1st June 2008

 Moves to Manuscript

"Thinking about writing, is thinking about what you'd like to say, is thinking about who you’d like to say it to and how your writing will communicate the message, is thinking about your readers..." Unheardwords returns this month to its goal of pulling together a wealth of collaborative advice.  Creating a concise writers’ guide, designed to help you with your writing, regardless of the stage you’ve reached as a writer. The first part of the guide 'thinking about writing' was covered in January's editorial). The second part 'Writing Something' was covered in the March editorial). Producing a Manuscript - Writers' Guide Part 3 This could equally have been called, 'completing a piece of work' because producing a manuscript represents the seamingly hidden but by no means forgettable phase which comes before publication and just after you think you've finished.  Having rejoiced in producing a piece of work you’re pleased with, there is still another step; producing a manuscript that others will be pleased with, to review, publish, sell and / or read.

Achieving 'Publication Quality' means producing a manuscript that is ready to go to print, press, web or pdf. Put another way, your work needs to be fit to be read by a standard reader (someone without a vested interest); someone who you’d like, despite the competing demands placed upon their time, to choose your work.
A fair reader will judge what you've written on content and readability but even a fair reader will be put off immediately by an error ridden proof. You will stand a better chance if your work is readable; readability is more of a subjective thing (so you may seeks some trusted opinions) but basically, the more clearly your ideas / descriptions are expressed, the more chance they'll be that someone will understand what you're conveying and read on.  Much in the readability stakes needs to be addressed during the writing phase (see part 2 of this guide) but as this is your last chance to get things right, it's worth reconsidering clarity at this stage. Your content needs to be sound (coherent, logical - even if that means the logic works inside the world you've created); the punctuation needs to work as intended; the ‘look and feel’ (typesetting and layout) need to compliment the publication.
In short, your manuscript should comprise content that’s fit for publication and this, at least, means the best you can make it, before it’s published.

To achieve this you could:

1. Do-it-yourself (DIY)
Work through your manuscript systematically, first in ‘sense making’ mode, and second in ‘typo and correction’ mode.
Make sure you allow plenty of time for this, it’s likely to take several runs-through in each of the modes.  And, you should allow extra time to accommodate periods between bouts of editing your own work – what appears great just after you wrote it, can look lousy in the morning (or a few weeks on).
For a complex work, such as a novel, you will need to read it for coherence, clarity and consistency (3Cs). This involves approaching the manuscript in a different way from the general reader. Instead of reading sequentially, the intention is to hop and skip about through the text, following characters and plot development from scene to scene.

2. Get assistance from friends or colleagues (or family)
If you know you can call on a supportive individual or two, this might be useful in supporting the process of refining and finalising your manuscript.
See if you can encourage them to read and review your work (proof), asking them to feedback constructively.  As you’re asking a favour, and their time is as precious as yours, you may be limited in terms of the assistance they can offer but the more feedback you can gather from them, the better.  You could provide them with a list of the things you’d like them to comment on, to help structure their feedback. This will vary depending on the type of writing, as an example, you could ask them to comment on the story-line, main plot, characters, readability, and pace of a novel.
Having coaxed the feedback from your assistants you then need to digest it, ask them to talk you through it and decide what you’re going to do about it.

3. Use a writing service
Services generally fall into proof reading, manuscript appraisal and editing categories. The intention is to guide or actively progress your work from a raw to a professionally polished form.
Still, at this stage, it’s unlikely that anyone else will have the same passion for your work as you do yourself.  So, make sure you have a realistic idea of what state your manuscript is in and how much work it needs before seeking a relevant service.  Check out the service provider and understand what they’re offering before you commit.  If you can, find an added value provider, i.e. one that offers more than just ‘a you give us the money and we give you the proof’ type approach.
Generally, the greater the process of transformation required, the greater the cost (it could be upwards of £225 per 10,000 words reviewed), so consider what you do need from what you can do yourself.

4. Combine approaches
Do what you can. Get others to assist. Finalise the manuscript using a writing service and being clear about what you want that service to achieve.
Remember, it’s time consuming, hard work and can be relatively costly but there are lots of sources of help, encouragement and support: unheardwords for one.

Finally, try this activity:

Select a 300 - 400 word passage from your piece. Examine it closely for grammar, typos, and tense sense (getting and keeping the past, present, future right). Then examine it in terms of its purpose, coherence, logic and clarity -why this passage exists at this point in your piece and what it's meant to convey to the reader. Ask whether it makes sense in the context of the piece; what leads up to this passage and what follows? What did you find? Was there much you had to correct, adjust, re-consider? This exercise gives an indication of the challenges of the editing process. It may help you decide on the best way to edit and prepare the manuscript.

© editor@unheardwords.com, 2008 (all rights reserved)

Comment, Answers, Feedback WriteIn or email editor@unheardwords.com (editor@unheardwords.com)

  Back to Top            or            Return To Home