Excellence in Editing and Formatting

I confess that I have a number of pet peeves when it comes to the editing and formatting of books. As someone who edits for several small presses as well as independent authors, I understand the positive impact the good brain and eye of an experienced editor can have on the finished product. Wearing an author hat, we all read or see what we expect to see on the page, rather than what is actually there. If we expect to see, "The horse ran across the road," what might really be there is "The horse tan across the roas." We don't see what is obvious to another, because our author brain knows what is supposed to be there.

A recent labor of love.

 As an editor, I want to see . . . rather than the annoying ............... I like to see long dashes––rather than - this. A lack of consistent spelling of names and products drives me nuts, as do spaces between paragraphs. The Chicago Manual of Style is my writing and editorial bible. I also do book the occasional book design, so paragraphs that have indents of more than a third of an inch bother me, as does ragged left text in a printed book.  

The proliferation of self-published authors who do not have the funds or take the time to hire an independent editor to catch these and other mistakes adds to the problem. When I as a reader am distracted enough by poor formatting, typos, and plot inconsistencies. I put down the book. And that's a shame, because most times, the story is worth reading. Lest you think I am too hard on authors, I include myself as one who has made the mistake of self-publishing a book that was not independently edited, a book that was not ready for publication. Lesson learned. 

The fact remains that an author who publishes with a small independent press, or who self-publishes, has to deliver a product that is equally as well-edited and well-formatted as a book that has landed on a major bestseller list. That is hard to do, but the extra effort will be worth it. I also believe that this attention to detail in writing and producing books carries through to other areas of our lives. It translates to a spotless tack room, diligence in developing a good canter departure, and delivering a well-turned out horse. It's taking time to do the best you can and in taking pride in going the extra mile to make your product that much better.

Even with as many as seven edits, each of my books that were published by a major publisher has a typo or two. Those are seemingly inevitable. But I use well-edited books, expert grooming of horses, and beautiful riders to motivate myself to reach deeper, father, and higher in all that I do. What motivates you to do better?

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Lisa Wysocky is a bestselling and award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction, including the Cat Enright equestrian mystery series, now optioned for film and television. She is also a therapeutic riding instructor who consults with PATH and other centers about their horse herds. Find her at lisawysocky.com

Summertime

Summer seems to be here in full swing in the South. It was as if the weather went last week from a nice, cool, wet Spring to muggy, miserable, energy-draining, 90-degree humidity in the blink of an eye. As a Minnesota native, I struggled in the heat for many years until I finally figured out a while back that it was okay to slow down on hot summer afternoons. Rather than ride in the afternoon, I could write. Rather than muck stalls at noon, I could do that in the evening.  I’ll even admit to the occasional summer afternoon nap.

Acknowledging and respecting the heat should be obvious to many, especially people who grew up in warmer climates, but to a hard-working upper mid-westerner, that lesson only came after years of letting the heat beat me up day after day. Of course, when I finally decided to work with the heat, rather than against it, a horse was involved.

I have long been an advocate of humans studying the horse to learn about him- or herself. It’s what I teach in my clinics and it is a theme that runs through many of my books. Horses study people all the time. It is part of their safety system, and over time, horses have developed an innate ability to tell if a human is mad, sad, tired, sick, angry, or joyful––all from a hundred or more feet away. Why, then, could I not understand that if my horse was hot, then I might be, too?

Then one hot Tennessee day a draft mare that I was caring for became overheated while standing in her paddock under the shade of a lovely, old tree, and something inside me clicked. Just maybe, it was too hot for me, too. I brought the mare in, hosed her off and dried her, then put her in a stall under a fan. Then I did the first smart thing I’d done in a while and went inside.

Many people love the heat. Not me, but I have learned to use it to my advantage. I write all year long, but I am far more productive in the summer, when high temperatures force me inside. The afternoon heat removes all temptation for me to perform yard work, mow the pasture, clean stalls, ride, fix the fence, haul hay, and all the other outdoor activities people with horses regularly do.

Instead, I get to write. I get to put down words that help someone forge a better relationship with his or her horse, and words that hopefully engage people as they help Cat Enright, my protagonist, solve a horse-based who-dun-it.

Summer heat? It will never be my favorite thing, but I’ve learned to make it work for me. How about you? Heat or cold. Which do you prefer?

