button.
3. Ask for help. There are some very knowledgeable writers on this site. A caveat: some of the 'editors' are better than others. Review stories where editors/proof readers are given credit. You will be able to better make a decision.
4. See #2.
5. An editor probably looks deeper into content. A proofer is looking at punctuation, grammar, and word usage. I don't think there are any true proffessional editors here, but I may be wrong. There are a couple of authors here who submit very well written, near flawless works; and I think they do their own proofing and editing. I am definitely not one of them.
6. I think a good teaser helps. The teaser brings much more attention to the story than just a title can. Use the correct 'buzz' words to get attention.
Anyway, that's my take on things. Of course, my stories aren't that popular.
Portia
Maybe...
An editor's basic job is to act as the interface between the world of publishing, which has a set of rules and standards which must be followed, and a writer, or simply a person with a story to tell. For a commercial publisher, the primary editor is the person tasked to ensure that the finished product is: A) A credit to the publisher; B) Profitable; and C) Generates enthusiasm on the part of the readers for not only the present book, but the next book by the same author. This can be a terrific burden on the author, because the publisher will have a schedule that rarely allows for careful research, time spent knocking one's head upon the keyboard, or trips to Ireland to "absorb the flavour of the Old Sod." Many of these tasks may be sliced and diced to be distributed over many people, so there are acquisitions editors who read proposals and decide whether to go ahead with a project, senior editors who lead a team of other editors and assistants, photo and art editors, who coordinate a book's illustrations, and on and on...
There are innumerable tasks which may be involved, but editors also have the final say about whether a book goes forward, and in furtherance of that goal usually have the ultimate authority to make sure that the author fulfills his or her contract in a professional manner, which might involve rewrites, or even hiring ghost writers, if the progress of the book falters for any reason.
The days when an author's editor coddled him through non-creative lapses into month-long binges and then paid his bar tab and are long gone, as are the days in which the "Great Artiste" (or Auteur) was viewed as sacrosanct. Publishing is a business, and the author is largely seen as a tradesman responsible for providing some odd thousands of words in timely installments to meet a deadline, much like a butcher grinds out sausages. If the author fails to meet deadlines, the editor has the authority to hire and pay for any talent needed to complete the book, all to be paid out of the author's royalties, just as a farmer (or speculator) who contracts for twenty tonnes of wheat is responsible for delivering same on the date the contract comes due, never mind tornadoes, hail, and/or locusts.
In some cases, a publisher might contract with a particular author based solely upon the story the author has to tell, especially in the case of famous people. In that case, the named "Author" may have little or nothing to do with the actual writing, because the publisher will hire a ghost writer to churn out the words, usually with periodic consultation with the "author," who may or may not provide feedback after some initial interviews and handings over of documents, recordings, and interview transcripts needed to tell the story.
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Proofreading vs. Copy Editing vs. First Reader
From WIkipedia;
The misperception that proofreading is related to editing is a common one, and the term proofreading is sometimes used to refer to copy editing, and vice versa. But the two should never be confused. As previously noted, unlike editors, proofreaders work with two sets of information at the same time. Proofreaders typically lack independent editorial or managerial authority, having only the option of querying items but not correcting them, although this may not be the case when proofreaders are held responsible for conforming a proof to a style-guide that takes precedence over copy. Regardless, copy editors (and customers) see the copy before the typesetter or word processor does. Proofreaders see it last. Therefore they necessarily cannot be held responsible for certain kinds of errors in the copy itself. Depending on the nature and context of that copy and its deadline, this leeway can include obvious facts, the accuracy of sums in numerical columns, grammar, syntax, punctuation, and even basic spelling. The classic example of where this occurs is in the case of text found within a direct quote. Especially in legal copy, it may be essential that any errors in a quote be exactly reproduced.
