I’m a novice self-publishing author, tackling something new almost every day. It’s a tough road, and one I share with many writers traveling a similar path. The tasks that fall to us – writing, editing, working with cover artists, researching ebook formatting and print edition options, putting up websites, blogging, tweeting, posting on Facebook – can be overwhelming. The flip side is the satisfaction that accompanies every little success. For me, the most unexpected and rewarding benefit so far has been the sheer generosity of those a little farther along the road.
I’ve met a slew of fellow writers on Twitter and bonded with many. Some have freely doled out pointers about what they’ve learned that works, and what to avoid. Others have shared helpful info acquired along the way. Christine Nolfi is one of these generous, supportive friends. I’d like to share a trick she passed on that has completely changed the way I edit my work.
Christine’s tip actually made me dash off emails to beta-readers – “don’t start Mark of the Loon!” I followed her suggestion to create a “key line” version of my WIP and found a gazillion run-on sentences. It was like reading a whole new novel (accccck!). I spent days re-working almost every section of narrative in the book. File this amazing tool under Tricks My Girlfriends Taught Me:
How to create a simple “paperback” version of your novel in Word
A key-line layout creates a paperback version of your novel. The end result is a landscape, two-column format. It’s an alternate way to review your manuscript that provides a fresh perspective after months (years?) reading in the traditional, vertical format. Here’s how – in Word:
• Set page to landscape (go to File > Page Set-up > Paper: size/letter, width 11” & length 8.5” > Click Okay)
• Create 2 columns (go to Format > Columns > Click Two > Click Okay
• Set document to single space
Christine Nolfi:
“When I owned a big house in Ohio, I hosted slumber parties for Northeast Ohio writers. A few would drive in from Pennsylvania. It was a wonderful experience, with 10-12 women novelists usually spending the night. We’d critique each other, stay up until dawn discussing the industry, editors, agents, etc. Successful Berkley novelist Erin McCarthy mentioned this landscape trick during one overnight. She publishes 2 books a year without fail, and we’d all been wondering how she did it. Her secret: the landscape trick.
I’ve used it ever since. I key-line every novel I write (twice, actually) and find many errors that way, as well as areas 
that need deepening. You’ll also find an abundance of typos that skip past beta readers. The fact is, if you write in a compelling fashion, even your critique partners will get caught up in the story and turn off the internal editor. Also keep in mind you’ll need at least two days between completing a novel and beginning that final line edit. You must give your brain time to rest. And the final edit requires days of work. It’s impossible to do adequately in one push.”
Contemporary fiction author of Treasure Me, The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge and Second Chance Grill. Follow Christine on twitter @christinenolfi and visit her website!
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ha! I actually giggled. My very first sentence was a run-on! I have found converting a .doc or a .docx to PDF helps too. Thanks for the sharing Christine’s great tip.
Thank you so much for the read and comment! Need all the help I can get!
Teresa, if it makes you feel any better, my critique partners invariably check my first drafts to see if Chapter Three is actually Chapter One. Grab the hatchet! Christine has started another novel with backstory!
Molly, thank you for posting the trick for flawless prose. I couldn’t write a novel without it, and I’ll always be grateful that Erin shared it. Of course, the bottle of vodka we always tossed in the freezer as the beginning of a slumber party surely loosened her tongue!
Thank you for your unending support. Please schedule next slumber party in SC. Have vodka, will travel!
Molly, we joke about the slumber party but … we should schedule one at some point at my Charleston home. I miss the parties I used to hold at my house in Ohio. Some of the romance writers would always hold a “best sex scene” contest–which was quite amusing because they’d begin reading pages after they were more than a bit tipsy. Then one of the RS writers would scare us half to death with a grisly passage from her latest novel. The fantasy writers? Not sure why, but they always rose at sunrise to whip up Belgian waffles we were all too hung over to enjoy.
I think a slumber party is a done deal – we’ll just have to figure out when … maybe 2013!
Christine told me about this tip on Twitter. I love it and I don’t think I’ll go back. It makes me feel like I’m writing a novel, not a high school essay on Word.
Christine is smart, talented and supportive. And I so agree – I feel like a big girl now!
