Category: Writers

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A life worth writing

One thing I learned early in my career was to closely observe and analyse trends in publishing – or at least to try. To stay abreast of what is being published (especially at what times of year) and what is being read, because they aren’t necessarily the same thing.

But I soon discovered how impossible it was (still is) to stay on top of all the new releases, the prize winners and the mind-blowing ideas and stories that are being published every single day. Not just to observe them, but also to read and absorb them.

So many good books, so little time!

Biography and life writing

Researchers and scholars have long written about emerging trends in literature and literary scholarship – what they call “turns”. The biographical turn came in the late 20th century, in the 1980s, when biographical research began to be accepted as a critical method of scholarship,1 coinciding with the revolution in information, communications and technology, and a boom in the publication of memoir.

Books exploring the inner and outer workings of people’s lives remain hugely popular. The enormous range of books in the category of biography and life writing include the standard, classic subgenres of autobiography, biography and memoir (of people, families, groups, cultures, organisations, places and things). From these have emerged autofiction, heritage fiction and other sub-subgenres that put to work elements of fiction, such as mystery and magical realism – even speculative elements – in the telling of a life, event or experience.

Why so much trauma?

Over the course of my career, I have worked with authors and publishers across all of these genres and subgenres, and for me this work continues to hold endless fascination and interest.

A question that arises repeatedly is this: Why are so many biographies, memoirs and life stories centred on trauma?

The simple answer is, I suppose, because people love to read about trauma.

Really?

I mean, as children we relish stories about perfectly ordinary, happy lives. As we do in adulthood – and here, of course, I can only speak for myself.

But by the time we’ve graduated to “serious” adult reading, it seems there is a growing expectation that a life ought to be extraordinary if it is to be worth writing (and reading) about.

Interestingly, “extraordinary” often means having overcome tremendous difficulty in life.

Trauma is everywhere – or is it?

We all experience difficulties in life. These might result in embarrassing, cringe-worthy memories, or more painful emotions such as failure and heartbreak, but I’d say most people would hesitate to describe these as traumatic experiences.

Then there are those people who experience extraordinarily difficult times: a less-than ideal childhood and adolescence, death of a beloved (person or animal), physical or psychological injury, civil unrest, war, environmental and human-induced catastrophes, and other events that push them to the absolute limits of human capacity. Researchers in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand estimate that three-quarters of adults experienced a traumatic event by the time they turned 15 years of age.

Why people read trauma stories

Reading about someone else’s experience can help the reader to develop sympathy for others, to empathise and make sense of their own trauma and experiences, to find hope and inspiration in the writer’s recounting of their healing and recovery.

Psychologists say that silence and avoidance can exacerbate our pain, and that (just enough) exposure can loosen the grip of painful memories.

Trauma narratives have an important role in society. They help to expose harms, injustices and criminality associated with many traumas.

Why people write their trauma stories

Every writer has their own reasons for writing about their trauma.

  • For some, it’s to help them feel better (“a very sturdy ladder out of the pit,” as Alice Walker wrote). This might be with the guidance of a therapist,2 in which case it might be called scriptotherapy, narrative therapy and so on.
  • Some write to claim their voice publicly and to discard labels such as “victim”.
  • Others write to expose injustice and to contribute towards public inquiries that can lead to systemic change.
  • Yet others write because they want to help others, by using their own experience to illustrate that hope, growth and resilience is possible.

My two recent publications offer guidance for writers and editors of trauma stories:

Conclusion

Regardless of the reason(s) we read or write them, trauma narratives are important contributions to the literature, and specifically to the genre of biography and life writing.

And, as US academic Dr Debbie Applegate wrote:

At its best, biography offers readers the vicarious thrill of a foreign life being experienced in real time… the rare pleasure of experiencing life as a coherent, meaning-filled, well-wrought work of art.3

References

1 Hans Renders, Binne de Haan and Jonne Harmsma (2017), The Biographical Turn: Lives in history. Routledge.

2 Therapist Aid (n.d.), Trauma Narratives.

3 Debbie Applegate (2017), From academic historian to popular biographer: Musings on the practical poetics of biography, pp. 186–193, in The Biographical Turn (see note 1).

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Looking for a discount?

Boxing Day! Valentine’s Day! Easter! EOFY!

