Polish Your Manuscript!

Molli Nickell, The Query Wizard, invites writers to celebrate spring as they polish their manuscripts and submission documents (query, synopsis, first pages) until they glow in the dark.

The quest to become published took some major left and right turns this past year with the advent of email delivered query submission letters that include synopsis and sample pages.

In the old days~
Prior to 2014, your query was sent via snail mail and accompanied by a SASE (self-addressed-stamped-envelope). If the agent wanted to read more of your work, they’d send a letter back requesting synopsis and/or sample pages. So, there would be a time gap between when you completed your query and needed to submit your synopsis and first pages.

Fast forward to now: good news/not so good news~
The good news is that it’s easie-peasie to pack your submission materials in one email. Except (and here’s the not-so-good news), first, you must format your entire email to make it device-and-agent friendly, and then, prepare your query, synopsis, and first pages so they are ready to go at the same time.

The current all-in-one submission process makes life easier for agents. Once they click on your enticing email subject line and open your email, they can read your query, make the “yes” or “no” decision to read your synopsis, and perhaps your sample pages.

Keep ’em reading~
Even if you’ve crafted a dynamic manuscript, with fascinating characters and a plot that twists and turns, but is filled with writing mechanic errors, you’ve shot yourself in the foot. Ouch! You can prevent this disaster by using the following exercise. It will help you discover issues in your work that you’ll want to revise before you begin the submission process.

Color Me Grammatically Correct~
If you meet with a critique/writing group, enlist your pals to participate in a simple, fun, and educational exercise. What? You aren’t part of a critique group? Why the heck not?

The following exercise will help you discover if your work contains the major 35 “red-flag” words that can identify you as a writing rookie.

Here’s how it works:
Ask your writing pals to bring their first three manuscript pages (double-spaced), along with yellow, pink, and blue highlighter pens. They’ll use these pens to mark three types of writing mechanic errors that probably lurk in their work.

First, swap manuscripts. Why? Because it’s difficult to be objective looking at words you’ve written/re-written over and over and over and . . . .

Search and Mark Step One involves adjectives.Spend 15 minutes and yellow-highlight all adjectives.
Search and Mark Step Two is for adverbs. Search hint: most adverbs end with “ly.” Spend another 15/20 minutes and pink-highlight all adverbs.
Search and Mark Step Three is for the granddaddy of all “red-flag” words, verbs that begin with “was.” Locate and blue-highlight  “was” and the word that follows it.

This exercise helps everyone “up the ante,” and elevate their writing skills without stress. I’m a big proponent of incorporating fun and learning, especially when it comes to group exercises. All writers (myself included) tend to become overly self-critical and uptight as we revise, tighten, and polish our work. Laughter helps us lighten up during the rite-of-passage from rookie to pro . . . from writer to author.

Bring revised pages to your next meeting. Repeat the exercise and compare versions. Your revised pages will be less rainbow-kissed than before. Celebrate your progress with ice cream, pizza, or brownies, or all three!

Just to be clear: “Color Me Grammatically Correct” is a group exercise, not a suggestion for you to print out your manuscript and highlight away. That would be crazy making! Instead, use my Search-Mark-Revise technique (below) to help you mature your work and maintain your sanity at the same time. 

My 7-page tutorial identifies the 35 worst “red-flag” words and the weakest verbs that may infect your query, synopsis, and manuscript and helps you learn a process to make finding and revising them as stress-free as possible. 7 pages for $7 bucks. Such a deal!
More information at MolliMart. 

Lovingly copied from Molli’s website http://www.getpublishednow.biz/