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Lisa Wysocky is an award-winning, bestselling author and clinician. She is also a registered PATH instructor. Find her online at LisaWysocky.com, or on Facebook or Twitter.

Reading, Writing, and Resting

I just came off of a seven-week run on the road, seven weeks of horse fairs and expos, clinics and book signings. I met people everywhere from Montgomery, Alabama to Fargo, North Dakota, and it seems like most of the 62,000 people who attended the Midwest Horse Fair in Madison, Wisconsin. Whew!

Of course I came home with pneumonia, first in the right lung, and several weeks later in the left. That will teach me to do too much. :-) Between bouts of pneumonia, I was able to take part in a really fun video for Colby’s Army, a nonprofit that provides therapeutic riding and other equine assisted activities and therapies in Ashland City, Tennessee. I hope you’ll take time to watch the video, as it was a ton of fun to make.

With strict instructions from my doctor to rest, I have been planning the fourth book in the Cat Enright equestrian mystery series. Her voice is becoming more insistent in my head as I think of possibilities. All I can say at this point is that it will involve a racetrack, and that a number of Cat’s relationships will evolve to new levels. We are looking at a Fall 2017 pub date, so Cat and I need to get writing! After six awards and a film/tv option, the pressure is definitely on to deliver an amazing story. I have no doubt that Cat will come through with flying colors.

I’m off to another nap. Read and ride well. Until next month.

Lisa

––Lisa Wysocky is an award-winning author and clinician who teaches people about the horse. Find her online at lisawysocky.com

Fiction Versus Nonfiction

I recently finished reading two books. One was a nonfiction book about horses, and I came away with the thought of “Really? What kind of tale is this author spinning?” The fiction title was a mystery and the protagonist was a Realtor. From what little I know about buying and selling real estate, that part of the fiction book was completely based in fact.

It is obvious that the line between fiction and nonfiction can be, and often is, blurred. But as an author who writes both, I sometimes wonder just where that line is. Every author has a unique writing process, but certainly a nonfiction book needs to be steeped in fact. Even if the author knows the subject like the back of her hand, research should be done to confirm lesser known facts. For the reader’s benefit, the ideas need to be presented logically, with a little entertainment, such as a good story that is relevant to the facts, thrown in for good measure.

While the writing process for nonfiction can be methodical, with the author checking off each of the points he or she wants to make, fiction can be a wilder ride. From the invention of characters, scenarios, sometimes even the invention of entire towns, the process can be challenging, but a lot of fun. The inventions, however, need to have enough fact in them that the reader is not taken out of the story in disbelief.

In these ways, nonfiction can have an element of fiction, if the author is telling a story to illustrate a point, and fiction must have enough fact to make the story believable. That can be a thin line that is hard to follow, and I applaud every author who gets it right.

I have written many books, and looking back, I have done better weaving all of this together with some books than with others. I am thrilled to report, however, that I seem to have gotten it right in my newest equestrian mystery, The Fame Equation, which has been selected as one of three finalists in the mystery category for the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Awards. 

In a few days I will head to Salt Lake City in a day or so to see if this book, the third in the series, has been selected for a gold medal, or a silver one. In either case, I am so honored by this recognition. This is the sixth award for the series, which has also been optioned for film and television. After so many, many long months of mixing horse facts with the lives of my fictional characters, it is a wonderful feeling to know that in the end, the balance was right.

In a final note, I will be at the Midwest Horse Fair in Madison, Wisconsin April 15-17 teaching people about ground driving and riding in balance. Hope to see many of you there!

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Lisa Wysocky is an award-winning and bestselling author and horsewoman who educates people about the horse. She also is a registered PATH instructor who consults with therapeutic riding centers across the country about their hoses and horse herds. Find her online at LisaWysocky.com

Moving

Moving. Does anyone actually look forward to it? I have spent the last month moving a therapeutic riding center forty miles. It seemed, at times, like 400 miles. Volunteers and I packed up girths, saddles, hay, horses, poles, barrels, storage sheds, water troughs, desks, filing cabinets, tires, grain, supplements, bits, polo wraps, longe lines, and much more. Then we had to unpack, inventory, put up fencing, and organize it all. Whew.

