I never got an explanation for my returned queries. I think it’s great that you do that JJ and the fact that the author can resend the corrected material is generous.
I’m just speaking from my own experiences.

Ohhhhh...I thought you meant you had never received a response from us! LoL!

Hannalore, I doubt that anyone would ignore work because of double spaces. Still, it is best if we really all edit and format and learn craft as if our little careers depended on it. We can always find a few gatekeepers who are patient and understanding. But the one big thing your after? You do something that most of us DO on occasion(like a dangline pariticple) and it may cause a harried editor to roll his eyes and drop your piece in the round file. Think of all the writers out there. Think of all the submissions. I don't like to think this can happen, but it can. You should have heard the responses from my editors. One said she gets handwritten manuscripts--often. We all know that no agent will take the time to read one of those--not unless they spot a fantastic foice in maybe the first sentence. Not if the query letter isn't superb. I mean, as good as the writing may be, there are other good (even great!) writers out there. So....we're all in this bucket together. That's what I'm here for, to try to help a little. (-:

Best,

Carolyn, if you had to take the most important TOP FIVE LESSONS from your new book, what would they be? I know, of course, you can only give us a condensed answer, but that would be great, and it would also tell others a bit about your new book. Can do?

Oh, JJ, I love to condense.
How about SEVEN? These are seven myths that surround editing and brief answers:

• Agents are a cantankerous lot. (Nope! In The Frugal Editor twenty of the nation's best tell you their pet peeves and they do it in the best of spirits.)
• If your English teacher told you something is OK, it is. (No! Language rules have changed since you were a Sophomore.)
• If a manuscript or query is grammar-perfect, you'll be fine. (No! Lots of things that are absolutely grammatically correct will annoy publishers.)
• Always use your Spell and Grammar Checker. (No! Some suggest you don't use it at all but The Frugal Editor will help you make it your partner instead of your enemy.)
• It's easy to avoid agent and editor scams. Just ask around. (The Frugal Editor gives you a complete list to help you avoid being taken.)
• Your publisher will assign a top-flight editor. (Maybe, but don't count on it. Besides you can be a better partner for an editor if you know something about the process.)
• Formatters and editors will take care of the hyphens, ellipses and all the other grungy little punctuation marks that English teachers avoided teaching because they didn't know how to use them either. (Chances are, you'll catch even great formatters and editors in an error or two if you know your stuff!)

Are you home, Georgia. I leave on Friday. I hope the forum lets me in while I'm gone. I'll be using a ship's computer. (-: I love that it's letting me come back now without signing in every time. (-:

Love,
C.

Here's what I love about Carolyn's books, the Frugal Book Promoter and The Furgal Editors.

You will underline, highlight and dog ear like a fool while reading them. They are extremely practical, loaded with great information.

While reading The Frugal Editor, I recalled all the things I had not yet done from her first book. I need to go back and follow thorugh on some more of her ideas. Funny thing, while it's for books, I also have used it for my Web sites!

Hiring a good editor is so important before submitting a query or proposal. I'll never forget the first time I worked with an editor - now I wing it for the site- sorry ladies, but anyway...

She was a magazine editor and boy was she good. I was expecting her to correct punctuation, maybe a little sentence structure and that was about it. What she did was amazing. She truly rewrote lots of the information which gave it better form and style. She made me look like I knew what I was doing. So why wouldn't we want that before submitting queries or proposals?

At first my ego was a littel wounded, but then I realized she was the expert. I write, she edits...and there's a huge difference.

A great book to read about editing is Stephen King's book On Writing. It is over the top. I especially loved how he shared his original thoughts/writing and then showed all the edits before he got the writing the way he wanted it for publication, or at least before he handed it to his editor. It's not the writing that makes your piece incredible, it's the re-writing.

Wow, Carolyn...great myth-busters! I love them. And Dotsie, great point about the Frugal series being capable of answering questions and guiding us through the writing of Web sites, magazine articles, and other things...not just books.

Carolyn, call me crazy, but wouldn't these myths be a great hand out for writing classes?

You will more than likely have to "log" back in when you are on vacation if you are using another ISP address to come here. I would tape the name showing, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, and your password to the bottom of your laptop...just a suggestion.

And not to worry if you can't get in. Everybody needs a break. If you have trouble you can email me, or Dotsie, or wait until you get home. We SO appreciate all of this info at our fingertips!

Dots, I love Stephen King's On Writing, too. In fact I got one of the dialogue editing tricks I mention in The Frugal Editor from him (and credit him, of course!). That is: When you are writing dialogue and the character is asking a question you don't need BOTH the question mark at the end of the sentence AND "he asked" as a tagline.

See what I mean about so many little things marking you as a professional...or not? How can we know everything when we start? How can we ever even consider not continuing that learning process? I try to read at least one book on writing a month. Sometimes I learn little. But I always learn something! (-:
Love that editor of yours, too. She was like my first newspaper editor. I thought she was an ogre but, boy, did I learn from her! (-:

Love,
C.

How did you get so smart, little Queen J. J.

Yes, that quiz is part of a PRIMER I developed as a handout for a seminar/panel I did at the West Hollywood Book Fair. You know, FRUGAL me. I believe in recycling (remember that chapter in The Frugal Book Promoter about recycling your work? (-: ). Anyone who wants the whole thing may e-mail me with PRIMER FROM DOTSIES BWS FORUM in the subject line and I'll send it. It has other pages, of course.

Good idea about taking the info with me. Duhhhhh.

And I promise to try to get back online at least every other day. And we'll still have a week when I get back.

AND, thank you for your sweet words.

Love,
C.

Me? Smart? And nobody in here jumped on that? mahahahah...ahem...ahem. I just wish I was going on vacation with ya'll. I fit nicely into a suitcase. Okay, big fat lie. I fit nicely in the back seat and don't eat much. Another lie. Oka----nevermind. Have a good time and we'll hold the fort down and leave a light on for ya.