Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print [Paperback]

Renni Browne (Author), Dave King (Author), George Booth (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0062720465 | ISBN-13: 978-0062720467 | Publication Date: March 1994

"A superb tutorial for anyone wanting to learn from pros how to polish fiction writing with panache."--Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There's not much of the old-style editing going on at publishing houses today. Renni Browne, veteran of William Morrow and other publishers, founded the Editorial Department in 1980 to teach fiction writers the techniques professional editors (many of whom have gone independent) use to prepare a manuscript for publication. In this book, she and senior editor Dave King share their accumulated expertise in a series of brilliantly compact lessons. One page from their simply and markedly improved version of a scene from The Great Gatsby alone would make a compelling advertisement for their techniques. Very highly recommended. --MTB

From Library Journal

Both novice and seasoned fiction writers can ensure themselves greater publishing success by correcting textual problems before submitting their manuscripts to an editor. This exemplary instruction manual offers readers the wisdom of two experienced editors who focus on writing/editing techniques (the mechanics of dialog, characterization, point of view, etc.). Adhering to fiction's underlying principle of "show and tell," this lively text includes both good and bad examples in each lesson. At the end of every chapter is a tip checklist to match against one's own work and two or three exercises with which to practice and reinforce the chapter's topic. A superb tutorial for anyone wanting to learn from pros how to polish fiction writing with panache.
- Cathy Sabol, Northern Virginia Community Coll., Manassas
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062720465
• ISBN-13: 978-0062720467
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (176 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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463 of 471 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I seized my magic marker. I writhed with shame., April 17, 2001

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E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print (Paperback)

"Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" literally had me writhing. At least my toes curled and I kept saying, "Ouch," as chapter after chapter critiqued yet another one of my cherished writing habits ('Tom Swifties' for one). I have two suggestions for potential readers: (1) bypass "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" completely if you have a delicate ego; (2) if you do read it, stock up on several different colors of magic markers and keep your manuscript nearby. It will soon be streaming with color.

Renni Browne and Dave King also explain why self-editing, "is probably the only kind of editing your manuscript will ever get." Many publishing houses have eliminated the tedious step of editing a promising manuscript to bring it up to its full potential. If they like it coming in the door, the manuscript is published 'as is'!

I'm sorry, Renni and Dave. I had to use an exclamation point to end that last sentence. Your book explains why I've been struggling through so many bloated fantasy novels, lately. The editors who used to take a red pencil to them are now gone missing, probably in the interests of 'cost cutting'. And if there is anyone out there who still believes fantasy novels do get edited, read "Rhapsody: Child of Blood" by Elizabeth Haydon.

"Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" is not just for the unpublished. The authors take examples of bad dialogue mechanics or second-hand reporting right out of the classics and show us how to rectify them. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and P.D. James all take their lumps in this book, and once you've seen how Renni and Dave improve these authors' paragraphs, you will probably agree with them (I did). You also get to practice on "The Great Gatsby" yourself in one of the exercises that follows the chapter on "Dialogue Mechanics".

Each chapter except the last in "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" has a checklist that you can take to your own manuscript. I used all eleven of the checklists on mine, and all I can say is, thank God for the 'cut and paste feature' in word processors. This novel of mine originally started out on a typewriter, and I would have been forced to commit hara-kiri if I'd read this book before 'cut and paste' was invented.

Seriously, this is a most helpful book for would-be 'published' authors of fiction. I'll give it five stars for now, but I'm going to hack in to Amazon.com and up its rating to seventeen stars if I actually do get published. Right now, I've got a few more changes to make to my manuscript....

316 of 322 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is required reading., July 19, 2002

By 

Victoria Tarrani "writer, editor, artist, des... (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print (Paperback)

Read, follow the checklists, and complete the exercises included with each chapter. Check your versions in the Answers to Exercises section of the book. Applying the techniques within this book will help you write, not just for publication, but something that is memorable.

"Authors who sell well are almost always certain to go to the highest bidder, and publishers can't reasonably afford to develop an author for a competing house." (Browne, King) The business of publishing changed, and those great editors who supported their clients and helped create stellar books are gone. The business is about making money. Therefore, "self editing is probably the only kind of editing your manuscript will ever get."

Chapter 1: Show and Tell. The difference is 'to tell' is to describe what happened through a narrative summary, while 'to show' is to experience what happens. With the use of cartoon sketches, the concept is clearly revealed. Yet, pacing is important and you accomplish this by slowing the scene with narrative summary, or descriptions.