We are still a long way from being finished, but we are functional. Well, almost. We need a mounting block and a wheelbarrow, an electrician and a few more volunteers. I have no doubt that they will all eventually arrive. The best part is that we are now in a large, 54-acre facility with three creeks, a waterfall, riding and hiking trails––even a stage and dance floor.

While the move was exhausting, I also found the new location caused my creative juices to stir. As a mystery author, I always look for fun ways to involve horses, interesting people, and unique settings into my stories. This location has all that and more. I began to have so many story ideas, that I started to jot them down into the notes section of my phone. Now I am intrigued to find out which of these ideas will turn into a book or a short story. Pieces of other ideas, I am sure, will wend their way into a chapter or two, as well. 

Oddly enough, the farm is just a stone's throw away from where Cat Enright, the protagonist in my equestrian mysteries lives. When I started the series a number of years ago, I never dreamed I'd be involved with a therapeutic riding center that was so close to her fictional home.

As a writer, sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery to kick start a project, or get a book to the finish line. As you can see, I now have scenery galore! Feel free to follow the progress of the new farm on Facebook. I think we have a lifetime of projects, and ideas, waiting.

If you are ever in Ashland City, Tennessee, stop by Colby's Army for a visit.  I will probably be in a shady spot near the creek, writing.

 

Lisa Wysocky is an award-winning author, clinician, trainer, and riding instructor.

Find her online at LisaWysocky.com.

Updates and Revisions

My literary agent recently arranged for me to get the rights to several of my earliest works back, a “work” being a book. This sometimes happens when a publisher closes their doors or changes focus on the kinds of books they want to publish. When a writer sells book rights to a publisher, the publisher then has the “right” to publish the book for a specific time period in ways, shapes, and forms that are detailed in the publishing agreement, but that are also usually left up to the publisher.

This means an author usually has little to no say about what the cover looks like, or the size of the type, or whether or not it ever becomes an audio book. The tradeoff is typically excellent editing; the support of sales, PR, and marketing teams; and often, a hefty advance in anticipation of solid book sales.

One of the books I got back, Success Within, is eleven years old and used to be one of my most requested books at my horse clinics and at horse fairs and expos. Used to be, until I couldn’t get copies after the publisher sold out to a company that had no interest in this particular title. Long story short, I am in the middle of the last of the revisions of the book for an updated second edition, and it should be out in March. If you are interested, my website will have news of the actual publication date.

In doing the revisions, I was both thrilled and horrified to find how much I had grown as a writer these past eleven years. Granted, I had never been happy with the final edit of the initial book, but far beyond that, I really hope this second edition will be much better written, and far more engaging. I found some of the passages in the first edition simplistic and more than a few thoughts poorly explained. Horror rushes through me when I think of people reading this early work, but that feeling is mixed with huge pride that the book touched a great many lives.

As writers, we all constantly work to improve our craft. We, hopefully, learn to streamline words when needed, develop beautiful passages of prose and place them in the right places, and both cut to the heart of the matter and communicate our point in ways that leave the reader wanting more. That is not an easy task and writers struggle every day to make that happen. When it does, we rejoice! As time goes on, the idea is that we should improve in this and in doing this rewrite, I am very glad to see that I have.

This process of updating and revising, and the strengthening of my craft of writing, is not all that different than what most of us do with horses. We constantly learn about the horse and find new ideas that will improve communication. Periodically, we reject older methods for ones that work better for the horse, and revel in the beauty of those rare moments of perfect partnership. In that way, the craft of writing and the art of riding are not all that different. 

Lisa is the author of My Horse My Partner and Horse Country, among many other books, and the award-winning Cat Enright cozy equestrian mystery series, now optioned for film and television. When not writing, Lisa is a therapeutic riding instructor who consults with PATH and other centers about their horse herds. She splits her time between Tennessee and Minnesota.

If Horses Could Thank Us

by Lisa Wysocky

Every day I am thankful for horses, but as this year comes to an end, I know our horses are thankful for us. If they could, they would thank us for the food and shelter that we provide, because the reality is that unless a horse is born in the wild, they cannot provide this for themselves.

Our horses would thank us for the companionship of other horses. Since horses are herd animals, the safety and friendship that other horses provide is of utmost importance. They would also thank us for the veterinarian and farrier care that we give through our trusted equine medical professionals, as this is another thing that a horse cannot do for him- or herself.

I am sure our horses would also thank us for the many groomings we give them throughout the year, the care we take to be sure their saddles and other tack fit correctly, and the trail rides we take them on.

