Stephanie's Studio

Today you get the double whammy. It is the first day of the A to Z Challenge and the day for our monthly IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group) post. My focus is on editorial opinions. On and off I work with editors. Most often they are from within the publishing house publishing my books. Sometimes, I work with freelance editors. My last editor and I worked together on and off for about 9 years. With many projects on my plate (grants, submissions, and so forth) I decided four eyes would be better than my two subjective ones. I set about looking for a new editor. I'd found my last editor on one of the now defunct online freelancer boards. I looked at Reedsy.com, urged on by unsolicited emails I've been receiving from this new startup. Then thought oDesk would be more suitable for my needs. I write about all this for IWSG Wednesday because hiring an editor means you have to release some of your insecurities. It forces you to show your work to strangers and receive o...

If you don't know what IWSG stands for you'd be like me a few months ago. It stands for Insecure Writer's Support Group. We post the first Wednesday of the month. I took a few months off but am back this month to post about criticism. Before we get to that, if you would like to learn more and think this is a group that might be a good fit for you, visit the blog of its creator, Alex Cavanaugh,  here . Most artists are sensitive. It motivates us and enables us to penetrate the surface of situations, seeing the world in a unique way. Sensitivity can lend itself to vulnerability. Artistic people need constructive criticism to hone their craft. Criticism, however, particularly in the age of the internet, comes in many shapes and nameless forms. Before I was published, I noticed how actors took to their criticism. I heard, with great curiosity, how some said they never even read it. I read mine and then I don't for years, only to go back to it and read it again. My...

Insecure Writer's Support Group It's no big secret. I'm not fond of critiques. Last April I wrote a post called  Critique Anxiety . This was about presenting an excerpt from my manuscript for a workshop. That was the same manuscript that I almost gave up on and wrote yet another post about my loathing of rejection called  Query Burn Out . While it seemed to me that I was bathing in rejections, eventually I got a publishing deal for my debut work of fiction. Now that the book will be published I have gone about setting up a blog tour or even hiring a publicist. I reached out to a publicist and unexpectedly she critiqued my online presence. Signing up for a critique or asking for one through your actions, such as submitting work for review, is one thing. When they come out of the blue, it's quite another. Unbeknownst to me, the publicity firm combed through my social media. Then they reported back what they thought I needed to do to make it better. This didn...

Recently, I surprised myself with the anxiety over submitting a manuscript excerpt to my writer's workshop. It all started rather normal but then took an odd twist into what I consider abnormal behavior. I always edit and revise. All writers do that. But this time was different. I edited the heck out of it. Maybe combing over it 15 times total and revising it each time, eventually nothing was left in my opinion accept for tweaking but tweak I did. This was to a work that had already been edited several times. I hope I haven't leached the life out of that excerpt. It is from my work-in-progress, "Out of the Blue." I am still filled with dread when I think about the upcoming evening of my critique, which takes place about a week from now. You know I've posted before about  Critique Anxiety . When I read over that post from last year, I see that the anxiety I blogged about arose because I was in a different workshop, about to present my work. I'm not this ...

Sharing one’s work, written or visual can be a frightening proposition.  You've slaved away in your studio, lost in your thoughts and personal motivation.  Then you and your work step out into the world to see what others see in the creative expression. For me, at times this stepping out into an unknown realm can be daunting and the prospect of doing it yesterday with my writing has left me with a headache. I am workshopping my fiction at Newberry Library.  Love the workshop, the teacher and there are many fascinating people and good writers in the class. I had been working on a new first chapter to my novel.  My original first chapter wasn't grabbing enough; it just focused on the protagonist’s everyday experience. The revised first chapter was difficult to write. After writing and editing it I was almost ready to cry.  It is sad and unfortunate, what happens to her.  She is a seemingly powerless teenager who gets abuse...