Good News in the Publishing Industry

A glimmer of hope from the New York Times:


"The publishing industry has expanded in the past three years as Americans increasingly turned to e-books and juvenile and adult fiction, according to a new survey of thousands of publishers, retailers and distributors that challenges the doom and gloom that tends to dominate discussions of the industry’s health."


Read the full article here: Publishing Gives Hints of Revival, Data Show

A blast of a summer

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful summer! I know there are a few weeks left in August, but the last of the summer manuscript evaluation slots are spoken for, so we're on to the Autumn schedule!

Available slots for Fall:

September 15: one slot still available.

October 15: two slots still available.

November 15: four slots still available.



Other news from Murdock Editing!

I'm updating the website! Poor www.murdockediting.com's current design and info is four years old, which I believe is approximately 165 in internet years.

The fiverr charity drive continues! We've raised enough to buy 125 books to put a stack of books on every desk in a classroom, but we're still aiming for the big prize: $1,000 for 500 books to start home libraries for a neighborhood of low-income families. Check it out here: http://fiverr.com/gigs/read-your-query-letter-and-tell-you-if-id-request-your-manuscript-or-not-and-why and here: http://fiverr.com/gigs/read-your-first-five-pages-and-tell-you-if-id-request-your-manuscript-or-not-and-why. 

Murdock Editing Website Under Construction

Finally, after many promises, I'll be updating the main, horribly out of date Murdock Editing website over the next few weeks. With Wordpress for Dummies at my side, I'll be *gulp* doing it on my own, at least until I get so frustrated I hire a pro. In the meantime, if (when) the site goes down or for some reason suddenly looks like a disaster zone, please bear with me!

And if you hear the sound of yelling/books flying across the room/computers being smashed coming from the general direction of South Boston, it's okay. We'll get there! Thanks for your patience!

In Which I Brag for Charity: Fiverr Reviews So Far

We're still going full steam ahead on the Fiverr for First Book drive. Give me your first five pages and we'll give a kid a book!


Check it out: http://fiverr.com/gigs/read-your-first-five-pages-and-tell-you-if-id-request-your-manuscript-or-not-and-why

1. brilliant very constructive as always :) thanks so much
2. fantastic advise agreed 100% and am in the process of changing my beginning based on her comments...well recommended.
3. I was amazed at the depth and detail that ME Boston provided me for only five dollars in his detailed critique of the first five pages of my novel. He caught every error in grammar and punctuation and warned me about trying to give too many early details. This was easily worth ten times what I paid.
4. Thanks for the pro feedback. Although some might find the highlighted passing delicious (like a Beta Reader of mine) others may indeed find it "too much" especially if they're a beleagured agent's assistant "looking for a reason" to reject and move to the next submittal. So I may omit to avoid risk.
5. Thanks for the advice
6. This is a good gig, especially if it's your first attempt at writing something, good constructive feedback
7. Thanks again Lindsay for all your feedback. It was worth way more than 5 dollars! I would definitely use you again as the book goes through rewrites.
8. Awesome! Would recommend highly!
9. Thank you so much for your feedback! Great to hear! And it also means I have a lot of tweaking to do!! Julie
10. Thanks so much for this awesome critique, Lindsay! I appreciate your honesty and great editing. I, too, was worried about her first seeing him at school. I don't want my Ms to resemble Twilight at all. I will try and find another way to introduce her visions. Thanks!
11. very good feedback, and an excellent help with my novel. Would recommend to anyone needing a little extra help. Thanks again!
12. Great job! Very happy! Bravo!
13. WONDERFUL critique. Extremely insightful and helpful. Thank you.
14. Very helpful, thanks Lindsay!
15. Thank for the advice - recommended gig.
16. Great Job. Would definitely recommend!
17. As usual, the advice was extremely valuable. It made me consider what I was including in my letter and why.
18. Advice was very helpful - thanks!
19. Great comments and suggestions for improvement! I will definitely buy from you again.
20. brilliant feedback, would absolutely work with her again!
21. I'm very happy with the critique and I definitely recommend this.
22. Such helpful feedback! Will definitely use MEboston again as I re-tweak my query letter. Thank you!!
23. amazing!
24. Thank you for the helpful insight.
25. Thank you so much for your notes! I got some great feedback from you!
26. Hands down, this is the best $5 I have ever spent! Super helpful!
27. Thank you so much for the critique. I am elated that this new query works!
28. Lindsay was wonderful, helpful and honest. It's what I needed!
29. The work was professional, timely and most of all helpful! Thank you so much, will definetally recommend and use again.
30. Editor provided a meaningful critique that I can use to rework my query.
31. Fast response, outstanding service! Exceeded my expectations.

Why Do You Need to Hire an Editor?

Straight from the (wonderful) BookEnds's Agent's mouth:

Your Book Needs Editing

I will reject any query that tells me your book needs editing and I suspect most agents will agree that this is a red flag. But why? Don't all books need editing? Why is this a red flag?

For me this shows that you're not ready to query and that your book isn't complete; that you're not sending me a query because you feel your book is ready for editors and readers to see, but because you've done all you can, hit a wall, and want someone else to help you fix the problems. That's not an agent's job; in fact, it's not an editor's job.

Sure, every book needs editing and an author needs to be willing to edit, but an agent's job or editor's job is to help you reach deeper than you've ever reached before to find ways to take what's already a great book and make it phenomenal. When submitting to an agent you need to look at it, sit back in your chair, and say, "Yes, edits are done. It's ready." Not, "Well, it still needs work, but I'll query anyway."


Jessica

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2011/07/your-book-needs-editing.html

Murdock Editing Mid-Summer Update!

Is it hot where you are? GOOD LORD it is hot here. There are not enough fans or ice cream trucks in the world to make this comfortable. Don't tell my conservation-minded friends, but I'm throwing in the towel and buying an air conditioner. I've lost that battle and I'm okay with that!

So! Although I live in dread that my computer will overheat anytime I use it while the blazing sun is still up, I come to you with updates! And Questions! And charity reminders! And far, far too many exclamation points.

*Your loving editor is currently working on a self-editing guide for first time writers. Not to put myself out of business of course, but to help you learn how to produce a cleaner, crisper manuscript less likely to be filled with agent/editor pet peeves that will send you right to the rejection pile. Plus, when working with an outside editor (Me, or any of my lovely and wonderful colleagues.), a cleaner manuscript means your editor will have more time to spend on deeper issues that can take your manuscript from passable to BUY ME NOW!

Passages from the upcoming guide will be published here over the next several months, so be sure to check back and spread the word!

*Do you have self-editing questions you'd like addressed here or in the guide? Send 'em my way to editor at murdockediting dot com. If your question is used in the final version, you get a free copy.

*We're still going full steam ahead on the Fiverr for First Book drive. Give me your first five pages and we'll give a kid a book!


Check it out: http://fiverr.com/gigs/read-your-first-five-pages-and-tell-you-if-id-request-your-manuscript-or-not-and-why

Stay cool my friends!

A Very Special (and Important) Message From Ira Glass

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners. I wish someone had told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good. It's trying to be good, it has potential, but it's not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase; they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn't have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know that it's normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you finish one piece. It's only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I've ever met. It's gonna take a while. it's normal to take a while. You just gotta fight your way through." 

-Ira Glass