If a horse could thank us. This is not a bizarre thought, as the realty is that they thank us every day. Equine body language is subtle and complex, and their vocal tones offer distinctions that most human ears cannot detect, but from the blink of an eye, to a low whicker, to the flick of a tail, yes, they thank us.

 This "laughing horse" is actually relieving stress and tension.

It our job as equine authors to relay these complexities of horse language, thought, and behavior to the reader in an educational, engaging, and entertaining way. It is our job to also do this in a manner that drives the story (whether fiction or nonfiction) forward in words that makes sense to the reader. All of the authors here at Horse Crossings write about horses because we love them. We want our readers to care, too.

I had an editor who once questioned my use of the term “round pen.” “What is that?” she asked. When I explained how a sixty-foot round pen was used to develop leadership in the human side of the horse/human partnership she asked, “Why is it sixty feet?” I then explained that thirty feet was the average outside boundary of a horse’s personal space, so a person standing in the center of the round pen would be roughly thirty feet away from the horse. “That,” she said. “Is fascinating. You need to let your readers know.”

So I did, and with my equestrian mysteries I get just as many positive comments about the details of the equine mind as I do about the story line, or my characters. Subtly, equine authors must educate readers about the horse. If our horses knew, I am sure they would thank us because all of us, horse or human, just want to be understood.

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Lisa Wysocky is the author of the award-winning Cat Enright equestrian mystery series, which has been optioned for film and television. Find Lisa online at Lisa Wysocky.com, Facebook.com/ThePowerofaWhisper, Twitter.com/LisaWysocky

Equine Characters

Fictional horses, just like fictional people, are fun to write. In any form of fiction, the character must have purpose in the story. One might provide comic relief, another moves the story along, a third provides important background information. Of course, every author hopes the reader will not detect any of that kind of story structure, and will simply enjoy the read.

In stereotypical tradition, the protagonist must be good, but flawed. Cat Enright, the lead human character in my horse mysteries, is loyal and loves her four-legged friends, but she has no biological family to speak of and has a teeny problem with anger management. Her sidekicks, Jon, Darcy, and Agnes, provide a voice of reason, youthful sentiment, and wacky fun, not necessarily in that order. Each balances Cat in a different way.

The horses I, or any other author, writes are no different. Gigi, the young filly in my mysteries is the usual scatter-brained young mare who is full of energy, interested in everything, and finds life so much fun! Most of us have had an experience with a young horse like that. Bob is the older, steady-Eddie gelding who might be a little dull, but who never, ever makes a mistake. If he were human, he’d be an accountant. (No offense meant to accountants in general.) Then there is Petey, who likes to grab his lead rope and lead himself back to the barn. He is an adult, but one who likes to grab his fun wherever he can find it. Anyone who has been around horses for a while has known a “babysitter” like Bob and a quirky horse like Petey.

Sally Blue is the lead equine character, and is a young(er) lead mare who is so intuitive that many of the characters in my mysteries think she is psychic. So do a number of readers. Me? I’m not taking a stand either way, because I don’t know for sure. But, many lead mares have that something extra that allows them to keep their herd safe, even when that herd includes just the lead mare and her human partner. But, Sally seems to know about things before they happen. Or, maybe she is just having a good time crossing her legs and blowing all those bubbles in her water bucket.

I love the familiarity of writing cozy mysteries. I love watching my characters grow and develop from one book to the next and have especially enjoyed watching Cat develop her own little family unit of close friends. In my third mystery, The Fame Equation (November 3, 2015), Sally teaches a new horse his place and seems to become frustrated when her human friends do not understand her many odd behaviors. Petey is being taught to pull a cart, Bob finds a new friend, and Gigi is trying very hard not to grow up.

Sally Blue is on the cover of each Cat Enright mystery.

My equine characters have not yet told me what will happen in book four, but they have given me a few hints. And that is the big difference, for me, between writing fiction and nonfiction. These characters get into my brain and direct the story far more (and far better) than I do. Other authors have told me the same thing happens to them when they write fiction. But authors everywhere, myself included, hope their characters also get into the readers’ heads. We all hope readers will think about the characters, horse or human, long after the last word has been read. When that happens, author and character alike have done their jobs.

Happy reading!

Lisa Wysocky