Leveling Up:
By Wulf Moon
Chilean-American actress Cote de Pablo said: “It wasn't until I found my tribe of artists--people who were outspoken and not afraid to say what they thought, whether in a song or a dance or a piece of classical music--that I found a refuge."
It’s important to find your pack, or as I tell my writers, your Wulf Pack. Lone wolves get slaughtered; wolves that run in a pack thrive. That’s because there’s strength in numbers. Power and knowledge get shared, skills are exchanged, and your pack is ready to howl for you when you succeed. Writing can be lonely and even painful work as rejections pour in through the apprenticing stage. Sharing frustration with trusted allies can lift some of the burden off our shoulders. Our pack understands. They’re our people.
They are also a great group to level up with, because they are striving for similar goals.
Beta Readers
After addressing first reader (alpha reader) concerns, many writers, especially aspiring writers, use beta readers for additional editing before sending a story out to markets. The thinking is if one reader is good, two or more will be better!
This can certainly be true. I’ve seen small groups of writers with similar goals level up together by critique swapping and sharing knowledge. When they’re small, they’re called writer circles. I’ve even helped form a few, always trying to get at least one experienced writer in the group to help the lesser-experienced writers. Some have been phenomenally successful, others, less so. Not all writers with professional sales have the skills necessary to translate their knowledge to others.
Teaching is a gift.
The pros of having beta readers? By having multiple eyes on your work, one writer might catch something another will not. Nobody is perfect, but by submitting your work to the collective, there are fewer chances errors will slip through the cracks. Beta readers are also good for spotting plot holes and logic issues. They’re writers, so there’s a good chance they’ll know when something is missing. And if a deadline is fast approaching but your alpha reader is busy, beta readers can be your ace in the hole. Just be ready to return the favor so it’s an equitable system.
The cons? In tight writing circles, the members can start writing like one another. When a small group thinks like a hive mind, one’s voice can easily be assimilated. Voice, as I’ve said before, is the most precious commodity you have. Skilled writers that shine with unique voice become their own brand; a brand readers can only get by reading that writer’s work. Careers are built off voice. Some readers will buy anything a writer writes, no matter what genre or age group that work is written for. These superfans will say, “I just like what they write.” What they’re really saying is they love how they write, and that’s a writer’s unique voice and style. But if a writer blends their voice to please members of the group, they can lose their uniqueness and become homogenized.
Members of writing circles can also fan egos instead of telling it like it is. Some of these become social support groups and chattering kaffeeklatsches instead of circles devoted to advancing the skills of their writers. Note actress Cote de Pablo’s quote at the opening. She found her tribe not because they told her what she wanted to hear, but because they were honest in their comments, people who were outspoken and not afraid to say what they thought. The only way a writing circle will help one another improve is if the members strive to improve and say it like it is. When comments are seasoned with salt and offered as suggestions, not absolutes, writers in the circle can feel safe sharing their stories and chapters, knowing everyone in the circle has their best interests at heart, even if truthful commentary can sometimes sting.
Writers like Brandon Sanderson often have long lists of beta readers they thank in their acknowledgments. With sizeable novels with multiple characters, it’s easy to make a mistake as to what color someone’s eyes were, what apparel they wore in an earlier scene, whether fictional words and character names stayed consistent throughout, and so forth. And if you’re writing something more technical or period based--like science fiction or historical fiction--it’s smart to have someone that’s knowledgeable in that field double-check your details. It’s better for you to catch those errors than your readers. Smart beta readers really help with these issues.
Beta readers can offer benefits, but be aware of the pitfalls. Especially when we’re new and haven’t gotten grounded in our voice yet.
Writing Groups
Another way to advance in our writing skills is to join a writing group. If we live in a large community, there’s a real possibility a group meets regularly in our area, perhaps even specializing in the genre we write in. Often talking to bookstore owners will cue you in on a local group. Sometimes, the owner makes available a room or even their store for the group to meet in after hours. Bookstore owners love books, and they love the writers that make them.