Chapter 2: Characterization and Exposition. "A lot of readers seem to feel they have to give their readers a clear understanding of a new character before they can get on with their story." This stops the story. Each character is psychoanalyzed and physical details are listed. It may not seem like a list, but it is. "When you define your characters the minute you introduce them, you may be setting boundary lines..." rather than letting your characters grow.

Chapter 3: Point of View. Many times a switch in POV is subtle, but it changes the perspective and makes it hard for readers to relate to the characters in the scene, story, or book. The first person POV is limiting, yet it is an excellent exercise because you can only know what "I" experience. The omniscient POV is informative, and narrative summary is an aspect. In using the third person POV, which is the compromise between the two, it is imperative to stay in one person's mind for the entire sequence, or no interior monologues by multiple characters.

Chapter 4: Dialogue Mechanics. "If the dialogue doesn't work, the manuscript gets bounced." Many writers hate to use said, but it is transparent and does not require the reader to interpret the author's expression, which has taken the reader into the writer's head and away from what the characters say.

Chapter 5: See How It Sounds. "The creation of character voice ... is one of the most ... challenging acts you can create as a writer." Why? Every individual is different, each has their own voice, and so must your characters. In addition, the dialogue has to be meaningful. An inane conversation does not move the story forward, it is boring, and it stops the story. Listen to your dialogue aloud. Would you say it?

Chapter 6: Interior Monologue. Thoughts are constant, they interrupt our conversations by taking our attention elsewhere. We live different lives in our own minds, so do your characters, it is emotion and perception that makes them real, and interior monologue is the technique.

Chapter 7: Easy Beats. This is rhythm. A waltz is playing, what do you see? It is the Tennessee Waltz, your images change. Patti Page is not singing the song, a reggae band is. Each change creates a different feeling because each type of music has its own beat or connection. Scenes, words, dialogue, and events pace your story. "Beats enable your readers to picture the action in a scene."

Chapter 8: Breaking Up is Easy To Do. Frequent paragraphs can add tension just as a rapid-fire talk show host does. Readers' eyes move down the page more quickly, which adds momentum. However, maintaining this pace will wear you out, there will be no sudden surprise. Slowing the pace lulls the reader, provides intimacy, and creates suspense. Both are needed.

Chapter 9: Once is Usually Enough. Repeating words, phrases, descriptions, and effects are boring. When a reader knows that a map is missing in chapter one, they still know it in chapter five, they know it until it has been found. "When you try to accomplish the same effect twice, the weaker attempt is likely to undermine the power of the stronger one."

Chapter 10: Proportion. The setup in chapter one must be resolved in the climax, but if another event becomes more important, then the impact of the problem resolution is lost. If the object is to find the missing map, then a duel in a romantic liaison cannot take half the book; the proportion is off; that single event becomes more important than the premise itself.

Chapter 11: Sophistication. This contains a very good description of "the hack's favorite construction." Take care in using -ing words or linking events with as.

Chapter 12: Voice. "A strong, distinctive, authoritative writing voice is something most fiction writes want -- and something no editor or teacher can impart." It is individual, it belongs to you, and to each character you create. They are different; make sure your interior and exterior dialogue for each character is theirs.

Five stars. I recommend two books to writers, this is one of them. The other is - The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, by Noah Lukeman.


Victoria Tarrani

83 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top editing advice from the pros, May 30, 2001

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This review is from: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print (Paperback)

A lot of succesful published authors could learn from this book. It's written by two gifted editors who worked for major publishing houses and edited writers like Erica Jong and Sol Stein. I'm a professional writer (nonfiction)and writing teacher with a master's in language arts and I learned more about writing fiction from this text than any other source. It can't give you what you don't have in the way of ideas or talent, but it can make your writing much better and help you avoid the kinds of 'errors' (or weaknesses, shortcomings, and distractions where the author gets in the way of the story) that authors like Jane Smily, Le Carre,and Ruth Rendell DON'T make but that some popular writers I've really enjoyed (like Mary Higgins Clark and Ridley Pearson) DO sometimes make. Applying Browne and King's techniques has made my fiction so much stronger and given me answers to questions I've had for years about how to show characters' emotions without 'telling,' how to handle attributions and 'beats,' and other points of craft that can be learned. This is a wonderfully written, succinct, even brilliant book from people who really know what they're talking about. If my novel gets published it will be in large part because of the editing and final polish I was able to give it after studying this book. The first two editors and one agent I have approached want to read more chapters, and I think that's because of the improvements SELF EDITING showed me how to make.