Grand sale, grand sale, grand sale!

There are certain times of year when the reality of marketing really hits home. Our inboxes and social media feeds are overflowing with sales offers, discount codes and exhortations to buy, buy, buy.

Yet, rather than helping us, these messages seem only to fuel consumer angst, like FOMO (fear of missing out).

I don’t know about you, but these repetitive sales messages drive me to despair. They’re exhausting. On peak sales days I seem to spend more time deleting and unsubscribing than considering a purchase – and swear I’ll never sign up to any “updates” ever again.

You may be surprised to read that I do not offer discounts on my services – read on to find out why.

The psychology of pricing

Pricing one’s products and services is more than a business decision, or a matter of “breaking even”: it’s a psychological technique that can be highly profitable, especially if you’re willing to look past the ethical issues.

In marketing parlance, “psychological pricing” is a strategic approach that uses targeted techniques to influence the consumer’s perception of a product and its value.

The anchoring effect

A common technique is the anchoring effect, which aims to influence consumers’ decision-making through apparently “rational” means. Sellers create an “anchor”, which means they set a high price for a desirable product, and then offer a lower (“sale”) price alongside this anchor. The desired effect is that the consumer decides to buy as quickly as possible, so they avoid having to pay the higher “standard” price.

This practice is probably familiar to most consumers. While we might joke about the ubiquitous “Closing down sale” associated with shops selling rugs and other floor coverings, anchoring is commonly used to great effect by retailers, including online, who have no plans to shut up shop.

Product sales

From time to time, you’ll encounter a sale on this website for products like books in print, ebooks and recorded training/workshop sessions.

There may be a launch sale for a new product to encourage visitors to buy early in the product’s life cycle. The only way I can do this without reducing my overall revenue is to allocate a portion of my annual marketing budget to subsidising the sale.

Or I may offer a discount on products nearing the end of their cycle – perhaps the stock is running low, I have no plans to reprint the book (or card deck) in its current edition.

Bundle sales

Another form of sale you’ll find on this website is a reduced price for a “bundle” – like prepayment for a series of coaching sessions, or for a combined purchase of recorded workshops or presentations.

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Help! Need beta reader, editor, agent and publisher. Seventy-five year old on fixed income.
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I'm looking for free/discounted editing in exchange for a review of your business.
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Why are editors so expensive?!
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Good services, fair rates, all year round

As stated, I do not offer discounts on services: writing, editing, manuscript assessment and live coaching or training. My commitment to you, the client, is to offer the lowest possible price every day of the year.

One way to verify that you’re getting value for money is to check the industry standard for editorial pay rates.

What you get

I have invested well over $100,000 in my education.

Over more than 3 decades I have poured my energy, creativity, sheer hard work and enthusiasm into every single project, and I have been recognised for this through several prestigious awards and scholarships.

When you purchase my services, you get the cumulative benefit of that investment, experience, knowledge and expertise, including my sensitivity reading and editing, and my work on Cultivating a Trauma-Sensitive approach to editing practice.

How to avoid the "bargain" buy

As a small business owner – and a consumer just like you – I believe you should only buy something if you really, truly love and value it.

Look for high quality, longevity and impact.

Buy the book if it’s going to give you the knowledge and advice you need. Ensure you read it and make a plan to apply what you’ve learnt to improve your own situation.

Let the impact of your purchase be a positive one.

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So you’ve finished your manuscript – what’s next?

Myths and misconceptions abound online about what to do when you have completed the draft of your manuscript. In this post I unpack a few of those and offer some tips for your next steps.

In recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, I have witnessed an increase in contact online between writers and editors and their respective communities.

My sense is that, overall, this is good for both sides: new and aspiring writers can ask questions and get answers – often in real time – straight from “the horse’s mouth”, and editors can connect directly with potential clients.

Collectively, online groups and communities can help to demystify the editorial process. Ideally, writers can find out about different approaches to producing a book, as well as indicative costs and what to look for in an editor.

This opportunity for two-way Q&A has the added possible benefits of saving time for everyone and reducing the burden on individual editors having to explain the same thing each time they receive a new enquiry.

But the reality is often far from the ideal. I have witnessed some truly diabolical situations play out in these spaces. Admittedly, this is probably no different to what occurs in many, if not most, online groups.

