This week, I finished my first murder mystery. Actually, I wrote my first murder mystery in November 2021. My writing coaches suggested the story was too broad, so I tightened the focus. This proved more challenging than anticipated. However, I persevered and got it done. Then I went through the editing process.
- Microsoft Word Editor
- Grammarly
- PWA (Pro Writing Aid) General
- PWA Sticky Sentences
- PWA Overused Words
- PWA Style
- PWA Grammar and Spelling
Now, I will send it to my editor. I participated in a webinar where an author had his wife edit his book. Returning his latest book, she told him to look at the last page. There was a note, “I just wasted 90 minutes of my life.” Devastated, he went back and read her other comments. Finally, he did the revisions she suggested, and the book was successful. Hopefully, my editor won’t feel as if she wasted her life.
I met an independent author and bought one of their books. It was horribly edited, and I learned the author relied on the publisher to edit the book. As I have progressed as a writer, I have taken more and more control of my writing. I have my wife, and at least one other person read what I write and accept their feedback. And while I am using an editor for the first time, I used the editing tools available to me as a writer. I want my editor to focus on the story and not be distracted by basic sentence construction, spelling, and grammar errors. (I read a book by another independent author. That book had sentences over 70 words long.)
On average, a thousand books a day are published. 75% of the books are published by non-traditional, independent author/publishers. The average book sells 150 copies. I was asked by a consultant about my goals. I said I wanted to be above the average and sell 151 copies!
What is your goal? How do you plan to get there? Let me know if I can help.
Steven Wilcox 