Love your editor

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It was finally finished. I’d just typed “The End.” Now what do I do?

September 2003. Yes all those years ago. I’d set out on a mission to write that novel the I was always going to write. The previous December I’d read Stephen King’s “On Writing” (it’s excellent BTW – part memoir, part lessons on writing). One of the key takeaways for me was King wrote 2,000 words a day, rain, hail or shine. Being new to all this then I best follow the master’s advice.

Surprisingly, I managed to do this on many of my writing days. I’d offered myself up in a company-wide redundancy program and my amazing wife encouraged me to take a sabbatical to “write that novel I’d been talking to her about all those years.”

I started with two words: “It’s time!” and a story about angels and demons. Then I wrote and wrote. Wrote some more. Didn’t really spend any time studying the craft as I took the view that I wanted to see if I had a story in me.

Lessons in Writing

And there I was. A manuscript. 250,000 words and 707 pages. Can you believe it?

Hey, I was a newbie. Didn’t know what to leave out. Makes me laugh now.

I then re-read it. Made a lot of changes but only reduced the pages by about 100.

I didn’t know any Christian authors and only had limited understanding of the American Christian market. But I knew I needed to find myself an editor. That’s the next step isn’t it? Write it, and then get it edited.

Yes, I’m in awe of those authors who write one draft, hand it to their editor and before long it’s on the bookshelves. Maybe that’ll be me one day, maybe not.

So I googled and discovered Clare on the south coast who edited Christian novels. Before too long I’d sent the entire manuscript to Clare (snail mail) and she did an “Editorial Review” for me.

And then Clare taught me to write.

Editing and more editing

Years passed. Angelguard had been re-written, put in the bottom drawer for five years, and then one of those God-moments occurred when it was clear it was time to dust it off and see how time had improved my storytelling and craft.

So I pulled out Clare’s notes (that I still refer to today) and rewrote Angelguard.

Lion Fiction took a chance on me. Thank you Tony Collins. Tony introduced me to Jan who overlaid even more editorial wisdom to the manuscript. Once we handed it back to Tony who did his own edit to arrive at the final publishable MS: 110,000 words and 323 pages.

Phew. I believe over five or six significant re-writes I wrote more than 500,000 words. But the final version still started where it did all those years ago with “It’s time!”

On Angelguard being published I looked up Clare to thank her for all she did in setting me up. Clare had passed away and I was fortunate to be able to locate her son who lives in England. I sent him a copy acknowledging the significant role his mum played. He hadn’t known much about his mum’s editing work and appreciated receiving the acknowledgment.  

Always Learning

Last week I received some feedback from an editor friend who had generously offered to read some of my latest WIP. Besides the fact I was blown away by her encouragement and detailed response, she provided me with confirmation of a number of areas I was concerned about.

Once again, I received a lesson in how to craft a great story. Further, as often happens, she proposed to kill off a scene that I would consider a darling. Yes, I squirmed at that but sometimes we need to let that scene or character go especially when it will improve the end product.

It gave me such a pickmeup even though I have more work to do.

So here’s to all the editors out there. Yes, I know you get well acknowledged in every book you edit and no doubt your authors love you to death.

To any newbie authors who perhaps have a ready manuscript and/or are in the publishing cycle, love your editor. It may take you a little time to find the right 'fit' and certainly there will be times when you disagree with your editor. Don’t be surprised if they suggest you kill some of your darlings, some of those scenes or characters that you’ve agonized over. Hey, there’ll be other manuscripts where you may find those darlings slot in just perfectly. But after your editor has finished with your MS, you’ll be a better author.

What’s a story you can recall of a particular time your editor helped you improve your manuscript. Was there a darling involved?

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is now available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Angelguard was recognised at the 2014 Selah Awards for Best Speculative Fiction. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

To Blog or Not to Blog?

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A week or so I reached a milestone on my blog: I published my 100^th post. Woo hoo.

I started writing blog posts 3 years ago, however, only started publishing them on my website in September last year. So in fact I’ve actually written about 250 posts but only 100 have seen the light of day.

My US distributor had encouraged me last year to become an active blogger writing two or three posts a week so I could build a community of readers who might then read Angelguard. But writing and publishing blog posts doesn’t necessarily get you readers. Readers, firstly, have to find your blog.

For six months or so I published two or three posts a week on various subjects: 

• my publishing journey
• some perspectives on spiritual warfare and prayer as that is what Angelguard is about,
• my musings on what I’m studying and reading,
• book reviews.

I don’t have many readers and that’s okay for now. It’s a journey which I’m enjoying.

