The Author's Checklist

 A Useful Guide for Aspiring Authors
​by Patrick Peotto

            When I submitted my legal mystery to potential publishers, I made two naïve assumptions. First, I presumed plot trumped everything in my chosen genre. Editors would be attracted by the unique, elegant murders I’d fashioned interwoven with authentic legal issues. Second, their job was to refine my grammatically correct, but otherwise utilitarian, prose. Provide the flair to keep readers engaged. A webinar with agent Elizabeth Kracht, writer of “The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript” changed my perspective.

            Those of you with editors and/or publishers know what’s coming next, so you can stop reading at this point. As an unpublished, aspiring author and former economics teacher, I found her insights invaluable. The supply of manuscripts far outstrips the demand. Agents and publishers are overwhelmed with submissions. According to Kracht, most are three or four extensive edits away from being ready. As such, regardless of how compelling the story, they require too much time and labour to be economically viable. Authors that prepare strategically can avoid this pitfall and refine their work, therefore increasing the chances of success. Thus the purpose of her book.

            Drawing on another economic analogy, I found her work useful on both the macro and micro levels. While chapters are arranged alphabetically around specific focal points from Acknowledgments to World Building, I preferred to divide them into these two broad categories. I zoomed out to examine my overall novel when considering aspects like characterization, plot, point of view, setting, and themes. Checklist questions at the end of each of these chapters helped focus the critical analysis of my outline, the people who inhabit my fictional world, the conflicts they endure, and the context within which they exist. Her pointers on chapter arc were particularly insightful.

            On the micro level, she provides practical information to avoid common pitfalls. She delves into specifics on everything from proofreading to formatting. Each chapter has specific examples that help focus the editing process. In my own experience, this allowed me to layer my revisions, kind of like painting a room in various steps from primer to final coat. At the end of each chapter, she includes checklists to assure the goals have been accomplished.

            On the downside, I found some aspects a little too rigid. For example, she rejects manuscripts that fail to conform to her optimal chapter length parameters. I had heart palpitations after reading her advice. My first reaction was to scan numerous best sellers to see whether they conformed, and much to my relief, they didn’t. She also has rules about the requisite mix of action, description, and dialogue in a chapter. This too was perplexing for me, as some of my chapters have nothing but action as I describe a murder, while others are virtually all conversation as a suspect is interrogated. Again, my limited research suggests that the expectations are not so hard and fast.
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            Prior to submitting my manuscript, I sought feedback from Beta readers and engaged a freelance editor with experience at a publishing house specializing in mysteries. Since reading Kracht’s book, I’ve spent a month re-editing and feel my story has improved markedly. Her guide provided clear direction to enhance my final product. It’s also far cheaper than hiring someone, although it is more labour intensive on my part. While there are no guarantees my work will be accepted, her advice opened my eyes to the difficult task ahead and brought a framework to meet the challenges of becoming a published author.