editing

Choosing Contracts Wisely

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

So, when one is submitting proposals for writing contracts, it pays to do research before hitting the Submit button. I just narrowly missed getting involved in a problematic project, writing a Wiki article about someone who turned out to be, let’s just say “dicey,” at best. Once I had been awarded the job and more information came my way, I realized that I couldn’t in good conscience be a part of the project and would never want any association with the person or his agenda.

The upshot of the incident was my withdrawing from the project, with good will on both sides (I was dealing with an intermediary, not with the subject himself), and a new awareness on my part that I must always ask for the full facts before I bid, even if it means delaying the bid for a short while. Better to take the time and not rue the rush.

On the other hand, I have chosen wisely with respect to several other bids and projects, so I have to expect a dip in the road once in a while.

Back to Freelance

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

Having just spent three months working as a contract technical writer, I am happy to report that I completed twice the number of documents they were hoping for in two-thirds the allotted time. I am also happy to report that, having finished the contract with blazing speed and applauded success, I have declined another contract at Sony and am returning full time to my freelance writing and editing work.

I enjoyed the work at Sony, learning four new software programs for which I then wrote online help content for a knowledge base, but I found that I missed the variety that freelance entails. Not for me the monotony of writing about the same subject day in and day out. As a freelance writer and editor, I typically have 5-10 projects in house, which means that I get to juggle what I do on any given day. Boredom is never an option.

“Finishing” is also rarely an option because there is always work to be done. But I don’t mind that. In fact, I embrace the idea of the work floodwaters rising. The more the merrier. I am one of those people who can sit and immediately focus, whether for 15 minutes or 6 hours at a stretch. And, variety being the spice of life, my tastes are satisfied at every moment.

So thanks to Sony for the three-month experience, but welcome me back, freelance life! It’s good to be home!

Technical Writing for Sony

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

I am currently working on contract at Sony USA in San Diego as a contract Technical Writer. It’s my task to write job aids and process guides for Customer Care agents. These are the front-line agents who receive phone calls from Sony customers, either to place orders or to deal with customer needs and complaints. Since the newly trained agents can’t be expected to know all aspects of the business, my documents will be available to them on an online knowledge base, which they can access during a phone call to find the procedures and answers they need to satisfy the customers.

The task involves using job aids that were created before, adapting them to the new software that will be used, and also interviewing the in-house subject matter experts, trying to take their hard-earned knowledge and put it on paper.

Because I’ve done technical writing for so many years, this is not a difficult task. Initially, the main concern was just getting published as much information as possible. Now, during the second phase, I will go back and concentrate on conceptualizing the documents, adding explanations about when certain processes are used, and the likely exceptions the agents will encounter. That’s the tougher job; I have to think like an agent and decipher what their needs might be and their thought processes under stress. Interesting and definitely the part of the task that I most enjoy.

Self-Publishing Works

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

Many of my clients are trying to get their books published. Most realize how difficult it is to get a book published through a renowned publishing company. As a result, they are looking into self-publishing.

One of the best sites I have found for self-publishing is Ron Pramschufer’s at http://www.selfpublishing.com. This is not a vanity press publishing site. Unlike vanity and on-demand publishers, Ron’s site helps authors to publish their books at a reasonable cost, with excellent results.

Ron’s most recent blog about self-publishing bemoans the fact that the vanity presses and on-demand publishers have convinced people that if you can put it on a computer, we can see that it’s published. Thus, says Ron, and I heartily agree, there is a tsunami of awful books hitting the market. These books are often horribly written, completely unedited, and rarely proofread. There is so much tripe floating in the waters of the printed word that it’s hard to find the real books, those worth reading and that have been carefully prepared for publication.

It doesn’t matter that a book gets published. That alone will not guarantee success. Success is never guaranteed, but an author has a better chance at achieving some financial success if the book he or she publishes is well written, carefully edited, and prepared free of errors before it is sent to an editor, agent, or publishing house. That takes time and money (editors don’t work for free), but in the long run, the potential for success is definitely enhanced.

Book Editing

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

Published books don’t “just happen.” There is a great deal of work that goes into getting a book published. Of course, the author must write the book, and then the “back” stages begin, primarily the editing cycles.

I offer four levels of editing. First is an Editing Assessment, in which I read the book and make notes on what further editing is required. This is a fixed-price service. The assessment then determines what further editing is necessary to prepare the book for submission for publication: Mechanical editing (fixing the Ps and Qs of an otherwise-polish manuscript), structural editing (fixing the organizational and continuity problems, along with mechanical errors), and finally, comprehensive editing (in which I work on character development, story and plot, structure, and mechanical problems).