Example

A first-time author announces that they’ve just completed their first draft and asks their online group for advice on the next step(s). In the (often hundreds) of responses there’s likely to be some typical responses, such as that the author needs to:

  1. Register their copyright.
  2. Sign up with an agent.
  3. Get a beta-reader, or put the manuscript through a few rounds of beta-reading.
  4. Get a manuscript assessment.
  5. Get a developmental edit, followed by a line edit (here in Australia we call it a style edit) and a copyedit.
  6. Get several sample edits to help decide on the best match with an editor.
  7. Dispense with all the above because the responder can do a quick proofread for $300.

Some responses may be based on a smattering of fact or good advice, but most are just plain wrong. 

Let me tackle each of those in turn.

1.   Registering your copyright

This is not necessary in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. A writer’s work is automatically copyrighted the moment they create it, so there is no registration process.

It’s a good idea to add the copyright symbol (©) and your name to your manuscript before you send it to anyone, as a reminder that it is protected by copyright. A simple way to do this is to add it to the running header or footer in your manuscript.

2.   Signing with a literary agent

Getting an agent is about as tricky as getting a publishing contract, especially if you are a first-time author. There aren’t many literary agents in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, and those we have are in great demand. They can take their pick of new and experienced authors clamouring for representation.

My advice is that most unpublished authors do not need an agent, and are unlikely to attract one unless they meet some fairly stringent criteria. As a first step, visit the website of the Australian Literary Agents’ Association or the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc to find out more.

3.   Beta-reading

A beta-reader is someone who reads your manuscript in the early stages of its development. It’s a common practice in fiction genres (e.g. sci-fi, fantasy, romance, young adult fiction) to ask one or more beta-readers who are fans of the genre (or author), for their response to a story as well as to specific elements such as plot, character, beginnings and endings. Sometimes a manuscript in a nonfiction genre, like self-help, can benefit from being read by people who are closely familiar with the genre.

Getting your manuscript read by beta-readers is not a requirement of publishers or agents. Some think it’s a good idea, others not so much. This is something to discuss it with your (prospective) agent, publisher or editor, or ask authors who have published in the same genre about their opinion or experience. But ultimately it’s up to you.

If you decide to go down this route, keep in mind that there may be an expectation of recompense – maybe a free copy of the book when the book is published, or perhaps a fixed upfront fee. It’s important to clarify this upfront. (I have written about alpha, geta and gamma reading in my book, Editing for Sensitivity, Diversity and Inclusion: A guide for professional editors, 2nd edition, 2023.)

4.   Manuscript assessment

As advice goes, this may well be the best tip in the list above. A manuscript assessment can provide you with an independent, professional opinion of whether your manuscript is ready for editing or submission to an agent or publisher.

5.   Get a development edit, line/style edit, copyedit, proofread

These industry terms can be mindboggling for writers new to the game. Take some time to read about each type of editing service and where it fits in the publishing process:

Not all manuscripts need all these stages or services, so be guided by the recommendations of the manuscript assessor or editor and by your own sense of what will help to make your manuscript the best it can be before you submit or publish it.

Having said that, though, keep in mind that every manuscript needs to be edited, and after design and layout every manuscript needs to be proofread, preferably by a different editor/proofreader. I’ve been a professional editor for decades, and still my own manuscript benefitted from the expertise of a professional editor and an independent proofreader after design and typesetting (layout).

If you’re planning to publish the book yourself, you will need to engage the relevant professionals, so make sure you understand what each service provider does and costs.

If you plan to submit the manuscript to an agent or publisher, it does not need to be completely polished, but it does need some preparation.

Preparing your manuscript for assessment, editing or submission

Make sure you complete your draft (and revisions) before you submit your manuscript, or hire an assessor or editor. Take the time to format the manuscript and proofread it so that the assessor/editor/agent/publisher can focus on the content without constantly being tripped up by typos and spelling errors.

The industry standard is Microsoft Word (MS Word). If you use a different program (like Pages or Scrivenor or Googledocs), export (convert) your manuscript to MS Word, save the file, then choose the simplest formatting:

  • A4 page size with mirrored margins of about 2.5cm
  • a common font style, like Times New Roman, in 12pt
  • generous line spacing (double) with no hard spaces between paragraphs
  • use the Format function in MS Word to set indented lines and spaces before or after a paragraph – don’t insert soft returns, manual tab spaces or multiple character spaces.