Proofreading ensures that nearly all copy is followed regardless of context. Copy editing ensures that copy will be either followed or corrected depending on the context. Thus proofreaders can safely ignore the very items that a copy editor must not. The lesson is that critical thinking by its very nature conflicts with the strict copy following discipline that legal, commercial and governmental proofreading requires, that proofreading and editing are fundamentally separate responsibilities.
With the increasing dominance of word processing, the expansion of desktop publishing, and the decline of craft-based distinctions between skills, copy editing and proofreading are increasingly done by the same person, but the distinction remains a valid one. To clarify matters at the outset, some want-ads come with a notice that the job advertised is not a writing or editing position and will not become one.
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From Nancy Cole;
Often times it is critical to have what some people call a 'First Reader,' someone who is an accomplished story teller in their own right who can read your story and pick out any faults in the plot, character development, depictions of events and so on that the writer needs to correct or better develop. While the writer has a clear image of what they are describing in their minds, sometimes it does not come across as clearly as it needs to when he or she depicts it on the page, (computer screen). The first reader is useful in pointing out these deficiencies as well as offering suggestions on how to make the over all story better. I know without Persephone, my very own Anglo-Irish muse, much of my stuff would be horrid, or I should say more horrid than it is.
Editors often times are little more than wordsmiths, the techies of the literary world. Important, yes, but just part of the equation.
Nancy Cole
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
I kind of like your
I kind of like your definition. I thought differently about it though. I always figured a proof reader would be an accomplished nit-picker, who goes over the story to find all the little stuff someone else is bound to find and wonder about. "The character seems inconsistent here, what you described doesn't make sense, wasn't she supposed to be a Lez, the abbility seems overpowered - considering the way you use it later, what you describe is utterly impossible in real life", and so on.
And editor would do the same, but look more into the structure of the story, grammar, spelling and be the general wordsmith you describe.
I guess what I thought as a proofreader would be more like your first-reader.
Ok
I am willing to edit if you wish. PM me if I can help.
Answers
There is a thread here about how to get a story from your word processor to BCTS: http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/forum/31657/ms-office-html-gen...
I hope I could help,
Beyogi
I thought you'd been around here a while...
I'm quite sure that people have quite different ways of using this site, but the way I see the difference between blogs and the forum is that blogs are more fuzzy. The forum is good for questions; blogs are good for ruminations, reflections... for throwing something out there that maybe no one will respond to, but you wanted to say.
As far as writing on the web... I used to write using Google Docs (until Google went crazy to know people's real names)... I have used ZohoWriter... but now I carry a little USB fob around with me that has all my stories on it, and all the things I'm working on or want to remember. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to write at work. And the thing is so dang small! The only tricky thing is remembering to not leave it stuck in the computer at work.
I can't comment on 3, except to say that if you do want to work with someone, ask them who they've edited, and take a look at those stories. Ask the author how they liked working with your potential editor. It's worth doing some investigation before committing yourself. You're going to put your baby in this person's hands. You want to know how they treated other people's work; you want to know they were happy in the end.
As to how to transfer the story, I think the editors who already work with authors have found their ways.
Proofreaders correct errors, like changing "their" to "there" or making sure that you've spelled peoples' names consistently. It's like a much-smarter spell check. An editor will do a lot more.
But there are different sorts of editors. Some will tell you, "Rewrite this, but start with the part where she opens the door, and leave out all that stuff about the shoes." Others will take your story and rewrite it themselves. You have to be ready for your baby to be altered, to be rearranged... so you need to be willing, or have a sense that you need help, or be curious to see how someone else would tell your story. In the best case, an editor helps to bring out the writer in you, breaking your bad habits, and making you sensitive to what makes a good story.
Other editors will simply take what you wrote and push it around until it looks better, so it's essentially your work, with the warts removed.
The teaser isn't necessarily a synopsis, and it doesn't even need to be a part of your story. A lot of people simply use a picture. But you can see what people do; some have an overall synopsis they use in every chapter. I like to pick a few lines that hopefully will make people wonder about the rest.
