It's a private job. And oh, dear God, this woman cannot write. She's an extremely nice woman; I wish that all of my clients were so nice. But she cannot write
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Well, what's your goal? Do you want her to abandon the project (unlikely), try to fix it (possible), or flounce and self-publish unedited (AUGH)?
Option two is probably safest, if you can manage it. I would tell her that, while there could be a good story in there, it's drowning in a sea of overwriting and grammatical errors. Suggest that she take some classes in grammar and story structure, and maybe suggest a few good books in the genre for her to read (nothing Twilight-y, in other words).
Ideally, I think that she should abandon the project, but I agree that it's unlikely that she'll do so.
I've been trying to help her fix it for a long time, but it's intensely time-consuming and I have other manuscripts that I have to work on. I've explained about the overwriting, the repetitiveness, the grammar and punctuation problems, and the need to research; she seems baffled by all of this. I've asked her detailed worldbuilding questions, because the world, as it stands, is inconsistent; i have yet to get a single answer. I strongly suspect that she thinks that all a crappy manuscript needs is a good editor who can "polish it up," and then everything will be fine.
Suggest that she take some classes in grammar and story structure, and maybe suggest a few good books in the genre for her to read (nothing Twilight-y, in other words
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Well, Fifty Shades IS Twilight-ish. So yeah, none of that. ;)
Yeah, I'd give her the advice and tell her you think you've helped her all you can and you need to move on. Suggest she look for another editor. While I hate to saddle someone else with the story, maybe if multiple people tell her the same things, she'll start to listen. :-/
Tell her she may want to join an online workshop to get some critiques and input before you do more work on it.
Although...we've had more than one of these at DII, and it frustrates the heck out of critters when they indicate what a problem is and suggest fixes...then are totally ignored. lol
Still, a critique workshop might save her money and your sanity.
My first reaction is to say you can't tell her that the story is a turd - cue a flounce and her bad-mouthing you to other potential writers/sources of income
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I second this comment. I had a similar project a few years ago and I had to give up 100 pages into it. The book was...well, let's just say the author's id was showing and it wasn't pretty. ::shudders::
I was lucky because a) I didn't need the money and b) I was pregnant and able to say (truthfully!) that I didn't see myself able to finish the project before my son was born.
What I did that made me feel a little better was to give some very gentle overall comments on what I saw, trying very nicely to point out some enormous problems with the (lack of) plot and the obnoxious main character. I don't know if he took my advice, but I tried!
What I did that made me feel a little better was to give some very gentle overall comments on what I saw, trying very nicely to point out some enormous problems with the (lack of) plot and the obnoxious main character. I don't know if he took my advice, but I tried!
My first reaction is to say you can't tell her that the story is a turd - cue a flounce and her bad-mouthing you to other potential writers/sources of income.
I know. But I can't tell her that it's good. It honestly is not. And my explaining to her that the manuscript has X, Y and Z problems and here are some ways to fix X, Y and Z problems haven't gotten much response.
Otherwise, grit your teeth, do the best job you can, take the money and run. She will occupy herself trying to flog it to some unsuspecting publisher, end up self-publishing and then wonder why nobody wants to read it or the 300,000 word sequel she's already working on.
This is what I'm currently doing.
You could also direct her attention to any local writers' workshops where her classmates can tell her what you cannot.
That's an idea, though I know from experience that writers' workshops are not always critical of bad writing.
I estimate that I've done at least 2000 hours of work so far, and that there's at least another 10K needed. That's not hyperbole.
Sympathies. I think you're getting good advice here.
I'm wondering what exactly she said she was hiring you to do. If your mandate was simply to "edit", you have edited as best you can -- sometimes with someone who can't write, copyediting is all you can do for them, especially if they don't respond when you try to explain the other problems. If she has hired you to "make it publishable", then you clearly can't do that, so you'll have to tell her it needs more work. Either way, you can and should close out your involvement.
I've been in the same position a few times. My first experience was a would-be author writing a dystopian-utopian novel set after the collapse of civilization. The premises were rather unlikely, but my job was just to type, and I did. Though I did gently point out that ducks do not "soar overhead."