Learn to style

Learn how to use Styles in MS Word. This will save you time and money in the long run and, more importantly, will save your editor headaches trying to wrangle your manuscript into shape when they could be focusing on your plot and character development.

If your manuscript has been converted from a different program, there may be a fee for the editor to complete the conversion if your manuscript is not properly styled. Apply styles to all text in your manuscript, including the main/body text, headings, subheadings, numbered and bullet points, shaded/boxed text, captions, placeholders or instructions for the designer or typesetter etc.

If you’re including photos, figures/charts/diagrams, tables or other images, don’t paste them into the manuscript. Instead, use a placeholder, which is a line of text that serves as an instruction and a description of the image. This will help to ensure the file size of your manuscript is manageable, as large files can be tricky to send by email and are easily corrupted, and will save time and cost for design/layout. The designer or typesetter usually strips all images from manuscripts prior to layout, anyway.

Below is an example of a placeholder (highlighted), which gives the instruction to the designer/typesetter, as well as the number and title of the image. In this example, the “2” means the image is to appear in Chapter 2, and the “3” means it’s the third image in the chapter. Sometimes people use a solidus (/) or a hyphen instead of a point (so, “2/3” or “2-3) instead of “2.3”).

Screenshot of a placeholder in text

When you use placeholders to indicate where images are to be placed in the book’s design, you will need to supply the images separately (in high resolution), along with an Artwork list. As the name suggests, this is a list of images to appear in the book, in order of placement. Below is an extract of an Artwork list, showing the description and further instructions for the example of Figure 2.3.

Screenshot of an extract from an Artwork list

6.   Sample edits

You may be keen to find out what an editor can do for your manuscript. I think the best way to do that is to have a conversation with an editor (or two). If you’re still unsure, the editor may offer a sample for an upfront fee, which may be deducted from the project fee if it goes ahead.

I blame rogue online groups for spreading the idea that authors are entitled to a free sample edit. By all means ask, but be prepared for a polite refusal. And if the editor you ask does agree, make sure you know what to ask for in your sample edit, what to look for when you receive it, and what to conclude from it. How will it help you decide on which editor to engage for your manuscript?

Some editors are quite comfortable with the idea of providing (free) sample edits, but it sends shivers down my spine every time I see a post online about this, for three reasons.

Believe it or not, but this is a true story. Every now and then an author gets the idea that they can save money by asking a bunch of different editors for a sample edit, giving them each a different part of the manuscript and then using the sample edits to avoid paying for a full edit. We editors call this a time-wasting “frankenedit” because the inevitable result of this cheapskate move is a monster far worse than the original manuscript. By reading only a portion of the manuscript, none of these editors is going to pick up holes in the plot or problems with characterisation (for example), and there is unlikely to be consistency in style and language across the narrative. In other words, a dog’s breakfast.

Related to that is the utility of the sample edit – or rather, the lack of utility. For one, there’s no such thing as a sample developmental edit. Having read just one or two thousand words, how could an editor possibly comment on the plotline, the relationships between characters, whether the ending works? These critical elements require the editor to work at the whole-manuscript level. For another, the effectiveness of a style (line) edit is only possible if we can ensure a consistent writing style and narrative voice across the entire manuscript. And finally, a sample copyedit is, predictably, a waste of time: (a) when the language code (e.g. Australian English) and preferred style guide, dictionary and style sheet dictate most of the edit, anyway; and (b) any competent accredited editor should be able to provide an efficient service.

The third reason is that if I were to offer a sample edit to every author who enquires about my services, I could spend my entire working day doing free edits. That would be okay if I were a not-for-profit organisation with sponsorship or external funding, but I’m not. I get a lot of enquiries, which is great, but I’m a consultant running a small business, not a charity. (Besides, my family expects to eat, to live in a house and to enjoy the fruits of my labour.)

Instead of wasting the author’s time and my own with a “sample edit”, I prefer to have a proper conversation. I stand on the record of my three-plus decades of experience, testimonials on my expertise and warmly collegial working relationships with authors, publishers and other clients, and my academic qualifications, honours and awards. A brief conversation by phone or videochat means we can introduce ourselves, discuss our respective expectations and decide whether we’ll make a good editorial match. And all of this starts with a desire for friendly, convivial exchanges, based on reciprocated respect and trust. There’s no hard feelings if at the end of the chat we decide we’re not going to make a good fit.

