Success Tricks From Expert Author 1

Interview with Elizabeth Lyon

Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore

Interview by Andrea Campbell

Elizabeth Lyon, a regular speaker at writing conferences and retreats nationwide, has been a contributor to The Writer and Writer's Digest and is a mentor, professional book editor, and writing teacher. She is the author of The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, A Writer's Guide to Fiction, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anyone Can Write, A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction, and National Directory of Editors & Writers. Her new book is Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore (Perigee Publishing/Penguin). Visit www.manuscriptmakeover.com for more about her new book, www.4-edit.com for Editing International, and www.elizabethlyon.com for her author website.

Elizabeth, could you tell readers a little about your background?

I've been a full-time independent editor and writing instructor for twenty years. In 1988, a close friend of mine committed suicide and bequeathed his continuing ed, community college writing classes, and his editing business to me. Two weeks later, I stood before four summer classes. I had been studying, writing fiction and nonfiction, participating in critique groups, attending conferences, and doing a small amount of freelance writing and editing since 1980. My most potent way of learning is by doing, and I believe I've had a talent for teaching and editing. I also credit my background in psychology and counseling (I have a masters and have had years of various types of psychotherapy and been a therapist), and my undergraduate classes in the humanities, three foreign languages, and sociology as an ideal foundation relating to people and just about all ideas they write about.

Your new book, Manuscript Makeover, just came out. Can you tell us what inspired you to write this book?
Two decades of working with novelists of every level of skill helped me clarify the terminology of fiction craft and hone specific techniques for writing and marketing. Long ago, I identified several dozen mistakes common to almost all of the novels I edited, no matter what genre and applying to published and unpublished novelists alike. It felt like time to share what I'd learned-- and hand the tools of revision to writers.

There are many prescriptive books out there on how to write fiction, why is yours different?

In writing any of my six books for writers, I've always held myself to a specific standard: My books must contribute to the literature, offer highly organized and accessible instruction, and be comprehensive. I was very familiar with the literature on craft and revision and found value in each book, but I did not find one that met all three of these criteria.

My speculation is that editors within publishing houses customarily work with novels that have been acquired, and thus these works are "almost ready." What they might offer as guidance for revision won't be detailed enough for someone starting out. Some authors of books on revision are instructors at various colleges or universities, and they are most likely to have a similar demographic of students, and they may be expected to teach specific ideas and coursework. In their books on revising fiction, these teachers often demonstrate the "how-to" from the classics in English and American literature. They seldom draw examples from contemporary novels. They seldom use examples from genre, mainstream, and literary writing. And they seldom include or address children's literature. Other how-to books on revision are written by successful novelists, and that means the slant and examples may be skewed toward a particular genre or style, or rely too heavily for examples on the authors' own novels. As an independent editor, I don't suffer any of these limitations, and I wanted my book to be of great value to all writers.

Can you tell us one or two parts of the book that are your favorites and why?

In the style section, I introduced what may be a first discussion in the literature about the powerful role of unconscious censorship, and not just the "inner critic." Because each writer is an individual unlike any other human being, all of us should have a unique style. Why not? I offered several techniques, like "riff-writing," to answer that problem.

I also enjoyed sharing the technique of increasing the impact of writing by taking advantage of "power positions." These are the first and last words or sentences, of paragraphs, sections, chapters, and novels. I had not seen "power positions" taken up by any other instructor/authors, except with scant mention.

In the section on structure, I felt strongly about teaching the inner structure of scenes, which I see as my contribution to the understanding of scene structure-- the other half and missing half of the instruction. Inner structure develops internal characterization within viewpoint and includes "subtext." This refers to sources of tension and interest that operate beneath the surface of events and actions in a scene, such as sexual attraction or repulsion, a strong emotion, nature, and so forth.

Another favorite section for me covers movement in detail, because this element of craft has been given short shrift. There is so much to it, and so much fun for the writer. Revision in the many ways that creates movement also instant improves a story.

