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Operation box
Nov. 16th, 2005 02:54 pmThis past weekend I spent some time organizing my writing room, and in particular going through all of the materials related to THE FIRST BETRAYAL, and deciding what I needed to keep and what I could toss.
Had a couple of thousand pieces of paper for the recycle bin this week. The original draft chapters with my critique partner's notes: tossed. The almost final drafts that I printed to look for final tweaks and typos: tossed. The hardcopy of the version I'd sent my agent: tossed. The duplicate copy of what I'd sent in to Bantam: tossed. Various scribbled notes on what I wanted to do during the revisions for book one tossed, along with a half-dozen out of date versions of the style sheet.
When finished, I then assembled the manuscript box. The bottom layer consists of the original proposal, along with my agent's feedback. Next layer is the revised proposal with my editor's comments, and finally the accepted version. On top of that is the manuscript I submitted to Bantam in June (with my editor's scribbled comments) and the revision letter. On top of that is the revised manuscript. Later I'll add in a photocopy of the copyedits and then a copy of the galleys. When I'm done, I label the box and place it on the storage shelves. If I ever need to refer back to it, I have the complete history of the project all in one place.
I thought that every writer organized themselves in this way, but when I told her what I'd been up to this weekend,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jennifer_dunne merely blinked in surprise.
In writing news, thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
booksquare for pointing out the Yale School of Management study that concludes negative reader reviews posted on Amazon.com and BN.com do influence sales. So those 1-star reviews written by trolls who couldn't be bothered to actually read your book aren't just annoying, they are potentially harmful. Fortunately internet sales are still a small share of the market, but it's a growing share.
ETA: Not all 1 star reviews are invalid--there are some books I've rated poorly. If it's an honest opinion that's fine. But I know several authors whose books have been trashed by completely bogus reviews, where it's obvious to everyone (except a potential buyer) that the reviewer hasn't read the book in question. Getting these reviews removed from Amazon.com is often an exercise in frustration for the author involved.
Had a couple of thousand pieces of paper for the recycle bin this week. The original draft chapters with my critique partner's notes: tossed. The almost final drafts that I printed to look for final tweaks and typos: tossed. The hardcopy of the version I'd sent my agent: tossed. The duplicate copy of what I'd sent in to Bantam: tossed. Various scribbled notes on what I wanted to do during the revisions for book one tossed, along with a half-dozen out of date versions of the style sheet.
When finished, I then assembled the manuscript box. The bottom layer consists of the original proposal, along with my agent's feedback. Next layer is the revised proposal with my editor's comments, and finally the accepted version. On top of that is the manuscript I submitted to Bantam in June (with my editor's scribbled comments) and the revision letter. On top of that is the revised manuscript. Later I'll add in a photocopy of the copyedits and then a copy of the galleys. When I'm done, I label the box and place it on the storage shelves. If I ever need to refer back to it, I have the complete history of the project all in one place.
I thought that every writer organized themselves in this way, but when I told her what I'd been up to this weekend,
jennifer_dunne merely blinked in surprise. In writing news, thanks to
booksquare for pointing out the Yale School of Management study that concludes negative reader reviews posted on Amazon.com and BN.com do influence sales. So those 1-star reviews written by trolls who couldn't be bothered to actually read your book aren't just annoying, they are potentially harmful. Fortunately internet sales are still a small share of the market, but it's a growing share.ETA: Not all 1 star reviews are invalid--there are some books I've rated poorly. If it's an honest opinion that's fine. But I know several authors whose books have been trashed by completely bogus reviews, where it's obvious to everyone (except a potential buyer) that the reviewer hasn't read the book in question. Getting these reviews removed from Amazon.com is often an exercise in frustration for the author involved.
