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Does Editing a Manuscript Help get it Published? Part 9 of 12

June 8, 2009

Welcome to all the new people, if you haven’t done so please feel free to look this blog over, and leave comments. It only take a minute to write something and it’s really easy but help more than you know.

Editing is hard to do, for the best of people. Editing is even harder if there is a learning disability involved. for those who have a learning disability the time that it takes to make a page better is longer and harder than for someone who doesn’t. Yet, at the same time it is more of a praiseworthy thing.

Unfortunately, those who do deal with learning disabilities, however severe they might be have to deal with multiple edits and often multiple edits of the same thing. They can’t see the problems that people who don’t have a learning disability see. I think it is frustrating for both sides.

What about publishing? It depends on the type of learning disability one has. For someone who has dyslexia to go a do an author signing would be nerve wracking, but if someone has a stutter, to speak to an audience could be just as hard. Then of course there are different types of learning challenges to overcome. To have an editor and a literary agent and publisher know that one has these types of challenges is hard. One has to wonder will they feel bad for me or will they make me into a better writer?

I’d like to think the latter. I hope that anyone with a learning disability will try to work with the challenge and not against it. They too can show the world how wonderful a different point of view is. It is not a question for these challenges to be hidden but more to show the world, that challenges can be overcome.

I know this for a fact. I have dyslexia, and work hard each day to make a good edit and to make the book better than what it can be. What takes a person an hour to do takes me double, yet the sense that I’ve done something good can’t be described to many people. I want to be published as an author in my own right. I’m thankful for my editor who stands behind me 100%. There must be days when she wonders if things will get better… so do I. They do, and really, to me my learning disability is more a challenge to be faced and worked with.

My Question for the day is this: what challenges to writing do you have? Are they big or small and how do you face them?

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11 Comments

  • Tori Lynn
    June 8, 2009 at 6:53 pm

    I have dyslexia, also, and would like to publish a book. My friends that have read it think it is very good. But I have problems with plublishing it. Any advice?

  • Johanna
    June 8, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    I think you are incredibly brave to speak about your dyslexia pubicly…this is my biggest fear. Part of my own first novel deals with some autobiographical stuff that I'm passing as total fiction…big hurdle currently is agents wanting to hear the inspiration for the novel and what makes me an expert…hmmm…

    Kudos to your honesty…

  • Marnie Elizabeth
    June 9, 2009 at 2:18 am

    Non-sequitur to follow:

    I couldn't figure out where to leave a general comment or email you. So this absolutely nothing to do with dyslexia. I would like to pick your writer's brain. Besides the obvious uncapitalized "i"s and improper homonym usage the spell-check didn't pick up, what are your pet-peeves that will make you immediately click away from someone's site? As a new blogger, I am overwhelmed by the volume of writing that is out there; some of it great, some of it horrid.

  • Word of Life
    June 9, 2009 at 4:59 am

    I also have an disability-insomnia, which affect my memory and cognitive skills. I have learned to compsate through lobrous excercises, which I'm still trying to fine tune. Another dream thieft that I'm contenting with is lack of fire, and disapline. What advise do you give?
    Blessing,

    Manley Wisdom

  • Jennifer Roland
    June 9, 2009 at 5:33 am

    Rebecca, I never would have guessed that you have the challenge of dyslexia to overcome.

    A learning disability can be a real hindrance, especially one that makes it harder for you to focus on the words that you so obviously love.

    You have a great attitude about it, and I know that you will find the right people to work with over your career.

    Have a great week, and keep up the great work here!

    Jennifer

  • Jennifer Roland
    June 9, 2009 at 5:36 am

    P.S. My biggest challenge right now is taking on too much. I'm setting my priorities and focusing on the most important tasks first.

    I've also noticed that I'm incapable of typing Ps and As on the first try. That is a pretty easy problem to handle, even though it's a little annoying! 🙂 Perhaps I need to strengthen my pinkies so they hit the keys harder.

  • Rob
    June 9, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    First, I must say that it is clear that your dyslexia doesn't put you at any sort of disadvantage when it comes to your writing. Your blog is clear and interesting. When you look at it, you're working harder and looking at your work longer, yes, but it pays off in your writing voice.

    The biggest challenge I face is the writing mode that I need to be in. I don't know how other writers are able to write in coffee shops. For me, I need absolute silence when I write. I do the majority of my writing between 12am to 7am, what I call 'the crazy hour', when everyone's asleep. Problem is, there hasn't been time for me to write that much.

    To face it, I try writing on the weekends instead of my work days. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

    That, plus writer's block for months on end.