7.   The cheap proofreader

This post by an editor colleague in the UK gives a good outline of Why editing is so expensive.

Since you’ve come this far in reading my post, I probably don’t need to say this (but I will), As in life, so in editing: you get what you pay for.

And if I’m honest, when you decide to hire me to assess or edit your manuscript, you don’t even get to choose two of three options in the triangle of iron service.

If the job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

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You can lead an author to editing but you can’t make them think (like you)

girl+horse silhouette

or, why I love working with indie authors

The title of this piece is as much for authors as it is for editors. 

Editors lament the difficulty they experience sometimes in convincing independent (indie) authors that their manuscript needs to be professionally edited (and proofread) prior to self-publication.

But indie authors just want to get their book out there into the world, as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Right?

The editor may feel they are banging their head into a brick wall. Yet, they remain oblivious to the indie author’s battle with the two-headed demon of time and money.

I’m not usually prone to such violent analogies, but this topic calls up strong emotions. What I mean is this: people can take a view on something and hold onto it tightly – too tightly – despite mounting evidence to the contrary. They may be bleeding from the head yet insist they are fine. Really.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that words have power.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

That’s how the saying goes.

A HORSE?

Every writer is a unique beast, but if you really want to compare them with horses, consider the strength of that comparison: horses are powerful, sensitive, courageous. Treat your author, the heroic beast that they all are, with due respect.

Indie authors may vary widely in the nature of their work and how they want to build their writing career. For example, self-publication may seem like a reasonable route because the indie author may:

  • want to develop their writing skills
  • seek to build an audience or following as an independent author
  • want to build up their confidence before they approach an agent or publisher
  • have other reasons for wanting to self-publish.

To the indie author, engaging a professional editor may feel like taking a risk (or not). It could be the most challenging experience of the writer’s life, or the most fun, or neither.

The nature of that relationship depends on both the author and the editor.

The author–editor relationship

As an indie author, apart from getting a well-edited manuscript, what is it you really want from your relationship with an editor? To learn about the craft of writing, to feel supported, to know you can entrust your manuscript to a true professional …?

As the editor, apart from doing a good job and getting fair pay for it, what do you want? An appreciative client, an author who trusts your judgement and advice, who will return to you with their next manuscript …?

What else?

LEADING (A HORSE) …

A highly skilled, sensitive editor can seek to embody the values, principles and strategies of leadership by building trust with their authors, and through empowerment and encouragement. Indeed, the editor–author relationship has the potential to be one of the most intimate and influential of professional engagements.

There are plenty of examples of such relationships, spanning years or decades – perhaps even all of their professional lives.

One of the most interesting is that developed between editor Thomas Wentworth Higginson and poet Emily Dickinson.

Leading, not forcing

Editors who don’t understand that their role is to facilitate, rather than force, will understandably experience frustration, again and again. ‘Why don’t/won’t they listen to me?’ the editor thinks.

The answer is that the role of the editor is to help the author, by pointing out problems or potential problems, and offering options for resolution by the author.

Edits should always be ‘suggested edits’. It is the author’s prerogative to accept or reject (or revise) the proposed amendment – even if that makes something within the manuscript ‘wrong’.

Responsibility for a poorly worded or inaccurate statement belongs to its author, who ultimately will be held to account for it. Their writing career and reputation depends on how they handle that responsibility.

And an editor who is concerned about being associated with a work can always decline to be named (credited) within it.

… TO WATER

Water is the essence of life. In literature, water can be taken to symbolise fertility, birth and rebirth; purity, cleansing and the washing away of sins; and further, ease, grace and fluidity.

And just so, there are different types, stages and levels of editing in the creation of literary works. As with water, the different elements can take a variety of shapes, forms and purposes.

