Reddit Reddit reviews Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print

We found 27 Reddit comments about Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
William Morrow Company
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27 Reddit comments about Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print:

u/av1cenna · 15 pointsr/writing

I can give you three books that I recommend without reservation. The first is the easiest to read and a solid introduction to fiction editing. The second goes into more depth, with an excellent workflow for the revising process in the latter chapters. The third is the most dense, like a college class in fiction editing with a focus on how the 19th and 20th century masters actually revised their works, but it is also the most thorough.

Self-editing for Fiction Writers (written by two editors)

Stein on Writing (written by an accomplished editor)

Revising Fiction (written by an college professor, writer and editor)

u/megazver · 5 pointsr/writing
u/blue58 · 4 pointsr/booksuggestions

That's a deep rabbit hole, if you allow it.

There are different books for different parts of writing. Some focus on plot [Story Engineering], others talk you out of blocks [Bird by Bird]. Some deal with immersion [Wired for Story], others warn you of newbie errors [edit yourself]. Some only talk about the first page. [Hooked]

If you specify what you want the most, I can probably get more specific. The best way to deal with grammar, other than the dry "Elements of Style", is to take a free Cousera course, or OWLs online and test yourself. I also love this blog for crazy awesome advice both current and in her backlog.


Edit: Also too: Might as well hang out at /r/writing and pop in from time to time at /r/grammar

u/kaliena · 4 pointsr/writing

If you're feeling sadistic, go read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

I can guarantee you that you will pick apart EVERYTHING you try to read for pleasure for at least a few months after. You'll be able to identify, in painful, precise detail, what you hate about the YA voice and what you would change in what you are currently reading.

Try to avoid reading your all time favorite author. It's never good to meet your Gods.

u/mcrumb · 3 pointsr/AskReddit

A couple quick thoughts:

1> You have to really commit to your story. We're talking marriage level commitment here, none of this half-hearted crap. Treat your characters like they are real. Tell them that their story is worth telling, and promise to tell it for them. This is, of course, only necessary if you're really serious about writing a book. Otherwise it's just silly.


2> Set a daily quota. 1000 words a day. On days that you can't find any new words for your story, write notes about your story. This means writing when you don't feel like writing. This means closing your browser.


3> You can learn how to write a book. Natural talent is important, but your work ethic is much more important. There are more than a few instructional books out there that are very good. I recommend starting with Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. It's exceptional, and the chapter on active voice versus passive voice is critical to effective storytelling.


Best of Luck to you. Looking forward to reading more.

u/ngoodroe · 3 pointsr/writing

Here are a few I think are good:

Getting Started

On Writing: This book is great. There are a lot of nice principles you can walk away with and a lot of people on this subreddit agree it's a great starting point!

Lots of Fiction: Nothing beats just reading a lot of good fiction, especially in other genres. It helps you explore how the greats do it and maybe pick up a few tricks along the way.

For Editing

Self-Editing For Fiction Writers: there isn't anything in here that will blow your writing away, land you an agent, and secure a NYT bestseller, but it has a lot of good, practical things to keep an eye out for in your writing. It's a good starting place for when you are learning to love writing (which is mostly rewriting)

A Sense of Style by Steve Pinker: I really loved this book! It isn't exclusively about fiction, but it deals with the importance of clarity in anything that is written.

Garner's Modern American Usage: I just got this about a month ago and have wondered what I was doing before. This is my resource now for when I would normally have gone to Google and typed a question about grammar or usage or a word that I wasn't sure I was using correctly. It's a dictionary, but instead of only words, it is filled with essays and entries about everything a serious word-nut could spend the rest of their^1 life reading.

^1 ^Things ^such ^as ^the ^singular ^their ^vs ^his/hers

Publishing

Writer's Market 2016: There are too many different resources a writer can use to get published, but Writer's Market has a listing for Agents, publishers, magazines, journals, and contests. I think it's a good start once you find your work ready and polished.

There are too many books out there that I haven't read and have heard good things about as well. They will probably be mentioned above in this thread.

Another resource I have learned the most from are books I think are terrible. It allows you to read something, see that it doesn't work, and makes you process exactly what the author did wrong. You can find plenty of bad fiction if you look hard enough! I hope some of this helps!

u/WillWeisser · 3 pointsr/scifiwriting

"How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy" is a good book, there's some useful stuff in it. But for a raw beginner it doesn't hold a candle to Ben Bova's "The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells" (http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Writing-Science-Fiction-Sells/dp/0898796008).

Some other books I recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Characters-Emotion-Viewpoint-Techniques-Viewpoints/dp/1582973164

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690 (note: despite the title, I'd recommend reading this before you write a book).

http://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816

Mr. Coorlim is right however that you should ignore anything you read about the business side of writing. It's all changing too quickly now for any book to keep up.

u/Rechan · 2 pointsr/horrorlit
u/Gundari22 · 2 pointsr/writing

I'm fortunate in that I married an editor, but I have read

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504296604&sr=8-1&keywords=self+editing+for+fiction+writers

I certainly don't think it's the end-all-be-all of self editing. The writers come off as a bit full of themselves, they can lean a bit too heavily on examples, and they sometimes take a little too long getting to the point (I'm also a little impatient at times). BUT there is some good stuff in there.

u/NerdyLyss · 2 pointsr/FanFiction

Off the top of my head, I tend to refer to these four the most:

Self-Editing For Fiction Writers -- When it comes to editing, this book is what helped me break things down and showed me how to get the most out of my writing in a way that clicked.

Alan Moore's writing for Comics -- Nifty if you're really into comics or want to write your own. Spotted this in a thrift store. Best $1.00 I ever spent.

On Writing Horror -- Writer's Digest has quite a few of books on writing. And they all have exercises and excerpts, but out of the small collection that I have this one is my favorite. Kind of gave me an idea of what to watch out for. It's like reading bits of advice from different authors.

The negative Trait Thesaurus -- Actually, I love the entire series as a resource. The kindle has to be good for something. (Much cheaper) But it helps keep my traits together and my character's reactions from getting stale. Out of everything I'm always pulling these books out.

*Started with three, but I really had to mention the trait thesauruses.

u/boxingmantis · 2 pointsr/writing

I learned a lot from reading copyeditor manuals, not style guides. I recommend this book for revision work.
Editors learn about the publishing industry on the job, but craft is kinda incidental.

u/snookums · 2 pointsr/writing

The author of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers mentioned in the forward to the second edition that they had added advice on where embellishment should be instead of just where it shouldn't be for precisely this reason. So many books on writing emphasize simplifying your sentence structure that I think a lot of newbie writers develop a complex about it.

u/scottoden · 2 pointsr/writing

If you're planning to go the traditional route, then it's absolutely necessary that you learn to self-edit your own work. Brown and King's Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is an excellent book that teaches the basics of what you need to know to give your work a good polish.

u/AnOddOtter · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is hands down the best book I've read for creative writing.

Stephen King's On Writing is also very good, but about half of it is a biography more than writing lessons; still interesting though!

Otherwise the best things you can do are to write more, read more (think like a writer though - why did they choose the words they did, the order they did, the perspective, etc.), and seek critique for your own work.

For more formal writing, the most important part is keeping it organized. For example, once you get comfortable with the 5-paragraph formula, you just modify it to fit your need each time and you can pound out an essay in no time once you have your research on hand.

u/Fishbowl_Helmet · 2 pointsr/writing

Just start. You read mass quantities as broadly as possible, you read as much in your genre--or genres--of choice as possible, and you write as often as possible. You finish what you start, you revise what you've finished, and you read the final result with a critical eye in the hopes of improving your craft. It's simple. The shit just ain't easy.

Start simple. Pick your favorite genre. Write some short stories in that genre. Use either first person ("I shot the sheriff") or third person ("He shot the sheriff"). And use past tense ("He shot the sheriff") instead of present tense ("He shoots the sheriff"). You can branch out from there once you get the basics down.

Grab a few of the best how to books in your genre(s) of choice, but don't stop writing as often as possible, and don't just keep on reading every how to book ever published.