There are also multitudes of writing groups on the Internet. Here is a way you can find your tribe--there’s so many, you can find groups specializing in the exact genre, subgenre, and age category you write in. Often these groups are quite large, sometimes numbering into the thousands. Again, being part of a large collective can have advantages—there is usually someone that has an answer to the questions you ask, and multiple viewpoints can give you a more informed understanding of a topic. In many of these groups, there are professional writers and editors, giving their time to help others. And if they like who you are, some will reach out, offering a helping hand or even an opportunity to be a part of their next project. Networking does go on in such groups.
The pros of writing groups? You can find your people in such groups, even in the large ones where you might feel like you are drowned out by the numbers. Watch those posting and sharing, and like and comment on posts that speak to you. Friendships can be built this way, and you can even reach out in private messaging to build more personal relationships. It is very helpful to have a tribe, both large and small, to tap into. The only people that truly understand what we go through for our craft and art are other writers.
The cons of writing groups? Like any group, if you haven’t hand-picked and created the group yourself, there will be all kinds of personality types in it. Some writers have good social skills, some do not. Some can be kind and nurturing; others can be haughty and abrasive. If the group offers critique sessions, be sure to sit in on a few before sharing your work. Know what you’re getting into.
I was a member for ten years in one of the power groups in speculative fiction. We met every week in a bookstore after hours for roundtable critique sessions. Many bestselling writers were members of this group—Hugo winners, Nebula winners, Stoker winners, Writers of the Future winners, even a writer that had written Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes. They were an open and welcoming group, and after sitting in and taking part in several critique sessions, I knew what I was getting into and submitted my first manuscript to be critiqued.
It can be shocking, even devastating for a newer writer to have their manuscript critiqued by professional writers the first time. They don’t mince words. Some know how to season their words with salt, making their comments palatable, and some are quite blunt. It’s not for the faint of heart, but good writers really are trying to help. Truth can hurt. Be prepared for the truth, do your best to check your emotions at the door, and look for commonalities in the critiques. If several writers that know what they’re doing say something isn’t working right in your story, they’re probably correct. Listen and learn. In time, you’ll toughen up, and the critiques won’t sting so bad. In fact, you’ll welcome the input.
Here's some thoughts from the perspective of watching my own online writing group, the Wulf Pack Writers. Our members have a great work ethic--the results they’re achieving prove it. While they love talking about books and writing techniques, they are not a kaffeeklatsch group. They do the work. They write. They are serious about getting published and advancing their careers, but not by crushing others around them to get there. Groups with a generous, helpful spirit like that thrive.
Another advantage I’ve noted in my group. Working with a focused team of writers and stating goals to the group helps keep everyone accountable. Sometimes we need that accountability, especially when everything in our world can appear to be trying to sabotage us. Runners in a marathon get tired, but having your fellow teammates and even the crowd cheering you on can help you find energy you never knew you had to run the course to the finish.
As Rudyard Kipling said in The Jungle Book: “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”
Find your pack.
Freelance Editors
There’s another way to get expert help with your manuscript. Freelance editors.
A freelance editor is somebody who works for writers to get their content ready for publication. Instead of working for a publisher, they work independently. There are many types of edits a freelance editor may specialize in. To list a few, there’s developmental or content edits, line edits, copy edits, and proofreading. Each type of edit carries a different fee depending on the skills involved and the labor intensity, which equates to hours of the editor’s time to do the work. A good place online to find median rates is the Editorial Freelancers Association. Again, these are average rates. Less-experienced editors charge less, experienced editors with solid credentials and successful clients charge more.
It’s good to understand the category terms, and what the purpose of each edit is. It’s also good to remember labor intensity on a project goes up with newer writers, goes down with experienced writers. This is especially true with large projects, such as novels. If your project is a novel, a freelance editor will likely request to see a sample chapter before quoting you a rate.
