WHAT DO YOU REGRET IN PAST OR PRESENT WORK?
Your book series is doing well! This truly is an accomplishment to cherish! What must you do to ensure your writing career continues on an upward trajectory? Regardless of whether you have a publisher or self-publish, there are problems that can arise during the complex process of production. Some we must live with and bypass with minimal discomfort. Others we can take steps to remedy in order to bring greater harmony to past as well as present tasks…
PUBLISHING ERRORS
I’ve previously discussed issues an author faces in publishing a series—regardless of genre. Fortunately, the process of publication is seldom the responsibility of a single person. Of course, as the author, the quality of the final product reflects on you—for it is you who will be facing the public.
As a reader, as well as an author, I have not heard of a book that arrives in a reader’s lap without flaws of one type or another. They may be barely perceptible, and actually may be a matter of choice rather than outright error.
DISCOVERING FLAWS
The process of finding errors can be simple or complicated. In writing a series, you probably have a written or mental list of flaws you’re prone to make. As I awaited publication of Murders of Conveyance [Winner for Fiction Adventure-Drama in the 2019 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards] and the publishing of Yen for Murder, I’ve found that the following errors appear frequently:
~ Repeated Words and Phrases
My favorites, myriad and R & R.
~ Overuse of Prepositional Phrases
Mine frequent the beginning of sentences.
~ Complicated Action
I’ve found scenes in which a character would need three hands to accomplish what I’ve described. I’ve also struggled to explain how hidden compartments are accessed…
~ Character Flaws
Misspellings of names, and their pronunciation in audio books can easily occur, and did in the audio edition of Prospect for Murder. Titles of officials and their organizations can be misstated or may change over time. Evidently my love of British police procedurals produced my mixing of the word detective with the ranks of police officers. In actuality, most police forces in the U.S. [including Hawai`i], do not do that. A sergeant with the Honolulu Police Department who becomes a detective is simply referred to as detective, with higher ranking officers being referred to by their rank.
~ Major Errors
You might think that writing fiction means that few errors unrelated to grammar will materialize. But issues of consistency still need to be addressed. My own inconsistencies have included changing the floor on which protagonist Natalie has a condo and the color of the truck of her boyfriend and detecting partner Keoni. While regretting even these minor mistakes, at least they do not interfere with the reader’s ability to follow the story. I’m not sure the same can be said for the two lines of crossed-through text in Murder on Mokulua Drive.
One thing that cannot be ignored or casually dismissed is the erroneous reporting of a historical fact. I was particularly embarrassed to discover that in copying and pasting text in the Glossary of Prospect for Murder, I mistakenly dropped a sentence relating to Hawaiian Princess Ka`iulani into the description of Queen Kapi`olani. This is an obvious mistake to readers who are familiar with the lineage of Hawaiian royals and a serious detraction from my desire to share Hawaiian history with a global readership.
VARIATIONS…NOT ERRORS
As a series unfolds, it is to be expected that improvements in writing style and changes in book layout may occur. This doesn’t mean that earlier editions of books are necessarily flawed. Happily, my publisher opted to offer embossing on the vibrant cover of Murder on Mokulua Drive. And, as I like reference material to be readily accessible, we are enlarging the font that introduces Glossary sections. Similarly, we are inserting spaces before and after the hyphens between author birth and death dates in chapter aphorisms.
WHOSE FAULT?
In truth, no matter how much effort [and sometimes treasure] you invest in maintaining the quality of your work, unexpected flaws can emerge. They can arise from both overt errors, as well as from actions you failed to take. Most of my errors come from copying and pasting text and repeating favorite words. Unless one closely and repeatedly reads the edited text, words may end up out of sequence, or can be wholly missing.
MAKING CORRECTIONS
Having determined the cause of a problem, you face correcting it. This can be fairly easy with the publication of a digital book, and other on-line pieces…That is, if you are capable of altering the text within the template that generated it. If you cannot do so yourself, you may have to return to the typographical artist who originally laid out the book. If you are not able to reconnect with them, you will have to find a new source of help. Fortunately, my publisher is working to correct the MOMD Ebook error regarding Queen Kapi`olani.
Matters are more complex in correcting flaws in printed editions. Unfortunately, the error regarding the Queen can only be corrected when further batches of the books are printed. I wish I could send out errata labels to everyone who has a copy of the book…The one thing I have done is to publish a message of Mea Culpa on Facebook!
AVOIDING REPETITIOIN OF THE CRIME
Once you’ve pinpointed the sources of flaws, you can seek appropriate ways to dodge their recurrence. This challenge is exacerbated in the production of a series. To keep my projects separate but harmonious, I’ve prepared and continually update detailed reference notes listing aspects of appearance, voice, attire, movement and behavior. I also have spreadsheets that pinpoint chapter elements [such as when Natalie has which vision] and the family trees of major characters.
I’m glad that most of my readers enjoy references to daily life in the Hawaiian Islands—especially food. There are, however, some who would prefer little discussion of food, beverages, relationships, history and cats. At this point, I don’t foresee removing these elements from my tales—nor would I detract from plot lines by inserting actual recipes. However, recipes that reflect Natalie’s life, local restaurants and menu items one might expect at an Island gathering, do appear on my author website. This has necessitated my keeping records of the food and beverages I write about for review during the writing of each book.
Fortunately, while outright flaws need to be addressed, developments in an author’s style of writing and the presentation of their work can be things of beauty!
Wishing you the best in your creative endeavors,
Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, author, consultant, and motivational speaker
To learn more about the award-winning Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mysteries, including Murders of Conveyance [Winner, Fiction Adventure-Drama, 2019 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards] and other projects, please drop in at my author’s website JeanneBurrows-Johnson.com. You’ll even find Island Recipes that might inspire your culinary creativity.
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