In characterization, I gained greater clarity myself by writing about "attitude" and "passion," that if writers understand the differences and emphasize both, their characters will take on greater depth and move the reader.

For years, I have addressed and edited problems in punctuation, grammar, and format, so it was satisfying to put those answers in one place in the chapter on copyediting.

I noticed you address things such as pace and flashback in this guide. Are these difficult to explain?

I think flashback is fairly easy to explain, and to outline when to use it to great effect and when not to use it. For instance, it is often misused by introduction too early in a story, before a reader cares to know backstory and is not yet engaged in the forward story. A premature flashback is a natural trap, because it is so tempting to brief the reader with a chunk of indigestible exposition.
On the other hand, I do agree that pace is difficult to explain and tricky to get right. Flashback and pace involve a dive into the time-space continuum. One of the great aspects of fiction involves the manipulation of time, controlling its speed. And characters are constantly moving through time in a particular setting. With flashback, the writer directs the reader to become a time traveler. Changing pace throughout a story requires development of a writer's intuition to a great extent, a special kind of deep listening to the story to catch when to make a shift in speed. After deciding when and in what direction-- faster or slower-- then the writer needs to know the techniques for speeding or slowing pace. There is much to it, and I sought to address all aspects.



I've always thought that voice was integral to fiction. How have you talked about that in Manuscript Makeover?



I discuss voice as an expression of a writer's individuality that blends with the story, setting, era, and characters. Voice is similar to and often used synonymously with style. I think of voice as coming from within the writer, reflecting everything about the writer's self, family, age, race, heritage, religious, region, and so forth. I think of style as an effect of voice. Style can also be altered by strengthening word choice, varying sentence structure, and otherwise manipulating the writing. For an easy handle, I think of voice as "inside-out" and style as "outside-in," and using techniques to cultivate both are part of revision. A unique voice (or style) is all-important and part one on "Style Speaks" offers ways to improve it.



What do you think is the single most egregious mistake writers make with fiction?



The most egregious mistakes just happen to be clichés that are true. Turned into advice, a writer can counter mistakes by doing the following:



Keep writing; don't give up. Writing at a professional and publishable level of skill takes far longer than most writers think.

Read how-to books about all aspects of craft. Don't live in a bubble.

Get constructive feedback from other writers, readers, teachers, and editors.

Don't work one novel or story to death. After a reasonable amount of time writing and revising, move on to other stories. Each one teaches you something new and your skill grows with practice facing different creative challenges over time.

Immerse in the writing community-- attend author talks, workshops, and conferences. Become savvy by osmosis.

There will always be writers with more talent and skill and less talent and skill than you possess. Stop comparing yourself. Write, revise, market. These are your jobs.

Be flexible. If one genre doesn't work, try another one. If one strategy of marketing fails, adopt a new one. Don't accept two words: "I can't."




We've heard that raising questions increase increases tension. Your book is the first one I've read that analyzes that issue. Care to comment?



Most of us have difficulty implementing instruction, what a mentor of mine referred to as "know of," directly into writing, which is "know how." For instance, it's obvious that when a writer raises curiosity in a reader, the result is an increase in suspense. "What's going to happen next?" the reader should ask. But what techniques create this result? I discovered long ago that my students and clients learned best from models, i.e., examples, either of published authors or from excerpts taken from their own writing that I revised. I can do this latter technique for editing clients but not for readers. Analysis of successful published examples leads my readers into recognition of how the "magic trick" is accomplished.



Have query letters changed in the last decade?



Yes, they have. I have the sense that the squirrel cage is spinning faster. Agents and editors are under enormous pressure to select and sell, and to select well. Agents now receive as many as 100 queries a week, and they may not have staff. Writers must realize that snap decisions are made. The day of the e-mail query is here as well; I estimate that about 30 percent of literary agents accept, prefer, or require e-mail queries. Although they are mutually beneficial to writers and agents because of their efficiency, the nature of e-mail is short communications. Whereas the paper query has been whittled down to one page, about five or so paragraphs, the e-mail query is best shortened even more. Can a longer query ever succeed? Exceptions abound and yet, the word "exception" means, not very often. I advise writers to study how to write queries and then to revise 'til the cows come home, that this one little manuscript can make all the difference in getting to first base with your novel.



