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Make your novel manuscript stand out to publishers, agents, and readers.

Worth and Soul of Words newsletter by Ken Baker, author for young readers

Worth and Soul of Words, June 2024 newsletter by Ken Baker, author for young readers

Level up your novel manuscript - Featuring editor of NY Times bestselling novels, Kristina Kugler

Do you know how often bestselling authors revise their novels?

The most successful books go through several rounds of revisions before publication. For example, a variety of sources indicate that J.K. Rowling, Tom Clancy, Terry Pratchett, Stephenie Meyer and Brandon Sanderson all go through at least five to six revisions on their books, and even more on some books.

Why so many revisions? Answers vary by author, but often its too uncover and fix plot, setting, character, prose, and other issues that initially alluded them. Several different strategies exist for revising, but they often involve a two‐pronged approach; the What and How

The What approach often involves looking for specific problems in each draft. A review of the first draft might focus on uncovering plot inconsistencies, gaps, and engagement. The second review might focus on transporting the reader into the world by making the setting come alive with the use of the five senses or by giving it a history and presence that feels real. Further reviews will likely focus on making the characters fully‐rounded, engaging, distinguishable, unique, and likeable (or despicable ). Some rounds of revision will focus on prose, sentence structure, tone, and grammar. Each author has their own list of What's.

The How approach involves how you go about making the reviews needed for each round of revisions. The How might look something like this :

  • 1st draft review by author.
  • 2nd draft review by objective and expert alpha readers.
  • 3rd draft review by author to make sure the latest revision didn’t introduce new problems and determine if the author executed what they wanted with the alpha reader feedback.
  • 4th draft review by objective and expert beta readers.
  • 5th draft review by author with similar goals as the 3rd draft review.
  • 6th draft optional review by family, friends, or fans to get real‐world reactions.

Some authors will add other stages or reorder them. But three most important aspects of the revision process are 1) Have others read your work with honest objectivity, 2) Take time to step away from the manuscript you re‐review each time with a fresh look, and 3) Review and revise the manuscript multiple time with specific goals each time. As part of the revision process, sometimes authors will engage the services of a professional editor to evaluate or provide developmental edits to their manuscripts. While this isn't a necessity, it can be very helpful.

Editor of NY Times bestselling novels, Kristina Kugler

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Shout out!

Interview with Kristina Kugler, manuscript editor for NY Times bestselling novels

As part of my revision process for a Victorianesque fantasy novel that I'm close to completing, I engaged the manuscript evaluation services of Kristina Kugler, a manuscript editor for Looseleaf Editorial & Production. Kristina has edited author manuscripts that went on to become NYT bestselling novels. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Kristina on the topic of manuscript revisions and best practices.

Me: Kristina, start with telling me a little bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a professional editor.

Kristina: When I was little, I decided that when I grew up, I was going to work at a job where I got paid to read all day long.

And at first I thought I wanted to be an author myself. Or maybe a librarian, but as I got older, I realized they didn't get to read all day long. They had to do other things. But when I went to college, I realized that if you're editing books, you do get to read all day long and get paid for it. And so that's kind of how I decided to become an editor.

Me: You do both manuscript editing and evaluations. Explain the difference between the two.
Kristina: Manuscript evaluation is basically an overview of a manuscript. I just go through major trends or issues that I'm seeing in a work. I'll look at where their characters are working, if the plot is working, if the pace is working.

With editing, I actually do several different kinds of editing. I do developmental editing, which is basically the in‐depth version of a manuscript evaluation. I'll still look at the same big picture items, but instead of just one editorial letter for the whole book, I also give extensive chapter by chapter feedback within the manuscript.

I also do line editing, which is more clarity of the words and organization. It's more than artistry and one of my favorite parts.

Me: What have been some of your favorite manuscripts that you've edited or evaluated?
Kristina: I love almost every project, but I had the chance to line edit Rhythm of War, which is book four in the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. That was such a fun and challenging project because there's such a huge world and the characters are so complex. And it was really, really fun to help refine the language and get it just right to fit the characters and what was happening.

And then I really enjoy one of my favorite authors, Janci Patterson, who is also co‐authored with Brandon Sanderson with his Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series, and wrote the last book in the series, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians. She also wrote in his Skyward series and has a lot of stand‐alones of her own. She is just a delight to work with. I love her work and love working with her.

Me: In your opinion, why is it important for an author to have someone else with your expertise take a look at a manuscript and, and give the author that additional insight before they try to publish it or send it to an agent or publishing house.
Kristina: As the author, you know the story you're trying to tell. It's all there in your head. You know everything. You know their motivations. You know why they're doing the things they're doing and where you're going. But even the very best authors don't always get that on the page right away.

A professional opinion can help you see that maybe their motivation isn't clear, or there's a plot hole. Having that professional opinion can really help you pinpoint where things are working the way you want them to and where they're not quite there yet.

Me: What are the main things you look at when evaluating a manuscript?
Kristina: The first thing I always look at is character. I want to know if the characters are working. If their motivations and interactions make sense. With fantasy and sci fi, I look a lot at the worldbuilding, making sure that's clear. I look at if the voice is working. I look at plot and make sure that everything's coming together and it's making sense.

Me: What are some of the most common mistakes that authors make?
Kristina: They forget to make all of their characters fully fleshed people.

Me: How do you suggest to them to make sure they are fully fleshed out?
Kristina: A great way is to make sure that they're reacting to things and acting like a person would. A lot of times you can drop in your own life. How would I feel right now if this was happening? How is this feeling coming out in the way that they are acting, the details your character is noticing, like, if they're afraid, do they stop breathing for a second? How does that feel in their body? Add in the emotion. Those are things that you can convey on the page to make people feel more real.

Me: What are some of the most important things an author can do with their story to make it stand out and engage readers?
Kristina: Like what you're writing. Write what you want to read. If you're excited about what you're writing and the story that you're trying to tell, it's going to be a lot easier to translate that to the page and to make it stand out because it's something you're passionate about.

Me: Any other advice you'd like to give?
Kristina: Writing groups are super helpful. But it can't just be anybody. It's super helpful to have people who read in the genre that you're working in. You need somebody who's willing to say, this isn't working and this isn't working. And then you also want somebody who is a great cheerleaders because publishing is hard for even the most seasoned writer. It's great to have advice on your manuscript, but in the end, you are the author. It's your decision. It's your story.

* To see and hear all the other wonderful advice and insights from Kristina, watch the full interview at www.kenbakerbooks.com/expert_kristina_kugler.html

To inquire about manuscript edits or evaluations, visit Looseleaf Editorial & Production or contact Kristina directly at kristina [at] kuglerworld [.com]

Book business and life ‐

Final revision stages

As I mentioned above, I'm in the final phases of preparing a fantasy novel set in a Victorianesque world to submit to a publisher for consideration. Hopefully, more news on that in the future.

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Heart with a summer sun Heart image by Ken Baker

What I love

Family joy

Summer! I love summertime. It's a season full of time spent with family and going on adventures, including the fun of getting wet in pools, river floats, whitewater rapids, lakes, and beaches.

P.S. - If you liked this issue of Worth & Soul of Words, please share it with others. Thanks.

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Thank you Thank You image by Ken Baker

Thank you to Kristina Kugler for taking time to participate in this month's newsletter.

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Copyright 2001-2023 by Ken Baker

How to Care for your T-Rex pictures by Dave Coverly
Old MacDonald had a Dragon pictures by Christopher Santoro
Brave Little Monster pictures by Geoffrey Hayes
Cow Can't Sleep pictures by Steve Gray