Rebecca, you ARE writing a novel. Or a short story. Or a novella. The key-line tricks continually makes you aware that, yes, readers will read your work. I couldn’t live without the key-line trick.
Awesome. I guess you can’t figure out how it works until you try it. Spilled water on my mac yesterday and lost all the work I did not back up from Sunday night. UGh! So I cannot even try it. I’m using my son’s computer today.
Jodi, I’m phobic when I write. Must print out pages as I go, as if a power failure will strike at any moment. So sorry you lost your pages.
Great tip…thanks so much!
Great tip! I just converted the beginning of my manuscript. Haven’t started reading it this way yet, but it’s fun to look at. Looks more like a book! Thanks for the tip.
Thanks to Christine! It’s like reading a whole new story. Best of luck on your WIP, Rhonda!
Wow! Definitely going to use that when I hit that stage on ATIN’s revisions. Thanks, Molly and Christine for sharing!
You’ll be amazed at what a difference it makes, Jennie – thanks so much for the read and comment!
Omigosh, I needed this years ago! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Molly!! What a wonderful tip!
You and me both, Jo – better late than never, right? Thank you for the read and comment!!
Well hey there! All of you are perfect examples of why being an eBook writer these days is such a wonderful experience. I checked it out on my latest experiment and it didn’t look so bad. However, I am not an editor. Cool thing is we are teaching ourselves! I dig it.
I am now a Key-lined disciple.
Cheers
–Damien
…and Damien, you have the perfect name for a best-selling author. Thanks for stopping by!!
Ohhhhhh Snap! A diamond!
“You have the perfect name for a best-selling author.”
It is now my mission in life to sincerely and genuinely tell that to 100 other struggling authors!
Another priceless tip!
–Damien
Wonderful advice! I’ll put it to use right away since I’m now editing my second manuscript. Thanks so much!
I shall add this to my editing arsenal. I actually blogged about editing ideas not too long ago, but this is something shiny and new. Thanks for the tip! Now, back to editing despite my burning eyeballs.
What a great way to ‘see’ one’s story! Thanks, Molly and Christine. I’m using this tip now.
Thank you so much Carol for the read and comment – I LOVE this tip!
Wonderful idea. You get so used to reading something one way that it’s easy to glaze over the familiar. Anything that helps defamiliarize something you’ve been staring at is extraordinarily helpful. This got me thinking about varying the formats, and I was able to hook up my macbook to my television using some fairly standard cables. It allowed me a widescreen/zoomed-in view of the MS, which was certainly a different experience.
I would love to try this – a widescreen read would be very interesting!
Great tip, you two! Thank you!
Interesting idea, key line editing. Yes, this is a great idea, a wonderful way of seeing your work anew. Anything that helps a writer see his or her work fresh will definitely help him or her to “hear” their work with new ears. Great tip!
@Inkdipped
Increasing the font size can help, as well. Thanks for the read and comment, Elaine!
Great idea, I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll try it when I go back to my WIP. Thanks for sharing.
When I get to the beta reader stage, I actually make a physical book. In Word, Page Set up, I leave it in portrait, but for Multiple pages click on the box that says ‘normal’ and pick “Book fold” (20 or 24 pages) then I send it to a photocopier set double sided, flip on the short edge. This makes signatures of 20-24 pages, which I sew together. I can make nice full colour covers on the off-set printer at the local UPS store for under $4, clamp, glue and then you REALLY have the book experience!
For the price, however, I think I’m going to do future proof books with Createspace. 400 pages is under $6 plus shipping, and aside for the waiting, it would certainly take less time than my sewing method.
I agree that you see something completely different every time you re-arrange the text! Reading aloud is also very good at catching problems. I read my entire novel onto CD for my visually impaired father. I made a lot of changes as a result.
Wow, thanks for this fantastic tip! I’m in the process of editing my manuscript and this will be a huge help.
Yaaaay! Best of luck on your edit!
Great advice! Thank you!
I’m about to sound like a complete idiot, but WHAT is a “key line” version? I have know idea what you mean by this.
Thanks in advance for any help that you can give.
Hi Christy! It’s about printing out a landscape (sideways) version of your manuscript, more like a book. The 8 1/2 inch side of the paper will be left and right, the 11 inch side will be top and bottom. Does that help?