The mandate was to edit. Granted, she's thinking in terms of publication, but this was in the mode of "get this ready for me to start sending out, and don't worry, because there shouldn't be that many errors." She did say that it hadn't been proofed before, but she also said that she'd spent a lot of time getting it into shape.
So I really wasn't expecting such a wealth of errors and overwriting. I just finished a chapter where she itemized every single step the two leads took. As in--every time that they moved or paused or leaned against something. Hell, she has mentioned turning a doorknob three inches to the left! She needs to leave stuff out, and she doesn't know how to.
Either way, you can and should close out your involvement.
I'm going to have to. This thing is so damned time-consuming.
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Option two is probably safest, if you can manage it. I would tell her that, while there could be a good story in there, it's drowning in a sea of overwriting and grammatical errors. Suggest that she take some classes in grammar and story structure, and maybe suggest a few good books in the genre for her to read (nothing Twilight-y, in other words).
Actually, here are some really good responses to some really poor writing, if you want to crib off their notes: http://dearauthor.com/features/first-page-features/first-page-unpublished-manuscript-fictionromance/
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I've been trying to help her fix it for a long time, but it's intensely time-consuming and I have other manuscripts that I have to work on. I've explained about the overwriting, the repetitiveness, the grammar and punctuation problems, and the need to research; she seems baffled by all of this. I've asked her detailed worldbuilding questions, because the world, as it stands, is inconsistent; i have yet to get a single answer. I strongly suspect that she thinks that all a crappy manuscript needs is a good editor who can "polish it up," and then everything will be fine.
Suggest that she take some classes in grammar and story structure, and maybe suggest a few good books in the genre for her to read (nothing Twilight-y, in other words ( ... )
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Yeah, I'd give her the advice and tell her you think you've helped her all you can and you need to move on. Suggest she look for another editor. While I hate to saddle someone else with the story, maybe if multiple people tell her the same things, she'll start to listen. :-/
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Although...we've had more than one of these at DII, and it frustrates the heck out of critters when they indicate what a problem is and suggest fixes...then are totally ignored. lol
Still, a critique workshop might save her money and your sanity.
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I was lucky because a) I didn't need the money and b) I was pregnant and able to say (truthfully!) that I didn't see myself able to finish the project before my son was born.
What I did that made me feel a little better was to give some very gentle overall comments on what I saw, trying very nicely to point out some enormous problems with the (lack of) plot and the obnoxious main character. I don't know if he took my advice, but I tried!
Good luck.
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I hope that works in this case. *crosses fingers*
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I know. But I can't tell her that it's good. It honestly is not. And my explaining to her that the manuscript has X, Y and Z problems and here are some ways to fix X, Y and Z problems haven't gotten much response.
Otherwise, grit your teeth, do the best job you can, take the money and run. She will occupy herself trying to flog it to some unsuspecting publisher, end up self-publishing and then wonder why nobody wants to read it or the 300,000 word sequel she's already working on.
This is what I'm currently doing.
You could also direct her attention to any local writers' workshops where her classmates can tell her what you cannot.
That's an idea, though I know from experience that writers' workshops are not always critical of bad writing.
I estimate that I've done at least 2000 hours of work so far, and that there's at least another 10K needed. That's not hyperbole.
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You say very politely that the needs of this manuscript don't match well with your editing skills, you give her a bill, and you wish her luck.
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I'm wondering what exactly she said she was hiring you to do. If your mandate was simply to "edit", you have edited as best you can -- sometimes with someone who can't write, copyediting is all you can do for them, especially if they don't respond when you try to explain the other problems. If she has hired you to "make it publishable", then you clearly can't do that, so you'll have to tell her it needs more work. Either way, you can and should close out your involvement.
I've been in the same position a few times. My first experience was a would-be author writing a dystopian-utopian novel set after the collapse of civilization. The premises were rather unlikely, but my job was just to type, and I did. Though I did gently point out that ducks do not "soar overhead."
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So I really wasn't expecting such a wealth of errors and overwriting. I just finished a chapter where she itemized every single step the two leads took. As in--every time that they moved or paused or leaned against something. Hell, she has mentioned turning a doorknob three inches to the left! She needs to leave stuff out, and she doesn't know how to.
Either way, you can and should close out your involvement.
I'm going to have to. This thing is so damned time-consuming.
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