Fiction vs Non-Fiction

The majority of fiction authors I read don’t blog. I read mostly in the suspense/thriller genre in the Christian market. There is one author who has published eight novels who now blogs consistently each week. However, this is uncommon amongst the authors I read.

That’s not to say other fiction authors don’t blog. There are a number of authors that share a blog so each author only writes once a week, fortnight or month depending on the number of collaborators.

It makes a lot of sense for non-fiction writers to blog. I read a lot of non-fiction and many of these authors blog consistently. They are able to share their “expertise” in blog posts.

However, for a fiction author it’s more challenging for a number of reasons:

1. Writing time is precious so when we do have time we want to be working on our manuscripts, not blog posts,
2. What do our readers what to read from us? Our stories. Certainly there is related material we can provide, for example, our publishing journey, character insights, deleted scenes, and so on. However, unless you have a lot of material this soon runs out.
3. There are alternative mechanisms for building one’s tribe of readers: email newsletters, Facebook, and so on.
4.  Lack of enjoyment from blogging.

Successful bloggers feed their readers. That’s why people keep coming back.

So why blog?

Agent Rachelle Gardner wrote a magnificent post on the subject late last year. I’d encourage you to read it.

Reasons why I continue to blog:

1. I enjoy it. I’m keen to establish a second writing voice, not just my novel voice. This helps me when drafting posts for ICFW, Christian Writers Downunder (CWD) and ACFW that I contribute to on a regular basis.
2. I love promoting other authors. So I now interview authors and promote their work with giveaways and such. This week I’m featuring Tosca Lee and Ted Dekker on the release of “Sovereign”.
3. It helps me explore aspects of my faith. Writing helps me crystallise my thinking. In addition, having others contribute to the discussion aids my thinking and I hope theirs.
4. I plan to add additional information that is relevant to the Angelguard Chronicles that I trust readers will enjoy.
5. I hope this experience will enable me to develop more guest spots on other relevant blogs. What is clearly evident in the non-fiction world, guest posting is very important in building one’s tribe and/or expertise.

Do you blog? What tips do you have for we novice bloggers? Would you like to blog? Did you blog but have now stopped? I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on blogging.

Take care and keep up that writing.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel, Angelguard, was released recently in US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter

Be a Barnabas

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I woke one particular morning last week thoroughly discouraged. I was struggling to understand how Angelguard was ever going to sell many copies when it appeared to only be carried by three retailers, all online ones.

I was excited having been advised ten days or so ago that stock had finally landed in the US after a month’s delay due to a bungle at the printers. This had been the second delay as the original launch date was November last year. However, my UK publisher were planning a big splash for the launch of their new fiction imprint, Lion Fiction, in March this year and decided to include Angelguard as part of the celebrations.

So to find out that none of the physical retails stores in the US were currently stocking it was disheartening.

Out of the Blue

I popped over to a blog I regularly visit and happened to notice a reply to a comment I had written a few days earlier.

BAM

I almost fell off my chair. This virtual friend shared some encouragement that blew my mind. Her words were confirmation of something I had pondered over for a while, but had never shared it with anyone else.

“Thank you, Lord,” I spoke out aloud to no one, bar Beanie our 15-week-old puppy.

He just has a way of doing that, I find. Words from out of nowhere arrive just at the moment you can do with them the most.

I stopped worrying about sluggish book sales.

Barnabas

I’ve always loved Barnabas’ story: Paul’s right hand man for the initial period of his ministry. Soon after Paul’s conversion (he was still know as Saul, in fact) he was trying to draw close to the disciples, however, “they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.” (Acts 9: 26b, NASB) It was Barnabas we are told in the following verses, who spoke up, encouraging the disciples to welcome Saul by describing his miraculous conversion.

There are other instances when Barnabas provides similar encouragement not just to Paul, but also to other believers. In fact, when we first meet Barnabas’ he was known as “Joseph” (his birth name) and it is the apostles who gave him the new name of Barnabas. (Acts 4:36-37) In Greek, Barnabas means “son of encouragement”. The apostles had first hand experience of his encouraging nature.

Surprising Reaction

The following day I was reading a newsletter from an author I follow. This newsletter was beautifully written revealing this author’s vulnerability regarding a number of personal matters. I sent a note expressing my concern and commitment to prayer. In addition, I asked a question about the launch plan for her upcoming novel.

I soon received a reply seeking some information regarding the question I had asked. I quickly provided that information and realised by the following response that I had been of encouragement and practical assistance regarding the launch plans.

