Guest Post: Judy Penz Sheluk on "Fine Tuning Your Manuscript"

It has been awhile since Judy was here with a guest post. She is back today discussing how, no matter how much you try to make the read perfect, an error can slip through the system.

Judy Penz Sheluk: Fine Tuning Your Manuscript

In my day job, I’m the Senior Editor of New England Antiques Journal a position I’ve held for close to a decade. I’ve done plenty of other editing work as well. I like to think I’m good at it.

But that’s other people’s work. Even editors need to find another set (or more) of eyes to review their manuscripts. With my short stories, I go to my husband, Mike, as the first (and usually last) line of attack—and I do mean attack. There isn’t a plot hole, no matter how minute, that Mike won’t find.

With my first novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose, I hired a developmental editor, and a copy editor. It was an expense (though I did shop around and get references) but I treated it as an educational experience, like a semester in college if you will. I don’t believe Noose would have ever seen publication without the expertise of those editors. And yes, I learned a lot.

With my second novel, Skeletons in the Attic, I relied on two beta readers as a first step. One is a professional proofreader, the other is a voracious reader of mysteries. As expected, the proofreader found a lot of the niggly stuff (missing commas, too many commas), while the voracious reader was quick to point out flaws in my characters’ actions. Once those revisions were incorporated, I had the manuscript printed and cerlox-bound for Mike. He likes to read in paper format and write notes in the margins. Let’s just say there were a lot of notes.

So you’d think every single mistake would have been found, right? Wrong. When my publisher for Skeletons assigned an editor, Todd Barselow, he managed to find a few more mistakes (although he did say the manuscript was very clean, which made me feel a little bit better). Here’s one example:

Callie Barnstable to Royce Ashford, contractor/next-door neighbor/possible love interest: “I really like the way you knocked down that wall in your house.”

Editor: When was she in his house? [Answer: in a previous draft, but certainly not in this one]

Once Todd and I completed three rounds of editing, the manuscript went to a proofreader before going into print and e-book formats. Let’s do the math: two beta readers, one very critical husband, one professional editor, three rounds of edits, one professional proofreader, one author involved every step of the way.

And yet…in Chapter 39, you’ll find this priceless treasure: Casual attire only. Shorts and t-shits or jeans and sweatshirts, depending on the temperature. That’s right. T-shits. It’s a new fashion trend, don’t you know?

ABOUT SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC

What goes on behind closed doors doesn’t always stay there…

Calamity (Callie) Barnstable isn’t surprised to learn she’s the sole beneficiary of her late father’s estate, though she is shocked to discover she has inherited a house in the town of Marketville—a house she didn’t know existed. However, there are conditions attached to Callie’s inheritance: she must move to Marketville, live in the house, and solve her mother’s murder.

Callie’s not keen on dredging up a thirty-year-old mystery, but if she doesn’t do it, there’s a scheming psychic named Misty Rivers who is more than happy to expose the Barnstable family secrets. Determined to thwart Misty and fulfill her father’s wishes, Callie accepts the challenge. But is she ready to face the skeletons hidden in the attic?

Judy Penz Sheluk ©2017

Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose, was published in July 2015. Skeletons in the Attic, the first book in her Marketville Mystery Series, was published in August 2016. Judy’s short crime fiction appears several anthologies.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Find Judy on her website/blog at www.judypenzsheluk.com where she interviews other authors and blogs about the writing life.

The Kindle version of SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC is on sale for $1.99 (reg. $4.99) through March 15^th.  http://getbook.at/SkeletonsintheAttic

Look for SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC in audiobook format, coming soon!