One of the best books is a general reference, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

But really, it comes down to read, read, read, and write, write, write.

u/eunicepark · 2 pointsr/writing

I found this book on editing very helpful. I think you can find it online for free, too, if you hunt around a bit.

u/whimsyNena · 2 pointsr/WritingPrompts

Where do you live (State / Country)?
Indiana

Male, female, other?
Female

How long have you been writing?
If you count the really weird book my friend and I typed up on WordPad back in 1999, it's been 18 years.

What is your writing motivation?
I would love to one day find an agent who can get a book with my name on the cover in physical bookstores across the world.

What programs do you use to write?
Microsoft Word... and also a really battered journal.

How fast can you type?
77 WPM (4 errors, adjusted to 73)

Want to share a photo?
It's up, at the very bottome :D

Promotions

r/whimsywrites

My favorite author

My favorite writing book

My other favorite writing book

None of those are affiliate links. And if you can, buy them in print from an actual bookstore!

u/jtwritesthings · 2 pointsr/writing

https://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690 A lot of it might seem a bit obvious if you already have editing knowledge, but as an editing beginner I found this book to be super helpful.

u/Zoobles88 · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Morthy demands:

old posh Englishman: old posh Englishmen like to write, right? (Writing Stuff)

Never seen in public: these slippers would look ridiculous in public (Other Stuff)

Most phallic: this is the best I've got(Other Stuff)

Akeleie demands:

Most geeky: probably my Adipose toy (Other Stuff)

Achieve a goal: I would love to be a writer (Writing Stuff)

Deserted island: who doesn't need a ukulele on and island? (Other Stuff)

Thanks for the contest!! :D

u/ScotchDream · 1 pointr/writing

You could check this out.

Every time I'm chatting and trying to say something as fast as possible I press enter/send after every sentence (or single coherent thought). Maybe if you broke it up into multiple lines without adding punctuation and put it in a block quote. Maybe even add time stamps from the chat or other formating IM has. Would make it more legible at least.

edit: You should also get this just because.

u/Chris_the_mudkip · 1 pointr/Cyberpunk

I'm going to recommend this book to you: Self-Editing For Fiction Writers Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print

You may also want to check out: Dynamic Characters and Story Engineering

u/Letheron88 · 1 pointr/writing

I'm not sure about what questions you could ask a coach, but any information i'd ever want to learn about writing can be found in the following books:

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444723251

Stein on Writing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0312254210

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0060545690

Maybe some questions you can answer for us? Why have you sought out a writing coach? What kind of writing do you do? How long have you been writing and at what level?

You may get some better responses after these questions. :)

u/blin18 · 1 pointr/writing

You can write internal monologue from either perspective. If your book is 3Rd person limited perspective, then you can slip seamlessly into internal monologue using the same 3Rd person past.

Or, if you want to zoom in really close, use first person present for monologue. In these cases, you are using the exact words that play in the characters head. The convention for this type is to use italics. This signals the change of perspective to the reader.

There is a chapter on internal monologue in this excellent book on self editing. If this is the sort of problem that interests you then you'll love the book.

u/dykewriter · 1 pointr/eroticauthors

In terms of self editing, I found this book incredibly helpful. It comes up a lot in discussions about self editing on various forums, so I finally bit the bullet and bought a copy, and it's really helped me step my editing game up.

u/sykosqueak · 1 pointr/writing
u/Johnletraingle · 1 pointr/writing

There's no shortage of both paid and free resources.

​

I would recommend:

​

  1. Robert Mckee's "Dialogue". The definitive tome on writing dialogue.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1455591912/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

    ​

  2. "Self -editing for fiction writers". All-round comprehensive book on craft. Covers all aspects of writing, with clear straightforward advice.

    https://www.amazon.com/Self-Editing-Fiction-Writers-Second-Yourself/dp/0060545690/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_pt_BR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=self+editing+for+writers&qid=1563126077&s=books&sr=1-1

    ​

  3. "Helping writers become authors" podcast. Heavily focused on craft and technique.

    Listen for free here:

    ​

    https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/podcasts/