I was chuffed. Here I was, a fan of this author, and she had benefited from my suggestion. It was a nice feeling to receive this author’s gracious response.

Sons and Daughters

Just like Barnabas, we too can be sons and daughters of encouragement. Every day I seek to encourage somebody. It might be as simple as a reply/RT of a tweet, a quick text message, an email, a DM saying I’m praying for you.

Discouragement is one of the key methods the enemy tries to dislodge people, to keep them from praying or reading the Bible. Even the most positive of people will experience regular moments of discouragement. An encouraging word can never go to waste.

As a reader I love connecting with an author if I’m able to. Most authors who have websites usually provide a means for contacting them. Drop your favourite a quick comment, telling them how much you enjoyed their recent novel. You might be surprised when they drop a note back saying thanks.

But don’t encourage expecting something in return. Simply give it, be the blessing, or the gift. Be surprised and gracious if a response does arrive.

I thought I’d leave you with this great quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

Be that someone today.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel, Angelguard, releases this month in the USA/Canada, UK in March and finally home sweet Oz, in May. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website and on his author Facebook page.

Introducing debut Australian Author Ian Acheson

If you're a fan of Frank Peretti's Darkness novels, you'll want to check out Ian Acheson's debut novel, Angelguard, from Kregel publishing which releases this month in the US and Canada and soon internationally.

I've invited Ian here today to tell us a little about himself and his new book.

Please tell us about yourself, Ian.

I’ve lived in Sydney, Australia, all of my 49 years. I have a twin brother, and two older siblings. I’m married to Fiona, and we have two sons, one has just turned 20, and the other is 17. I first came to know the Lord when I was a teenager, however, went through a rocky stage during my 30s. The Lord called me back 10 years ago.

I’m a freelance strategy consultant with a background in professional services, telecommunications and health.

How many years did it take to sell your first book?

10 years. Angelguard is my first novel. A number of people have told me my journey to publication is really interesting. I actually wrote a four-part post on the journey as it has paralleled my reawakening as a Christian. During these years I’ve sensed God’s active pursuit.

One key revelation I had on signing my contract was that our stories are God’s and He invites us to write them. Which is kinda cool, especially knowing that we have the Creator of the universe as our Executive Editor.

That is really cool. Tell us about Angelguard

Angelguard reveals the timeless supernatural war that continues unabated and how it intersects with our physical world. In bringing the warring angels and demons to the forefront of a rollicking tale that crosses the globe, I wanted to highlight the ferocity of this conflict. The physical story focuses on three acts of terrorism that occur within weeks of each other. 

Yikes, not for the faint of heart, then. What inspired you to write Angelguard?

Every week we hear of some natural disaster or act of war or terror being inflicted on the innocent. Increasingly, people are searching for spiritual answers amongst all the confusion, fear and mistrust created by these events. At the same time, we’re seeing an ever-increasing release of vampire, zombies, and other supernatural-type productions across all media channels.

I think many of us, both Christian and non-believers, don’t fully appreciate the battle that Jesus, Paul and Peter talk a lot about in the New Testament.

I expect most of you are familiar with Frank Peretti’s “Darkness” novels of the late 80s. These, together with the classics of Tolkien and CS Lewis, inspired me to write fiction that demonstrated the intersection of the physical and supernatural realms.

What are you working on now?

The sequel to the Angelguard Chronicles: Wrestling with Shadows. This novel will get a lot closer to the struggles we as individuals have with sin and the core influences that drive each of us.

I also spend time each week writing for my blog, ianacheson.com. This is a relatively new thing for me so I’m madly trying to produce, whilst learning all those new skills that are probably second nature for those of you experienced bloggers.

Where can fans find you or your books on the internet?

All the usual places you find Christian books on the web, such as Amazon, ChristianBooks.com and so on. The novel launches in the UK in late March and then in Australia around May. However, all ebook forms are available now.

Also, you can find Ian at his website: http://ianacheson.com/

And on Twitter: @achesonian

And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianachesonauthor

Thank you for visiting with us today, Ian. I'm looking forward to reading your book!

Sandra Orchard is the award winning author of several romantic suspense novels, including the RT’s Reviewer’s Choice award nominee, Critical Condition. She writes for Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense line, and her upcoming June release, Deadly Devotion, debuts her new mystery series with Revell Publishing. A member of ACFW, RWA and The Word Guild (Canada), Sandra loves to encourage other writers in their journey. She hails in Niagara, Canada. You can learn more about Sandra and fun bonus features for her books such as deleted scenes and location pics at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard