Team work – editors and authors

The editing process can sometimes be quite demanding for both editor and writer. The author has made the text as good as they can – perhaps having edited it several times already, and she may have also used a critique group and beta readers. Now we’re asking her to make even more changes.

The editor usually sees things the author has not noticed. Even so, there is still the possibility that she may be stuck in a rut or cramped by a house style that has become formulaic.

A new anthology.

So, now we have made all of our selections for the new Bridge House anthology, Snowflakes. Next comes the editing. This is usually quite an enjoyable process. We rarely have to do anything in the first stage of editing as we've chosen the texts because we like them. We're usually  more into copy editing, checking for house style and making sure that expression is clear  and logical.  

In the final edit we tend to  use 'track changes.' I generally tell people to switch it off and just switch it back on when the text seems clunky.

One of the main things we need to do then is a proof read. We normally do this after we've made the text 'camera ready'. The four pairs of eyes look at it: the writer, both editors and our designer. We're looking for odd formatting, the typos we didn't spot before and any strange page throws.

At this stage we sometimes update bios - maybe someone has had a major success elsewhere since they wrote the story for us.

Designing the book and its cover is something quite technical and a little time-consuming and tedious.  It's incredibly important that this is done well. We usually do, I'm glad to say.

Cover design is fun and technical at the same time. Choosing the stock image is creative but some technical know-how has to be applied as well.

We have mixed feelings when we release the book. It's good to get it out here.  But is there something we've overlooked? How well will it be received? Will we get kind reviews? Will even all of the contributors like what we've done? In our business,  we just have to accept that we can't please everyone all of the time. 

Nevertheless, creating a book remains rewarding.  

Organising competitions

Is it fair?

I’ve done one or two with both Bridge House and The RedTelephone, and as a writer I’ve judged for other competitions. As a writer also I’ve entered them.

I have mixed feelings about them, though. They are hard work to organise. Whatever you charge it never seems to cover the costs and certainly never pays the first round of judges for their time. On top of that I feel a little mean; you’re taking money from people and not really offering anything in return. So, why charge at all?      

One publisher I know actually charges enough for competition entries to cover the cost of a book including shipping. This guarantees a few sales of the book with enough profit to cover set up costs. My head tells me this is a good thing to do. My heart tells me this is cheating a little.

Nevertheless, I’m tempted … And morally it might be all right after all: the writer gets a good book by a publisher they obviously respect.

An exciting new development for new writers for young adults

We’re looking for three volunteers to take part in a scheme that may help you to get your young adult novel published. It is aimed at writers who only have a little experience or who are new to the genre.  

Working through a self-help books

You will be asked to work your way through a “how to” book on writing for young adults. You are asked to complete the exercises at the end of each chapter and send them to us for feedback. We’ll then give you feedback on your work.

We need your feedback too

We’ll ask you to give us feedback on the materials and the process. We’ll ask you to help us work out what would be a fair price to charge for this course in the future.

Some tough decisions

It’s interesting being both a writer and a publisher. I see both sides of the story. Occasionally we have to do things that might seem unfriendly towards the writer but actually we are working on the same side. 

Returns

We offer our books sale or return to book shops. We keep our fingers crossed that they don’t return them. They’re usually not fit to be sold afterwards and even if they are, the mechanics of warehousing can be complex. Many publishers will charge back the cost of returns against the writer’s royalties. So, it’s in our mutual interest to avoid this. Perhaps we don’t need to be so keen to see our books get into bookshops except where we know we shall definitely sell.

All in a day’s editing

Working on the big edit

This in many ways is the trickiest. This is where the big changes happen. Does the story work? Is the structure sound? Is it all logical? Is the resolution satisfying? Does time work? Are the characters rounded and believable? Do they develop?

Generally speaking, if we’ve accepted something for publication, almost all of this is already in place. Unfortunately, alas, never completely. There’s always something to be done.

When we call for submissions

It can be quite exciting, watching the submissions coming in. We at Bridge House tend not to look at them until the submission period is over. We don’t want to start making decisions until we have the whole range.

However it’s disappointing when it’s clear that some people have just not read the guidelines. We’ve had several novels submitted. Nowhere on our site does it say we’re interested in novels. We have only ever published one novel and have decided that we prefer our anthologies of short stories.  Not that there is anything wrong with Laura Wilkinson’s Bloodmining. In fact, we’re rather proud of it. Our sister impring, The Red Telephone, publishes ya novels. But Bridge House's strength is definitely the short story. So, we’ve rejected these novels outright.  

We’ve also said that we don’t want children’s stories this time round. We’ve been sent a few.  I’ve actually not rejected these straight away. Some might be all right. They might fit in with our “snowflakes” theme.