Hello!
If you are anything like me, when you started writing, you had a cool story idea you wanted to share with the world, but you didn’t know a blessed thing about writing other than maybe how to type. Perhaps you’re good at spelling or grammar. Awesome! I am not going to get into the nitty-gritty of typing today or give you any tips on the mechanics (or GPS–grammar, punctuation, and spelling) in this post. Instead, I’m going to give you the stuff it took me forever to figure out.
First: A page, in the writing and publishing world, is 250 words. Word count is king. Since we don’t use typewritten manuscripts any more, no one counts by the literal page. Books come in a variety of formats; if you buy the same book in hardcover and trade paperback and count the words per page, you’ll see there are more words on the page of one than the other. So: 250 words.
Second: Don’t bother editing your writing for GPS until you’re completely done and your plot and characters are perfect. In my old writing group, there was a ferocious debate about whether it made sense to edit rough drafts. Some writers said that you wanted to put your best foot forward by polishing your draft before giving it to your partners to read. Editors, on the other hand, say “don’t do that,” and so do wise writers. You’re going to have to rewrite scenes; it doesn’t make sense to polish something that could be thrown out tomorrow. If your GPS is that bad, then do some polishing, but don’t hunt down and zap all your stray commas and their/there/they’re issues.
Third: Critique as much as you can. You want to find a writer’s group if at all possible, either online or offline. Libraries, bookstores, and cafes often have fliers or information about writers groups. Show other people your work, and read the works of others. It’s best to find a critique group whose writers write in your genre, or close to it.
Fourth: How drafts are named. I will go into what should be in each draft in a different post.
WIP: Your “work in progress.” Whatever you have prior to publication. Sometimes called a MS, or manuscript.
Zero draft: Some writers write a sort of half-draft, half-outline. That’s this.
Alpha draft: Your first completed draft, with no outline parts in it.
Beta draft: The next draft. Typically this one goes to beta readers and critique partners.
X draft: Your third, fourth, etc. draft. Replace the draft with a number.
Submission: The draft you send to your agent or publisher, your finished copy.
Galleys, Galley proofs: What your publisher sends you after all editing is done; you check this carefully to ensure that there are no typos and that everything looks right.