Tuesday Tidbit: On wearing feathers

Good words from Mick Silva, professional writing coach, editor, and encourager

Today let’s welcome Mick Silva as a guest blogger for our SM 101 family. 

He works with inspirational memoirists and novelists 

to structure, rewrite and refine their books, present to publishers,

 and establish themselves as writers. 

Mick is a frequent conference speaker, blogger, 

and coauthor with Emily Wierenga of 

How to Write Inspirational Memoir.
Check out Mick on Facebook, Higher Purpose Writers.

So settle in, maybe pour yourself a cup of coffee, and take in Mick’s encouragement:

Somewhere around the first six weeks of coaching, most every writer gets overwhelmed. It’s usually around the third month that folks start realizing not all is lost, that maybe it’s just a natural part of the process to feel you’re at the bottom of a pit and now’s the time to decide how you’re going to get out and move forward.

I’ve lost count now how many times I’ve seen this in the past sixteen years. But it’s always a challenging process and it can surprise people how much goes into a successful story.

The answer to that, in case you’re wondering, is a lot.

Every writer I work with starts with a goal, a deep desire that guides the story. They want what we all want: the truth, clarity, and to finally give it voice. But there’s something more, too. Something uniquely important to them that makes it special.

So we dig for the truth. And soon, it becomes clear that what we think our deep desire is and what the reason really is—they’re rarely the same thing.

Next comes some soul searching. The vision gets hammered out and it gets affirmed and acknowledged. Then more writing and reevaluating it for a while, and some of the hidden themes start to arise in the edit, and we look at the vision again and revise it.

I suppose this needs explaining. Yet, I doubt it’s surprising. It takes time to accept our true motives and desires. But that’s something of a hidden benefit of the writing and editing process.

Another is the power of working through the memories and discovering where Jesus was in your experience. Often, we fail to realize He’s been with us in the darkest suffering, and that lack of understanding blinds us to gratitude and limits our experience of grace. The process of reawakening the story of our past literally re-members us, fusing parts together again into a cohesion of greater wholeness.

What was broken gets mended. That’s a deeper goal of many memoirists. And it’s always my privilege to see that healing happen.

A third, and by no means final, benefit of writing our stories is providing definition to the unexamined lessons in our experience. People don’t realize the treasure that’s buried inside; it’s silent and invisible. Yet it has great value, and when we take the time to dig it up, we can use it. Until then, we’re in danger of being like the wicked servant who kept his treasure “safe.” Safe is not a big priority for the master. He likes a return on his investments.

That’s the “higher purpose” I talk about and it’s why I love coaching and discussing stories at writer’s conferences. I once heard Walter Wangerin call it the “undefined wilderness” inside us. And this treasure remains like an untamed chaos until we use our power—the indivisible Word from the Author and Originator—to name and define those inner riches.

There are themes and points of connection others will identify with in your story. What healing might come in recognizing your experience is like theirs, and theirs is like others’? What greater life could these universal experiences bring, deeper confidence and sense of identity, if people only realized these treasures must be dug up and invested in order to influence our world, our future, our children?

This discovery of our buried experience is vital to life. Because we are, as Viktor Frankl said, meaning-making machines: “He who has a why can bear any how.”

Why do we write? I think deep down, it’s to make meaning. Whatever else it is, the writing is an investigative process that helps define our lives. What we or others make of the story is less important; the vital thing is to take the journey.

When I started working as an editor in 2000, I was mostly interested in getting a leg up as a prospective author. As an aspiring novelist, I needed an education. I hoped it’d take two years, but it turned into five, which turned into another five, and now I’ve been coaching and editing for six more. I suppose I’ve stopped trying to get out of being an editor. I won’t stop writing either, but God has shown me a wider world and He’s caught my attention with the incredible lives I’ve encountered.

There’s nothing more rewarding than unearthing a story others will come and relate with. Books are relationships, and some may be more meaningful than any other we’ll experience in life. They could awaken someone to the world and life around them. I can’t dismiss that. A writer is an excavator who felt a kinship with some author, possibly long-dead, and wishes one day to discuss life and love with them.

And I’m honored to get to continue facilitating and encouraging the conversations.

Thanks, Mick!

And here’s a P.S. from Mick:

“For new (uncontracted) writers, I offer monthly coaching which amounts to a weekly chat about your chapters and you turning in a handful of pages for me to comment on. We start with writing your vision and outline, and then set up a working schedule (which usually gets adjusted at least twice). But that’s a big part of how I help writers, especially inspirational memoirists who have the hardest writing job there is (don’t tell the other writers). Not only do they have to tell the truth with the tools of good fiction writing, they also have to tell the spiritual story behind that story, which is very difficult to do well. It’s why I do this and why I coauthored an ebook on it, and ultimately why my favorite people are inspirational memoirists.”


Mick sent me his editing rates but I can't figure out how to provide you with a link, so please contact Mick directly at micksilvaediting@gmail.com. (Sorry, Mick!)

Mick Silva has been an acquiring editor for Focus on the Family (2000-2005), WaterBrook Multnomah (Penguin Random House) (2005-2010), and Windblown Media (publishers of The Shack) (2008-2013), and now is coach and editor for authors with Zondervan, WaterBrook Multnomah, IVPress, and several other CBA houses. Mick lives with his wife and two daughters in Portland, Oregon.

Your publishing options

When you have edited and rewritten and polished your manuscript until it’s the very best you can make it, you’ll want to publish your memoir.

I’m not going to recommend a publisher because in recent years the industry has changed significantly and continues to do so. But you have several options:  (a) traditional publishing, or (b) indie publishing (independent publishing, sometimes called self-publishing, including POD—print on demand), or (c) something else—like photocopied and bound at an office supply store. (One of my friends wrote her stories by hand and that’s okay too. What a treasure that will be for generations to come!)

Some people, especially older ones, turn their noses up at indie publishing—they believe the only respectable publishing choice is traditional publishing. Indie publishing used to have a bad reputation because authors didn’t write well, edit well, or format well.

But indie publishing has improved greatly in recent years. Most companies offer packages that include editing, formatting, and other helps. Some companies are so professional nowadays that a number of established writers are choosing the indie option, including authors who have had previous success with traditional publishing.

If you choose indie publishing, I strongly recommend that you have critique partners and beta readers go over your manuscript. If they do their job well, you can consider both as your best friends and allies—they’ll help you work hard to make your manuscript as professional as possible. (Be sure to read Belinda Pollard’s informative post, What is a beta reader and why do I need one? Don’t miss the additional links she put at the bottom of her post.)

In addition, consider hiring a professional editor before you publish your memoir. This is pricey, but if you’re striving for professional quality, hiring an editor is, in most cases, a must. And, like critique partners and beta readers, you can consider an editor another of your best friends and allies in helping you craft a professional manuscript. (If you are already skilled in editing, critique partners and beta readers might be all you need. Watch for more on editing in a future blog post.)

Explore the internet for indie publishing companies and you’ll find a variety of options, packages, qualities, and prices. It’s mind-boggling. Get recommendations from other published writers.

If possible, get an in-person look at a book published by each company you’re interested in. You might be surprised at how different the finished books are when it comes to (1) paper quality, (b) font choice and size, (c) spacing of lines and margins, and (d) photos.

For example, take a look inside a few indie books:

In the photo below, notice that the paper is so thin you can see writing on the back side of the page. In fact, you can even see the print on the page before it! This might be #20 or #24 pound paper like you use in your printer at home.  In my opinion, 70# paper is the best. Don’t settle for anything less than #50.

In this next picture, the author typed his manuscript on a manual typewriter—the letter t in the word “often” gives it away.  Bless his heart! (In my youth and young adulthood I typed thousands of pages on manual typewriters so I know what a task that was for him.)

Notice that sometimes he left one space between words, other times two spaces. When you format your manuscript, be sure you’ve put only one space between words and only one space between sentences.

Compare the above picture with the one below which was not typed with a manual typewriter; this looks like Times New Roman  font, which is  popular. Once in a while you’ll run across a book using one of the sans-serif fonts like Helvetica.

Also notice this page has more space between the lines than the one above. Such spaces make reading easier.

In this next picture, notice the smaller spacing between lines as well as the margin, which is only 3/8". That narrow margin is something to avoid.

  

In the picture below, you'll see a good space between lines and a good margin at 9/16". 

In the photo below, notice how close the lines are together as well as the very narrow margin, only 3/8". It doesn't look user-friendly to most people. 

Include plenty of white space on your book's pages. Compare the photo above with the photo below.

Strive for quality photos. Below is an example of a poor quality photo and it's from my first memoir. I made the mistake of not checking with the publisher as to the quality I could expect. I won't do that again!

Compare that with the good photo below. Night and day difference!

It’s not easy to choose a way to publish your memoir. If you choose indie publishing, you’ll have to decide how much money you want to spend. Click on links below to compare the following companies. (If you want less pricey options, soon I’ll write about a couple of more affordable POD options, that is, Print On Demand.)

HIS Publishing Group

Gold Publishing Package 

Silver Publishing Package  

Basic Publishing Package    

Westbow Press packages  

iUniverse black and white packages 

In making your decision, note such things as whether the indie publisher does cover design, provides editing services, an ISBN number, a US copyright, and book distribution.

Also check to see if color photos are an option; if not, ask yourself if you’re okay with black and white. Either way, check out the quality you can expect from each company by asking to see, with your own eyes, one or more of their books. Strive for quality photos. Make it your business to learn how to use a photo editing program to make your photos the best quality they can be. Poor photo quality is the most irksome problem I’ve seen in indie books.

Once you choose your publisher, you’ll still have a lot of work to do, but if you’ve done your homework well and strive for a professional product, if you write well, edit well, and format well, you could be very happy when you hold your published memoir in your hands and when you give copies to your family and friends.