  • In a publishing house, the publisher, publishing director or publishing board (or publishing committee) has the final say on all major decisions relating to the publication of a book, including approval of contracts, budgets and plans.
  • The commissioning or acquisitions editor engages with authors in that fertile, early birthing phase. Together, they take the kernel of an idea and set out to collaborate and agree on how it might be brought to fruition.
  • The developmental or structural editor works with the author at the big-picture (chapter or scene) level to clarify the form and shape of the book. Who is it for, and how will they read/use it? What’s the best way to optimise the narrative (or information) for the primary reading audience?
  • The line editor or copyeditor focuses on writing style at the word and sentence levels, to ensure consistency in voice, tone, register, grammar, syntax and other language elements. The aim is to finish with a polished work that is ready for typesetting or layout.
  • The production editor or managing editor has a much broader remit than the editing roles described above. They are responsible for assigning or commissioning services such as editing, proofreading, design, typesetting (layout) and printing, and ensuring the budget and schedule remain on track. (Indie authors also have to take on all these tasks, or commission others to do them.)
  • The proofreader’s role is to correct surface-level errors after typesetting (layout). It is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the editorial roles in publishing. The most important thing to remember is that proofreading should take place after copyediting and layout – click here for more information about what a proofreader does. 

Many, if not most, indie authors have very little knowledge or experience of the publishing process. They often have to learn as they go – and sometimes the lessons are tough! An experienced editor can help to steer the indie author onto the right path for their book.

JUST LIKE A WORK OF ART!

Apart from itself being a work of art, how is the process of producing a book with a publisher like the creation of a work of art, like a sculpture?

  1. The sculptor plans their work before they even touch the materials, deciding first on the correct type/form, consistency and volume of materials needed for their creation. In a commissioned literary work, the author and editor must first agree on the theme, subject, topics and audience for the book.
  2. Next, the sculptor makes a clay or wax model to serve as a kind of ‘sketch’ before they begin to carve the wood, stone or other material. Here, the author submits a plot outline, summary and/or table of contents for discussion and agreement before they go ahead and write the manuscript.
    If they have already written the manuscript, the conversation with the acquisitions editor may start in a different way, but the book’s purpose and reading audiences are usually at the forefront of their negotiations.
  3. Our sculptor may be done with the project when they have completed the artwork and created a statement of intent or a description of what the work means to them. But with a literary work, it’s only when the author has submitted the manuscript that the work of producing a book can really begin in earnest.

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WATER?

A powerful analogy of editing with water is through the idea of fluidity and movement: skilful editing facilitates the creation, recreation and refreshment of ideas, stories, myths and other narratives in literary works. Dams and blockages can stop or divert the flow to a new (sometimes better, sometimes worse) destination.

AND THE HORSE?

Horses lend us the wings we lack.

Leading a powerful, sensitive and courageous beast to water is an act that should come as naturally as life itself. (Remember, though, that a horse can probably make it to the water by themselves.)

A writer whose creativity is fully charged can produce work that dazzles like a fountain in sparkling sunshine.

And their editor’s engagement can bring forth fresh perspectives, directions and motivations.

Thereby demonstrating that you can lead a horse (author) to water (editor) for a refreshing drink or splash together. Providing there is trust.

 

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Writing and editing historical fiction

white letterblocks on a brown background, spelling out the title of the blog

Historical fiction is one of the most popular literary genres.
And, if the rate of recent novel adaptations to film and television is anything to go by, its popularity is increasing.

Why we love historical fiction

Readers love historical fiction because it brings the past to life through characters, settings, events and plotlines. In fact, the historical setting of a novel can be as appealing as (or even more so than) other aspects of the novel. One of myriad examples is Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, which features sumptuous settings and costumes (and a range of daring characters).

Another important feature of historical fiction is the ability to explore both unique and universal themes through the prism of time – from recent history to ancient times, even prehistorical times. We humans have loved, hated, given birth, competed, fought, conformed, questioned and celebrated through story since the dawning of our species, and we continue to be fascinated by ourselves and our fellow creatures.

Readers’ expectations

Readers of historical fiction vary widely, but what they do have in common is a desire to be informed, entertained, delighted and surprised.

Of course, the degree to which each of those desires is met depends on many different factors. Chief among these is the author’s ability to impart key information about the setting and the mood of the era depicted without ‘info dumping’. Avoiding a judgemental or preachy tone is important, also.

Readers expect to be transported to another place and time (real or imagined). And in doing so, it’s critical that the historical details of the novel – geography, culture, economics, government, belief systems, technology etc. – should be accurate. Slip up on one of these details and you could lose the reader’s trust in an instant, particularly longstanding fans of the genre.