Wow, you're brave
I wouldn't use the USB route myself - I'd be terrified of leaving the USB behind. Or losing it. Or accidentally giving it to my boss so he could use it for a powerpoint presentation.
Years ago there was a very very large bug in Microsoft Word for Mac (I think it was around 1996). Files could be corrupted, and bits of one file would turn up in another one - especially if both files were large. I remember someone else at work (fortunately not me) who used a Mac forwarded a word file to an editor in another office of the company who used a PC, and it turned out the manuscript had about twenty pages of gay Star Trek slash fiction (I think it involved Wesley Crusher) inserted in the middle of a rather dull textbook on our founding fathers. Anyway, the person who sent it was none too popular in the office and it did the rounds of a half dozen desks before management put a stop to it. The poor guy left the company about three weeks later because people were quoting lines from it at him all the time.
I use amazon s3 to keep my files synced between my work machine and my personal one. It seems to work pretty well, costs me next to nothing, and can be reached from anywhere. I have two buckets for redundancy's sake. I make sure not to keep local files at all except while actually writing or editing. I guess there is the faint possibility amazon's cloud might cease to exist and then I'd lose everything, but as risks go I think it's a small one.
not as think as i smart i am
My work is very personal to me.
And at this stage in my life; laying my heart out there, I really do not want anyone messing with it, so I no longer use an editor. In many ways, my writing is somewhat like journaling, especially "Battlefield to Crib".
So, it depends on your goals when writing. If you want to eventually get into main line prose for money, then you'd probably want to get used to an editor.
When I post a story, I really do not want anyone to touch it, but I know some do, and while I do not like it, all I can do is hope that they do not strip the heart out of it. I'm not writing for some stilted, old fashioned English teacher, so purposely have some very quirky habits that I use mainly for the humor of it.
I did notice a Lock Document feature the other day, but as yet I have no idea what it does.
Best wishes with your writing.
Gwendolyn
Thank you.
Thanks to all for their responses. I'm not ready for proofing or editing yet, but I've started my second story. It was strange, the story just popped into my head full born and is forcing its way out, and I've been walking around very distracted, but haven't the time to devote to it like I would like to, too many other commitments.
I already knew this, but writing is hard work. Casual writing isn't, but keeping the focus of the story, remembering all the little details and keeping them straight, is a real challenge, as is dialog. I would like to do more dialog in my stories, but it just doesn't seem to happen. I am aware this is a learning experience.
I have met people at my various jobs who would rather take a whipping than write. I have occasionally stepped in and helped them, as that type of writing (reports, suggestions, etc) is pretty easy.
I see people like Angharad and Morphius and stand in awe. High quality and quantity, I often wonder if it is easier for them, or if they enjoy writing more than I do. When I think of it, I'm going to have to look up a medium sized novel size.
I've wondered how accurate BC's definition of stories is (short stories, novella's, etc). I had no idea how long it would take to tell my first story, except I knew it was going to be under 10,000 words. As it turned out, it was about right, I finished in just over 8,000 words.
My next story will be much shorter, but that is how it goes.
I write like I speak. I noticed several people commented on my dialect, which is basically good old Texas twang. Tech articles are easier, in that the jargon has tighter rules than fiction. I don't see my style changing much, it is me.
My Dad actually taught me some very important basics early on. Maximum verbosity, then ruthless culling. If a sentence (or part of a sentence) doesn't serve a purpose chop it out. I'm past that phase somewhat, but I do find myself merging and rewriting on the fly.
I will branch out into normal fiction eventually, I am a serious fan of SciFi. I won't say my name or introduce my self in public, but I have no problem doing so in private mail. It isn't fear (not much anyhow), but some of the things I do, such as being a youth advisor, would end abruptly if my real name was associated with this or other sites I hang out at. I think most of us are aware of how it goes. Having willing teachers is too good to pass up.
Second Story
My second story is published and on the main page. It can be found here...
