Tuesday Tips: Editor Partnerships

This tip boils down to being honest with yourself. It is a good policy on all fronts in your life, but in writing, it will make your books better.  

If you can honestly identify the common mistakes you make you can convey the info to beta readers and editors.

Here are a couple examples:

• I overuse certain words. My wife is great at finding these. I now have Grammarly and it watches of overuse as well.
• I sometimes use the same phrase redundantly. This is straight from the Department of Redundancy Department.
• I tend to go into too much scientific data details in my first drafts. Way too verbose.

If you know these things about yourself, tell your editor. Tell your beta readers. Tell them if you have changed the name of a character. Tell them any concerns you may have. Make them a partner.

The key is, listen to what they have to say.

I have heard writers say, "My first draft if final draft." and then they wonder why they never sell any books. If your readers are honest with you and tell you, "Dude, too many adverbs!" have a look.

--If you want to sell books, be honest with yourself. If you don't care about selling book, lie all you want...