In my own editing business, I do both the line edit and the developmental edit—normally charged separately—under one combined rate. My goal when editing is to keep a writer’s voice intact while suggesting improvements to help increase the manuscript’s chance at selling to respected markets or winning awards. Many projects I have edited have subsequently sold to respected markets, have won multiple prestigious contests, or have become a #1 Amazon Best Seller novel in a major category.
True, some projects I’ve worked on did not hit these high marks. I can only help the author make the work they’ve delivered into my care shine in its best light possible. And it’s up to the author to decide what portions of the edit they’ll apply. But I have noted in the majority of cases, even if that particular story didn’t have immediate success (it takes time to find the right home for a project), the writer had success with the subsequent stories they wrote. That’s because even one professional edit will reveal what a writer needs help with, exposing blind spots they cannot see on their own. We all have our blind spots. We do need help to spot them so that we can work on them—we won’t level up until we do.
What’s troubling to me in the industry is that there are many freelance editors hanging out their shingle that have no professional sales, no contest wins, nothing they can point to to prove they’ve actually done what they are promising they will do for their prospective client. And yet, writers by the droves throw their money at them to get that magic edit that they believe will get their manuscript professionally published or win a major contest award.
I’m not saying they’re all bad actors. I have deep respect for editors who have worked at major publishing houses for years working on multitudes of successful projects and are now freelancing—they have the experience and credentials to prove their edits will be helpful. What I’m saying is, be careful. There are many scammers out there preying on your desire to get published, with zero credentials to prove they actually know what they are doing.
Why would you pay a contractor to help you build a house that has no proof they’ve ever built a house? You want expert advice, you hire someone who has done what you hope to accomplish, and has references you can verify to prove it. Watch Olympic competition categories, like figure skating. Who do teams hire for coaches to train their amateur athletes? Other amateurs that have never won a single championship in their life? Or retired athletes that have won the Olympic gold medal? You know the answer. Why? They’ve got the goods. They’ve proven they have the skills necessary to win at the highest level, and if they’re good trainers, they can pass those skills on to others. No wonder some teams consistently produce gold medalists. They hired gold-medalist coaches.
Conscientious edits take a lot of time on an editor’s part. Before hiring a freelance editor, be sure they have solid credentials. This often means two things: (1) They’ve accomplished what you hope to accomplish, and (2) They have a long list of clients that have had verifiable results by working with that editor.
Anyone can post a list of testimonials. For the scammers, they’ll likely be fake. Or they’ll be by clients that these editors intentionally fluffed up to feed their egos so they’ll keep coming back to hand them money. But what have those clients sold? Where were they published? What contests have they won? How have their novels done? Sadly, some editors know they’ll get repeat business by tickling the ears of their clients instead of telling them like it is. I’ve seen some of those edits. They are surface fluff that will not help a writer get published.
I get it. It’s nice to have an editor praise your work. They should praise the things in your manuscript that you did right. But if they don’t give you actionable direction, don’t show you how much you need to do to get a manuscript into shape so it can sell, you’re paying for therapy, not an edit.
I was on a panel of freelance editors at a convention, and a writer in the audience asked us how they could tell the good editors from the bad. After the others had spoken, I said the way you tell is to see if they’ve succeeded at doing the thing you are trying to do, and if they’ve proven they can teach that thing by checking on the results of their clients. I thought it was very telling when one of the editors who had already spoken immediately raised her hand and said, “Well, that’s not true. Some of us might not have been willing to put in the time it takes to learn the skills of a professional writer—that can take at least five to ten years!”
I rest my case.
Yes, we can go it alone. We can sit in our man caves and she-sheds and isolate ourselves from the world and keep telling ourselves what we’re writing is brilliant. And it might be, with time and practice. Or we can step into the light, see what’s going on in the real world. We can do some friendly sparring with other writers, learn the skills necessary to win, get a helping hand when we get knocked down. We can even hire a personal trainer, giving us a custom program so that our blows are not striking the air.
Writing is a solitary business, but you don’t have to go it alone. There’s strength in numbers. Iron sharpens iron.
Find your tribe. Run with your pack. Give as much as you get and you’ll find refuge.
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