Casting Call for Editors · 5:35pm May 13th, 2014
Hello Everyone
Quillery Penfeather here. If you are seeing this message as a follower or just a passer-by, then you may know me as an aspiring author whose current focus seems to be on the writing of fan fiction based in the My Little Pony Universe. If you were to tell me 5 years ago that I would be writing stories about pastel colored ponies, I’d call you insane, but, here we are. I guess I’m the crazy one…
I have a great value in Fanfiction, especially in this fandom. The readers and other authors are all so very nice, the feedback is always welcome and nearly instant, and there is just such a strong culture behind it that makes it a really fun place to be a contributor. I myself got started in fanfiction back in my World of Warcraft days, but here in the MLP fandom I feel like I have a place where I can truly shine as I build myself into a full fledged author one day.
My favorite part of being an author of this fandom is that I can network with some many different kinds of people. I can talk to my readers directly, I can commission fantastic artwork for covers, and most importantly, I can find people who share my love of written media, and people who can help me master the craft.
I am always on the go with new ideas, and with that comes a growing list of demand from myself, and my readers, and I’m always feeling like one day I’ll push myself too far, if not for the help of my editors. I have worked with many different people who have offered me advice and criticism on my work, and I am always on the look for more, which is why I am making this message.
I have big projects on the way, that I wish to complete over the course of the summer and beyond, and I need as many editors that I can get my hands on to help my work to shine its absolute brightest. I have had many people over my time here offer their advice, but now is the time that you can really be involved with my writing.
I am looking for people that would enjoy to Pre-Read or Edit the multitude of stories I wish to complete over the summer. I welcome all and any who would wish to help me in the following areas.
PRE-READERS
Pre-readers are just what it says on the tin. You read the story after its been edited a few times by myself and editors, but before everyone else, with an emphasis on the story itself. You are meant to look at consistencies in the plot, the characters, the settings, and other errors that you may spot that detract from your enjoyment of the story either per chapter or as a whole.
EDITORS
As heavy lifters, the editors must have the ability to catch mechanical writing issues, from basic and advanced, and I make them a lot. Sometimes I can go on writing binges that vary from 2000-5000 words in a single sitting, and that leaves a lot of stray comma splices, awkward sentences, bad dialogue punctuation, and so much more. You get to see the work before anyone else, and have the opportunity to comment on the story as well, but you will still be focused on making the story work mechanically, grammatically, ect…
What I Expect from both Pre-Readers and Editors
Aside from special areas of focus, there are some things I wish from any and all who look and advise on my work.
I expect you to be able to be honest with me, even if it hurts.
I am a grown adult. I can take criticism with the best of them, and I don’t appreciate people sugar coating anything for the sake of my feelings. I want to be a professional author one day, and I’m not going to get there with my hand being held like a child. I need real, honest and even brutal comments and criticism to improve my skills. If you see something wrong, I want to hear about it. If you need to swear at me over something I wrote, I want to hear about it.
Yell, scream, curse, shout, or get out a sharp stick and start poking me, I dont care. Just be honest with your opinions, and I’ll be honest with mine. There may even be times where I’ll refute or push back. It might because I think you are wrong, or it may be that I want you to prove it to me that I’m the one who’s wrong. Don’t take this as a sign that I don’t like you. As a great man on television once said, “Conflict breeds creativity.” It is the simple act of discourse and discussion that can unearth hidden possibilities and make a story better for it, and its happened before.
I want you to add your own voice to the story
No great work can truly stem from one being. There is always some level of collaboration and partnership that makes an idea better. Just because I am the author, doesn’t mean you don’t get a chance to make suggestions. You guys are helping me build a story, not necessarily my story. There are so many ideas and plot lines in things I have written so far that weren’t completely my own ideas. Some little tidbits have been suggested by my editors and prereaders, and the story has been better for it. I want story suggestions, plot ideas, ways a scene could unfold better. Just tell me what you think, and we can see where it fits.
Don’t just tell me what’s wrong. Tell me what’s right.
If there comes a time where you stumble on a part of a story that, regardless of its grammatical quality, is something you admire, or find to be really funny, or potently sad, or whatever other emotional resonance you get, please tell me. It is just as important to know what mistakes I am making so I can stop making them, as it is for me to know what good bits of writing I am doing, so I can keep doing them and evolving my style. Tell me what you like, and why.
Play nice, but play hard with not just me, but other editors.
Calling back to the “conflict breeds creativity” quote, I also expect a fair bit of interaction between the editors and prereaders themselves. Sometimes one will make a comment that another will disagree with. I want this to happen, but I want the ensuing discourse to be civil and respectful. There’s no need for blood over ink. Just state your reasons why you agree or disagree, and try to come to a constructive conclusion.
Communicate!
If you ever feel the need to pull me into an extended conversation, do so! Just let me know a time, and I’d be happy to either skype chat or communicate with a veritable selection of electronic chatting so we can keep connected. If it’s something about the story, or you just want to have a conversation about the show, fimfictions, or writing in general. I like to think I am a very approachable person, and I do love to have nice chats now and then about all kinds of things.
If anyone does wish to contribute to helping me improve myself as a writer, then send me a gmail to quillerypenfeather@gmail.com. I do all of my work in Google Drive, and editing done mostly through comments. If you are someone who prefers to have true editing privileges, we can talk further, but expect a short probationary period of sorts before I give you more access to the documents.
I thank everyone taking the time to read this casting call, and I hope to see some of you in the comments!
Thank you, and happy reading
Quillery Penfeather.
Hey, it's you. I remember you. You're the guy who wrote that awesome Vanilla Twilight, right? Yeah, there it is. I picked that up in the Training Grounds thread back on /fic/.
I wouldn't mind signing up for prereading. I could give you my special prereading review style from my thread (which still exists on /fic/) and I'll even add in what editing advice I can. As long as the chunks aren't too huge it shouldn't be a problem.
I'll send you an email later.