What's Your Biggest Challenge with Your Book?

[Bill Frank]

I'd be interested to learn what authors/publishers on this network think their biggest challenges are with their book. I wonder if there's any common, pervasive challenge we all face.

[Joel Friedlander]

Gabrielle, thanks for the clarification. These people who "read and review" are generally editors. This is a fee-for-service arrangement. Would you like a referral?

[Gabrielle]

Sure I'd love a referral. I've been skimming through my Writer's Market on Literary Agents, what is the difference between a Literary Agent and an Editor? Are Literary Agents more of book promoters? Like, for instance they would send it in to a large publisher for my book to get noticed vs. just me doing it. The publisher I currently have my manuscript submitted to offers an editor free and I don't pay. It's called Chipmunkapublishing. Do you know anything about them or if they are a good company? Thanks.

[Joel Friedlander]

Gabrielle,
Agents represent your book to publishers in hope of selling the work to them at which time they receive a commission.
Editors edit books for style, grammar, punctuation, idea development, consistency, and so on. Agents and Editors have little to do with each other.
I looked at the Chipmunkapublishing website and it looks like an ebook publisher. It's a bit difficult to understand their process and incomprehensible why they would wait "6 to 9 months" before putting your ebook into print as a paperback. You should research this company carefully.
How long is your manuscript?

[Suzanne Ouimet]

I wouldn't mind a referral, either, Joel.

[Suzanne Ouimet]

My biggest challenge, at the moment, is to find someone who could read my partly finished manuscript and perhaps give me an idea or two what I am not doing right. An editor who could set me straight.
On my two previous books, I had a friend who was also an author. We networked, bounced ideas of one another and read chapters to each other. Many ideas came out of that, as well as seeing what worked and didn't. My friend has moved and is no longer available, so I'm at a loss of how to continue.

[Joel Friedlander]

Suzanne,

At least you recognize how important it is to get editorial feedback to refine your manuscript. Many of my clients hire editors for this kind of work, but it does add a cost to your project, and sometimes the cost is not insubstantial. Another idea might be to join a writing workshop where constructive criticism and discussion is encouraged (not a "critique" group) and you might be able to meet other writers with similar needs and abilities. A third avenue writers use is finding a local English professor or equivalent who would be willing to engage in conversation about your book.

Hope that helps, but if not, keep asking and let's see what we can come up with!

[Suzanne Ouimet]

A member on Cold Coffee, a gentleman in England, is currently taking a look at it. He has mentioned a few 'problems' and hopefully will put me on the right track.
I am currently looking for someone local to me who might be interested in doing this.
There was a writers' club listed in one of our local mags, but when I called it seems they are not 'active' unfortunately. Told them to call if and when....
Hiring an editor is not in my budget.
My last book was written fairly quickly but this one is taking quite awhile. 1.5 years already, but not, of course, constantly.

[albertasequeira]

It's too bad you can't afford an editor. I had over forty mistakes I had missed. Lucky I had an editor.

[Paradise]

You are very good. I usually have more than three hundred mistakes in 300 pages. My first editor gets about ninety percent, my second most of the rest and my readers still find four or five on a good day. I may have to buy one of you books, I have never seen a book without a mistake. You are very good at what you do. If I could get down to forty, which I can't, I would feel like a champion. I was raised a Hill Billy way down in the Ozarks and where I lived, honestly, we never heard the word college. None of my family before me ever got past grade school, except for one that I know of.

It is a pleasure to know you.
Dr Robert E McGinnis
Author of: The Paradise Series

[albertasequeira]

No, Paradise, I'm not that good. AS FAR AS I KNOW, there are no more mistakes. I had 30 mistakes the first time, 50 with the second check and 80 with the last check and had to pay for the corrections. I re-read that book until I was blind, swearing I got all the mistakes.
When my sequel is ready for print, I have three other people who are lined-up to read the book to find the corrections.

[Paradise]

Thanks, now I don't feel so bad. I agree, it takes more than one person to get it right, we all have our nuances and obliteration's. I often make a mistake and even when someone points it out to me, I will read it correctly and ignore the fact that it is incorrect.

[Steve Miller]

And then there's the problem of corrections causing other problems. Sometimes, when an editor corrects a sentence, the meaning changes slightly, or it introduces a formatting error.

The latest book I'm reading on book marketing has many, many errors, but all in the quotes under the chapter titles or division titles. Apparently, when the interior design folks did their thing, they inadvertently wiped out all the apostrophes in those quotes. I'm sure all those had been gone through with a fine-toothed comb prior to the layout phase. But the final tampering messed them up.

No matter how many people, yea, how many professionals, have gone over my manuscript, I do a thorough read through before it goes to print. (And I always find something!) Yet, there's always something that's left after the final print as well. Keeps us humble.