Don’t Make the Biggest Manuscript Mistake

I had a great conversation with a book design expert last week. Nick Zelinger has designed covers and interiors for many, many books over the last 20 years, most of them for authors who self-publish. I asked him for some tips about how my clients and I could prepare our manuscript files to prevent hang-ups and help him get the job done right and done smoothly.

I was expecting him to talk about formatting or fonts or the like, so I was really surprised when he said that the single biggest mistake new authors make is not hiring an editor(!) “That’s where a lot of money gets wasted,” he observed.

Nick is a conscientious professional, so when he gets a “bad book,” he’ll politely suggest having it professionally edited before he sets it.  But often, new authors will insist on skipping the editing step in an effort to save money.

The trouble is that when the interior is done and the client sees the manuscript all laid out and looking like a real book, the flaws and errors are suddenly obvious. The end result? Not only do they end up having to hire an editor after all, they also end up with the expense of having the designer do the book over.

According to Nick, a professionally edited manuscript is what “separates the one-timers from the people who make writing a vocation.”

Good advice, I’d say. I’ve seen how subtle revisions can make a big difference and prevent those little mistakes that can be so embarrassing. But being an editor and book doctor myself, I am admittedly biased on the subject.

So don’t take my word for it — take Nick’s. And while you’re at it, hire him. He does great work.

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Over the past year, many of you have been following my news about my client and friend Marc Warnke, who has had the vision and commitment to make the journey from hatching an idea, to creating a manuscript, to becoming a published author. The journey reaches its culmination today, folks – the book is now available on Amazon!

It’s called ONO, Options not Obligations.  The subtitle is, Enrich Your Personal Life by Rethinking Your Financial Life. ONO promotes Family First Entrepreneurism and teaches a lifestyle that will help create financial options rather than obligations.  The launch of ONO is today–April 22^nd. You can read excerpts and testimonials, as well as see and interact with Marc live on the 22^nd at www.ONOBook.com.

Marc did so many things right on this project. He engaged a great team of professionals to help with every phase, including a kick-ass editor (!) along with the amazing Maryanna Young to mastermind the launch and smooth the way with Marc’s publisher, Morgan James.

Marc is a shining example to aspiring authors everywhere!

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What comes to your mind when you hear the word “ghostwriting?” I recently had a great conversation with social media maven Jen Harris on the subject that really got me thinking about it.

People outside the world of creating, writing, editing and publishing books tend to think of it as something clandestine and maybe less-than-ethical.  They picture a scenario wherein some celebrity claims to be the author of a book, when really someone else — who gets no credit — did the actual writing.

But that’s not exactly how it works in my experience. Working with a ghostwriter is usually a highly collaborative process. And a good business move for a client who has knowledge, information, insights, or unique experiences to share with the world — but they’re not skilled at writing. Or maybe they are skilled at writing, but can’t take 6 months away from their business to put a book together.

So is hiring a ghostwriter cheating? Not by a long shot. For example, I’m now working as a ghostwriter on a book with a brilliant academic and businesswoman. She has already written a dissertation, collected mountains of research and case studies, and developed seminars and presentations on her topic. And she writes beautifully with an easy flow.

So where do I come in? My job is to help her turn that wealth of source material into a focused, relevant, highly readable book targeted to a specific audience. The information is hers, the voice is hers, the ideas and stories are hers; I’m technically the writer, but my role could also be described as the translator, the scribe, the reader advocate. I’m also the project manager who is responsible for making all of this happen in time to meet our deadlines.

My client has spent the last several years developing the source material, and after a few weeks of intense planning and collaborating, I will spend 3-4 months writing and organizing it into a book. In my mind, this is unquestionably her book, not mine.

Do I feel used? Not at all — it’s a joy doing this kind of work, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to contribute and to be paid for doing work I love.

Maybe what we need is a better word for the job, like co-writer or collaborator or writing partner…but my object is to use a title that will make it easy for clients to find me, and right now, that title appears to be “ghost.”

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I’m helping my friend Karla practice using words. We’re working from the sheet music for “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and the page is heavily marked up. Articles and little prepositions are circled, so that they won’t get left out. Sometimes we have to stop to go over words with diphthongs or extra syllables. The word “bridge” seems especially tough for her this week.

Last March, my active, healthy, witty, competent, extroverted, young friend suffered a massive stroke that left her speechless and paralyzed on her right side. Since then, she’s made an amazing — albeit incremental – recovery, and is now living on her own again; hiking, driving, socializing, and going to various forms of therapy.

But speech remains a struggle. She can hear and understand just fine and reading is no problem, but finding the right words to say what she means and then retraining all those fine muscles of the face, lips, tongue and larynx to actually get the words out is an ongoing challenge.

Writing things down might be an alternative – but she’s right-handed and still can’t use her right arm well enough to use it for writing. Phone conversations are an uphill climb; email is like Everest.

We’re using music therapy to work on the words because Karla sings beautifully. And sometimes, the way music flows through the body and brain and heart helps bypass the blocked neural passages. Having been in choirs for years, Karla reads music, and she’s always on pitch and on the beat, so it’s a joy to do this together. And it’s got me playing guitar again, so it feels good to have an old skill that’s coming in handy again.

We get to the refrain, and she surprises me by breaking into the high harmony part. Damn, she can sing. She catches my eye and grins and we both feel uplifted, knowing that somehow the world is a better place because of the bright, clear sounds ringing off the walls in this little kitchen.

On this day before Thanksgiving, I am grateful to all the brave souls who find a way to express themselves in words, even when it means struggling against limitations imposed from within or without.

Keep speaking out, keep writing, and keep singing!

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I got to hear Greg Mortensen speak at the Morrison Center last night. One of the many amazing stories from his amazing journey was about the struggle with his publishers at Penguin over the exact wording of the subtitle for his book, Three Cups of Tea.

The publishers insisted on “One man’s mission to fight terrorism … one school at a time.” Mortensen did his best to convince them to change it to “One man’s mission to promote peace … one school at a time.”

Notice the profound difference just two words can make? He explained it simply and eloquently, saying, “Fighting terrorism is based on fear. Promoting peace is based on hope.”

The pros at Penguin very understandably assumed that “fighting terrorism” would sell more books—even though Mortensen’s mission is education, not militarism—and they prevailed. On the first round, anyway. Mortensen relented on condition that if the hardcover version of the book didn’t do well, the paperback version to follow would feature the “promoting peace” subtitle.

As for how it turned out—the hardcover edition only sold about 20,000 or so copies. The subtitle was changed, and the paperback edition with “promote peace” on the cover shot to the top of the New York Times best-seller list and has stayed there for 95 weeks as of today.

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