I Will Always Be There For You
How do solo's get selected? Mine is a solo, but I get the impression the Recent Solo's is a place of honor.
For those who I did not ask to help proof and edit my story, I thank you for the offers. This is something I will do in the future, after I finish a story.
As for hopeeternalreigns, Thank you for the help. I learned some new things with your assistance, and the final story is definitely better than it would have been.
This story was different from my first, I built the first story over time, this one clawed it's way out. Different, I've never had this experience, though reading blogs and whatnot some of the other authors have.
Well I don't know how to do
Well I don't know how to do it when entering the story in the first place, but you can change the solo/series, completed/ongoing thing by clicking on the labels under your story. I think you can also do it on the stories of other people, but sh... don't tell ^^
I just went through the create content
Options, I am looking forward to it. I hate being stupid.
I clicked the following, or saw the following options...
[Fiction]
[Title]
[Author]
....
Wait, I think I see it.
Is it the box labeled Ongoing? I'm betting that is it, as it also says click to mark complete.
Oh well, I hate making administrators frustrated, but this isn't obvious. At least it isn't to me.
Darn it.
I am also building up a personal library of HTML commands I now know by heart.
It's backward
... or counter-intuitive. In any case, it *is* confusing.
You check "Ongoing" when you're posting the last chapter of a story.
You almost never check "Ongoing" and you can tell when you did it wrong because the story is tagged "Complete" when it shouldn't be.
It's not obvious to me
It's not obvious to me either. I always fix it after I've posted the story. After you've posted the story there is a line with "post comment", "add to favorites", "ignore user", "solo/series", "complete/ongoing" under the story. I think you can change it there, but I'm not sure if that is working for everyone or if it only changes the atributes for you.
Thing is
If you check the little box it comes up as a "solo" on the list of attributes. Take a close look and see.
OK,
New question.
What is a Story W/O comments? It is on my account.
So far all I get is a blank page.
Is it to allow you to work on a story without releasing it?
No
It would be a story that people can't comment on.
When I click that, I get the usual fiction form, with a warning that no comments will be allowed once you post it.
Interesting
I have trouble wrapping my head around posting a story and not wanting comments. To me, they are the payment for the story.
Oh well, life is full of mysteries.
Thinking of another story or more
But this brought up a question of etiquette. I am very against PC, I feel much of it is responsible for a lot of this countries problems. It is easier to talk around issues than confront them directly. But that is besides the point.
Etiquette is something else. It is the rules that bind a community. It is the reason you refer to someone you are certain is a man in the feminine tense, because this is the one place you can let your hair down, even if (like me) you don't have any.
I am a man, I don't like it, but there it is. I don't like pretending to be other than what I am. Gee, this should have been a blog, it's a heck of a rant!
Anyhow. I have 3 stories in my head for the new contest. They are very loose, the ideas barely formed. Is it appropriate to list the plots outlines to get ideas from other people? Or is it more appropriate to develop them in the quiet places in my head, to be released when the time comes? I tend to hurry stories along. In the case of my first story this was a good thing, it was under the listed word limits. My second, I'm not so sure. It was better than my first though.
I tend to agree with Heinlein on several points. Writing is a business best done with the doors closed, and wash your hands afterwards. I'm debating breaking this rule.
If I list them, and someone would like to build on one of my ideas, that would not bother me. I am fully aware there are others better at writing than I. Just let me know in public before hand, it is the surprise I would hate.
Back to publishing ideas and outlines, any thoughts?
About sharing ideas
Let's say you share an idea, and you get ten angles on how to work with it.
Now the ten who suggested and the 35 who read the exchange... how many of them know what you're going to do?
Only you know. You're the only driver.
You're making soup. People can suggest all sorts of ingredients, but the only one who can put their hand in the pot is you.
Also, there's a part of the forum for writers' challenges. Several of us have picked up the same challenge and done very different things with it.
Lots of things are possible. There aren't really many rules about this stuff.
Kaleigh