Writing historical fiction

It should go without saying that if you are planning to write historical fiction you should be well versed in the genre and the various taxonomies of historical epochs. Read widely, across fiction and non-fiction subgenres, so that you have a good grasp of the historical era you’re depicting, especially the ‘mood’ of that time.

Conduct critical research

Primary and secondary sources are, of course, important. Be a critical reader: assess the quality of your sources and the veracity of the information. Keep good records and ensure you are well versed on copyright laws and conventions for citation or other acknowledgement of sources.

What systems of governance were in place, who was in power at the time, what laws governed the subject you’re interested in? If your novel features a romance or includes a romantic subplot, knowing the marriage laws is as important as class-based social norms on courtship. If it features a crime, or series of crimes, what criminal and civil legislation were applicable, and what was the legal nomenclature of the time? How do these features of your historical setting affect your characters, major and minor?

Apply your research judiciously

Many writers are keen to display their research through lots of detail – including showy descriptions of characters’ clothing, belongings, modes of transport, places of worship and so on – but forget the finer intimacies that might bring their scenes to life. Did the characters wear undergarments, and how might that have affected their use of the toilet, for example? What sights, sounds and smells convey the ambience of the historical period?

Engaging an editor

If you are thinking of engaging an editor for a professional assessment or developmental edit of your novel, I hope you will consider me. But remember that this is a very broad and diverse genre, and that editors vary in the types of manuscripts they work on. One editor might specialise in historical romance while another may focus on time travel or fantasy with an historical backdrop.

For tips on how to brief an editor, see the website of our professional association, the Institute of Professional Editors.

Want to see me in action?

In 2021 I chaired a discussion between authors of historical fiction at the conference of the Historical Novel Society of Australasia. In August 2022 I will be giving a workshop at the Romance Writers of Australia conference (Perth, WA).

Editing historical fiction

There are some common tasks in fiction editing that apply also to editing historical fiction, as they might do in other types or streams of editing. However, it would be a colossal mistake to assume that any fiction editor can also edit historical fiction.

Understand the market

Editing historical fiction requires a working knowledge of the market – who buys, sells, writes, publishes, reads and reviews historical fiction? And a particular enthusiasm for the great variety in this wonderful literary genre is a given. The editor should have a deep understanding of the literary features that make historical fiction so appealing to readers and writers alike.

Know your genre

A competent editor of historical fiction will be well versed in the different subgenres, subjects, themes and tropes of the genre.

The subgenres of romance, adventure, war and time travel will be familiar; likewise the subjects of historical events (e.g. the Thousand Days War in Colombia, the sinking of the Titanic) and historical persons (e.g. Helen of Troy, Chief Dingaan).

Keep up with trends

As both an avid reader and an editor of historical fiction, it is pleasing to see an increasing trend in female protagonists as well as protagonists having LGBTIQ+ identities and from a diversity of cultural backgrounds. Remember to assess the manuscript for common errors, such as temporal slips, lapses in continuity and other anachronisms that can jolt the reader out of the historical world in which they have been immersed..

Some common themes and tropes

Common themes and tropes in historical fiction include:

  • Adventure, survival, courage, heroism
  • Coming of age, the protagonist ahead of her time
  • Finding one’s place in society
  • Power, corruption, evil
  • Prejudice on the basis of class, wealth or education
  • The individual against society, personal autonomy
  • The importance of family, community, human rights
  • Dual narratives (e.g. contrasting contemporary and historical storylines).

Remember that multi-layered historical novels can provide wonderful complexity and challenge when they feature a range of themes, subjects and tropes. A vivid example is Birdsong, by Sebastian Faulks (1993), which is a war novel and a family saga that also explores the influence of trauma on the psyche, as well as metahistorical questions, through dual narratives. It’s also part of a trilogy that links historical events, settings and fictional characters.

Professional development for editors

If you’re starting out as an editor, or you’re an experienced editor looking to add an historical fiction feather to your editorial bow, you may be interested in the courses I run from time to time, or the Fiction Editing Masterclass I offer with my colleague Pamela Hewitt. An important feature of these courses is that we use a real-life, full-length manuscript (supplied by the author) to simulate the experience of being engaged to undertake an assessment or developmental edit. Email me for testimonials from past course participants, or check out my posts on Instagram.