Because so few publishers today will spend time “nurturing” a new author as they did in days of old, any manuscript sent for consideration for publishing must already be edited and polished, ready to go. That’s not to say a publisher won’t have suggestions on editing the manuscript, but an error-free, ready-to-roll manuscript has a much better chance of making it through the gateway than does a document filled with errors and story gaps.

Most independent publishers suggest that new, and proven, authors run their manuscripts past an editor before submitting them, to save time and effort on everyone’s part.

This is where I come in. Whether fiction or non-fiction, I thoroughly enjoy reading a manuscript and figuring out how to improve it. My services cost money but that is part of the process if a writer wishes to find publishing success. No guarantees, of course, but certainly improved potential!

Sacrificing the “Little Darlings”

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

As a writer, it can be difficult to make those edits that you know are necessary to tighten your writing. As an editor, it can be painful to suggest such cuts to an author. Every author has “little darlings”–precious lines that simply make a writer sigh, delighted and satisfied with having written them.

But it is these very little darlings that should be cruelly stricken from your manuscript, scrapped for the sake of the whole. “Oh, I agree, this needs some editing,” an author might say, “but I can’t lose this line. I just can’t.” It’s too precious. Just as a writer must be willing to kill off the protagonist, so must the author be willing to sacrifice those precious lines.

As a writer, I can be cruel with myself, scolding and badgering, forcing myself to see my writing weaknesses and shortcuts. As an editor, it is my job (when I am doing content editing) to make writers see the same weaknesses and shortcuts in their manuscripts. But, with them,  I can’t be cruel. I must use tact and gentleness to persuade them of the truth. It’s what they pay me for. It’s what their writing needs. But it isn’t easy for either of us.

A recent client clung adamantly to three lines in her book, despite my reasoning and admonitions. It wasn’t until two other people entered the discussion that she finally admitted that those lines had to go: they were a slap in the face to the reader, completely out of character for the narrator and, thus, jarring for the reader.

Any lines that place the author at the forefront of the page must be stricken. Authors must remain invisible, and should certainly never rear up their heads and shout, Look at me, look what I wrote!

Career Faire

/ Ann Aubrey Hanson / Leave a comment

This past week, I participated in a Career Faire at my son’s high school, where I spoke to two classes about what it takes to make a living as a writer and editor. Following the class presentations, I spent three hours in the gymnasium speaking with passersby at the faire.

There were 30 students in each of the class presentations, 25 of whom were there by choice. As is to be expected, most wanted to write novels or screenplays but had no idea about the reality of publishing today. I explained that you can’t just plan to be a novelist and assume that you can make a living immediately through that writing. Using one of my best friends as an example, I spoke about Meg Gardiner (author of the Jo Beckett forensic psychology series and the Evan Delaney crime thriller series), explaining how it took seven years to get her first novel published, after she had worked on it for years prior to its completion, and how now, as her seventh novel is being published, she is finally picking up momentum and will soon make the kind of sales that will support a family and then some. This year, she also won the Edgar Award, the highest award in mystery writing, which will bring her great publicity.

My point was that a writer can’t just assume instant success once a novel or screenplay has been completed. Success depends on talent, but it also requires an enormous amount of perfect timing and luck.

Given that fact, I assured the students that they could indeed make a living as a writer, while they worked for and sought success as novelists or screenwriters. My handout listed some 20 different jobs in various fields where writers would be an enormous asset to any business. With businesses almost required to have a Web site now, writers and editors are needed more than ever.

When asked, I opined that an English degree was a marvelous first degree for anyone who planned to write for a living, but added that their best preparation, no matter what degree they pursue, is to read, read constantly and widely. To my great delight, the majority of the students were readers, though they admitted to a narrow range of material. I suggested that anyone interested in broadening their horizons email me, tell me about what they like to read and what interests them, and I would send a reading recommendation list. So far, one girl has taken me up on the offer.

One discouraging aspect of the students who stopped by the faire table was the widespread assumption that one could be a writer without knowing grammar and punctuation. My favorite comment from a young man, “I’m a poet, I don’t need to know grammar and rules like that.” What to say?

But overall, I was pleased with the questions I was asked, the interest the students showed, and the love I saw for the written word. Encouraging in this world of instant and abbreviated communication. Writers — and love of language! Excellent!