Will you tell us about your publisher? Good experience? Fair treatment? Good support?



I've now experienced four publishers.

I was my own first publisher with Red Lyon Publications. I self-published a 2500-copy print-run of one book, Mabel: The Story of One Midwife. That experience exposed me to every facet of publishing, and I was hooked. Ten years after the 1982 publication, I had finally sold (almost) all of the copies, and broke even. I've been told that this book about Mabel Dzata, a Ghana-born woman who moved to Oregon and did home births in the Northwest, is considered a "midwifery classic." I've thought about bringing it back into print via print on demand.

A first "real" publisher can be like a first lover that you remember and hopefully adore forever. I was lucky to be with an outstanding small press, Blue Heron Publishing in Hillsboro, Oregon. The owners, Dennis and Linny Stovall, were the hub of information and publishing in the Pacific Northwest. They published perhaps 400 writers and fostered the development of many, who have since become well known (Diana Abu-Jaber, Sherman Alexie, Judith Barrington, Martha Gies, Lorian Hemingway, and Chuck Palahniuk, among many others). The Stovalls held progressive ideas about writer's rights, and they cared about all of their authors, their books and their lives. My book contracts were not only fair; they were superior. My relationship with Dennis and Linny was and is precious to me. I had their full support, even for marketing and promotion, and that included modest funds I requested as well as Linny's efforts to set-up talks, signings, and conferences. I felt respected. When the Stovalls moved on to other endeavors, I was orphaned, gaining back the rights to my first two books, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, and The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit.

Since 2001, my publisher has been Perigee Books, an imprint of US Penguin, in New York, publishing over 100 books a year. They acquired my orphaned books, reprinting them, and subsequently published three more books I've written: A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction, Writer's Guide to Fiction, and now Manuscript Makeover. In contrast to receiving no advance with Blue Heron, all Perigee contracts have included advances. Sales have been far better because of big publisher distribution. I lucked out with the three editors I've had; they've been experts in writing books in particular. Their editing has been superior. Communications have always been friendly, professional, and timely. When I had a series of family crises, my requests for extensions were granted. Yet, the culture and operations of the corporation pervade everything. I don't have that intimate feeling that I enjoyed with Blue Heron. In fact, I have lunch with Dennis Stovall about once a year, and he, Linny, and I will always have a bond of friendship.

The big house contracts were written by attorneys whose singular goal was to figure out how to give authors the least amount of money possible. The contracts are mostly non-negotiable and I have always felt like a serf on the feudal lord's estate. Publicists are assigned to each book, e-mails are answered, and I'm assured that there is promotion within a three-month window of a book's release. Yet, publicity or the results of it, haven't been visible to me. And there is no monetary support for any efforts I make. Because the corporation publishes 100-120 per year, the math says it all; promotion is up to me. I'm very small peanuts.

My fourth experience was working with a smaller independent New York publisher, M. Evans & Company. They brought out my National Directory of Editors & Writers, a compilation of 530 profiles of US freelance writers and editors. As I expected, my relationship with my M. Evans editor had aspects of the warm and informal friendship I had with the Stovalls at Blue Heron, and yet the process also had the distance and constraints of Perigee's corporate style. Shortly after my directory was published, however, a bigger fish bought M. Evans & Company, my editor and other staff found other jobs, and that was that. The "half" of my four and a half publishers is Rowman & Littlefield, the bigger fish.

Anything you'd like to add?

I realize I am very fortunate, period. Books on writing are a niche, and I have six books in print, nearly continuously since 1995 when my first book was published. They are all small, backlist sellers, but I envision them as my IRA. Because hope springs eternal, I hope that Manuscript Makeover will be my bestseller.

CULLED FROM www.absolutewrite.com