published, self-published, un-published

[Jo Zebedee]

Interesting to see all the different opinions from people. So many of them that I just couldn't tell.

Thank you for the post springs.

I was glad not to be guessing!

Is that 56% only the ones I guessed? eeep! Or was it from all of them?

(I didn't answer when I knew or recognised for certain where something was from, though now I've re-read things I'm pretty sure I recognise another two of them!)

Yep, that's from the ones you guessed. Although I did work it out as a percentage - see below; you might want to check.

42.857% (as 1/7 is just over 14¼%)

Thank you!

 

[Anne Lyle]

While any 100 words may be edited just as well, a professional publisher will have input on story and structure that can't be recognized in this format.

I'd agree - my editor had zero input on my prose. A bit of proofreading, a few word choices questioned (few as in, half-a-dozen in the entire book), and that was about it. As SciFrac says, it tends to be big-picture input. And even if your editor is more hands-on, how to distinguish their work from a talented self-published (or as-yet unpublished) writer?

So, an interesting exercise, but TBH the only distinction I can make is whether or not it is likely to have passed the standards of an acquiring editor, and even then it's not that obvious - there's some real dreck out there! But no way could I tell unpublished from self-published - the quality of the latter is just too variable to generalise. For every self-published writer who polishes their prose to professional standards, there are ten who wouldn't know good writing if it jumped out and bit them

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Don't think i'll be getting a job as an acquiring editor any time soon lol, and now hoping I didn't offend anyone with my comments.

 

[Boneman]

Don't think i'll be getting a job as an acquiring editor any time soon lol, and now hoping I didn't offend anyone with my comments.

No, it was good to get honest opinion on a work, I'm sure. Was for me, anyway!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Don't think i'll be getting a job as an acquiring editor any time soon lol, and now hoping I didn't offend anyone with my comments.

I wasn't offended at all.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

umm oh dear !!! I should learn to keep me trap shut lol

 

[Hex]

I'll forgive you, too

Ah ha! Then I have guessed two more people who submitted stuff to this.

I must admit I am interested by how hard it's been to distinguish between published and unpublished but since the exercise was to see if we could tell "professional" writing (as the nitwit on the hook critique said), I guess we can't.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

TDZ has 18% right (although this could be subject to a steward's enquiry as it was hard to keep up with how many guesses were in there. )

Foul! I cry foul! Oh, wait, foul is what my guessing was. And my second-guessing, too, apparently. Never mind.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Okay, so the answers. I'll leave it up to individual Chronners if they want to say which theirs was if they want to.

1. Unpublished: a Chronner.

2. Self-published, but it has now been picked up and published. (I used the self-published version.) -- Amanda Hocking.

3. Self-published, Stephen Sweeney.

4. Published, Patricia McKillop.

5. Unpublished - me. (The lighthouse-finger thing is clearer in the context; he is tracing between two lighthouses, sort of 3d like, on the map, but I wanted to keep excerpts under 100 words. Evidently needs an edit, though. )

6. Published, Ilona Waters

7. Published, Lauren Buerkes. (The small b is deliberate and not a publisher's error -- she does this sort of thing quite a lot.)

8. Self-pubbed (although as with number two a published version has now been picked up) - David Dagleish

9. Unpubbed Chronner, which should apparently immediately be published.

10. Published, Chris Beckett.

11. Self Pubbed, Chronner.

12. Unpubbed (but I think might be going to be published?) Chronner.

 

[Mouse]

I'm so glad number 10's published cos now I can say this... I thought it was the biggest piece of crap up there!! Awful.

Second biggest piece of crap is clearly number 11. Which is by me. (And has actually been edited by a pro, so nurr!) I'd argue til I was blue in the face that you can totally hiss a sentence but yes, the rest of it is poo. All three of them are going to be re-edited and I'm working on the first right now. (The 100 words posted here come from book 3).

I think number 4 is awful too.

 

[Remedy]

I agree with you Mouse. I believe that "hissed" is valid - I like it, I use it too.

It doesn't mean they spoke the sentence like a serpent. Just like "spat" doesn't mean they sprayed saliva with every word

Really interesting springs, thanks. Well done all chronners who were featured

 

[Hex]

I love number 4 -- Patricia McKillip. It maybe wasn't the best excerpt to foist on poor springs (sorry!) but I truly love her voice. She does the best description of anyone I've read, and has the richest, most wonderful worlds. And the most handsome and mysterious heroes, and the nastiest witches... I'm re-reading another of her books right now. *sigh*

Argh on the number 2 -- I got that totally wrong (sorry, unnamed Chronner who it reminded me of).

6 was Ilona Andrews -- of Magic Bites etc urban fantasy fame.

I thought 12 was being published?

(Mine was 9, from the days before I started writing in first present)

I quite like people hissing things, Mouse. I dropped it for a bit because people don't go for it, but I've changed my mind because I like it when I read it.

Thank you so much, springs, for doing all this. It was fun and I think it indicates the critter on the hook thing was talking out of his/ her behind.

Just out of interest -- does anyone else know the significance of "Get to Falkirk", or is it just a Scottish thing?

 

[HareBrain]

I've also been picked up on hissing dialogue which doesn't involve ssssibillantssss, but what other word can you use for a forceful/harsh/urgent near-whisper? Yet again the language of Shakespeare and Byron proves to be an inadequate sack of crap.

 

[Mouse]

I actually thought yours was number 6, Hex, which I thought was the best up there. I totally spotted springs's right off the bat.

And yay for the agreement about hissing!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I love number 4 -- Patricia McKillip. It maybe wasn't the best excerpt to foist on poor springs (sorry!) but I truly love her voice. She does the best description of anyone I've read, and has the richest, most wonderful worlds. And the most handsome and mysterious heroes, and the nastiest witches... I'm re-reading another of her books right now. *sigh*

Argh on the number 2 -- I got that totally wrong (sorry, unnamed Chronner who it reminded me of).

6 was Ilona Andrews -- of Magic Bites etc urban fantasy fame.

I thought 12 was being published?

(Mine was 9, from the days before I started writing in first present)

I quite like people hissing things, Mouse. I dropped it for a bit because people don't go for it, but I've changed my mind because I like it when I read it.

Thank you so much, springs, for doing all this. It was fun and I think it indicates the critter on the hook thing was talking out of his/ her behind.

Just out of interest -- does anyone else know the significance of "Get to Falkirk", or is it just a Scottish thing?

You're welcome. Yes indeed, critter talking no sense. I didn't know the relevance but thought the Scottish reference might give you away. Thanks to everyone who submitted!

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I don't mind the hissed and spat but they were why I assumed it wasn't traditionally published. It wasn't the writing or subject or anything like that. Just the terms are being edited out a lot.

And I am now relieved I can rescue myself - that bit, number 9, would be much better in present tense.

 

[Hex]

I didn't know the relevance but thought the Scottish reference might give you away.

I'll have to wait until Aber comes over here and see if he knows...

Thanks, Anya. I think we should ask ourselves (but probably no one else ): what wouldn't be better in present tense?

re 6 -- I enjoyed the Ilona Andrews books. They were fun. But I never thought the writing was their strong point. I was surprised how easily people identified that one as being published.

 

[alchemist]

12. Unpubbed (but I think might be going to be published?) Chronner.

That's me, a short story for which I've signed a contract, but hasn't yet been published. For the purposes of this, it never saw a professional editor.



I realised Falkirk was probably Hex's, (and I recognised Mouse's and springs' straight away) but don't know of any significance. Is Falkirk where the really naughty people get sent to?

 

[alchemist]

6. Published, Ilona Waters

7. Published, Lauren Buerkes. (The small b is deliberate and not a publisher's error -- she does this sort of thing quite a lot.)

I really liked 6 too. It was so smooth and natural, I could easily imagine reading it.

As for deliberate mistakes, why, why, why, why!?

 

[Abernovo]

I'll have to wait until Aber comes over here and see if he knows...

You called?
The phrase was usually 'get tae France' when I knew it. For those who haven't worked it out, Falkirk and France are substitutes for another word beginning with F. One we weren't allowed to use back in the day. Ahem, not that we used get tae France, either, of course.
(In other words, F Off.)

I was staying out of this, as I've only just got back and the conversation seemed to have been going on for a while. I 'd missed too much.

As it happens, I thought I recognised your style, Hex, and springs'. A couple of the other Chronners, too, although I wasn't entirely confident at putting names to them.

EDIT: You're welcome, Hex (below). As I recall, it was in an Iain Banks novel, too. The Business, I think.