Editing
Industry Trends: New Adult Fiction
Step aside Young Adult Fiction, you’ve got some competition. Who is this new threat — or rather close relative — to the beloved teen genre, you may be asking? It’s called New Adult. New Adult isn’t necessarily a new thing. However, this is the first…
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Ghostwriting: it’s not nearly as scary as it sounds!
What is a ghostwriter? A ghostwriter is a hired writer who is paid to write under another person’s name — don’t worry, there are no real ghosts involved! A ghostwriter can be hired to work on a number of projects. These projects can range from blog…
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Self-Publishing Checklist
Self-Publishing Checklist Write. If you haven’t finished your book, and you want to publish it in a timely fashion, you will need to set up a schedule. It may help to create certain goals for yourself each day or week. Such as 1000 words a day,…
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The Why and How of Writing Your Book Proposal
If you are a writer in the process of becoming a published author, having a roadmap for your publishing timeline is an important component of your book selling marketing plan. Whether you are seeking an agent for traditional book publishing or you are planning on self-publishing,…
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4 Steps to Publish Your Book
Writing and publishing a book is not an undemanding venture. The transition between the solitude of the creative process, and exposing your book to the world can be torturous. But you are determined! If you’ve gotten this far, it’s because you deserve it, and you should…
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Editing Vs. Proofreading: Do You Know the Difference?
What is the difference between “editing” and “proofreading”? It isn’t always easy to tell both terms apart and many people consider them to be synonyms. However, proofreading and editing focus on different areas and both are still extremely important in the outcome of a document or…
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Developmental Editing: When Your Manuscript Needs More
If you have been following this blog, you know by now that you should have your written manuscript edited at least two separate times, and that the final proofreading stage is just that—the final run-through before publishing and using the preview copy. In a previous post,…
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Why You Need a Copy Editor
Most writers know that for professional results it is important to put their manuscript through at least one round of editing. If the writer is comfortable with the manuscript in terms of story, plot, timelines, character formation, and so on, then investing in the services of…
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How to Choose a Literary Point Of View
You can define your literary point of view (POV) as the person through whose eyes your reader sees, feels, and experiences the action of the story. Understanding the different points of view and choosing the right POV person or character is a very important task for…
Read MoreEditing ain’t easy
Editing ain’t easy. I may have mentioned earlier that Scrivener is, without a doubt, making me a much better editor. As I continue to polish up my Mayonnaise Murders Vol. 2 manuscript, all I can think about is how much better Volume 1 could have been if I had…
Read MoreProofreading, Editing, or Both?
Almost all authors know that they SHOULD have an editor. Writing the first draft or manuscript is just the initial step in the process of getting your book to publication, whether fiction or non-fiction. Ideally, your work should go through at least two or three rounds…
Read MoreThe Case for Formal Writing
With written communication now possible in so many types and variations, the skill of formal writing is often a little forgotten, and its importance often unstated. Formal writing is used in academic, scientific and most office settings whenever you want to convey your ideas to a…
Read MoreBook Editing: Myths and Misinformation
There’s a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding out there about the role of book editors. Here in this post of my weekly series, I help to debunk some of those misconceptions: #1: Good writers don’t need editors. In the “new world” of self-publication and “service” publishers you…
Read MoreWhat Type of Editing Does Your Manuscript Need?
Not every type of editing is the same, and you have to choose which one is the best for your manuscript. In order to make a good choice, you need to get familiar with the different options for your editing project. There are three most common…
Read MoreReady. Set. Self-Publish!
The self-publishing revolution is in full swing because we’re at a time when the use of tablets has reached a critical point, and connectivity is abundant. The time for every author to consider self-publishing is here! Here are a few reasons why you should self-publish: Control.…
Read MoreReader first, editor later.
Anne Lamott says in Bird by Bird, “you wouldn’t be a writer if reading hadn’t enriched your soul more than other pursuits.” I’d like to apply this quote to editors too, because editors do more than just read a manuscript. Editors are also supposed to edit, of course.…
Read MoreSelf-Publishing vs. Subsidy Publishing
As I discussed on a past blog post, there are several ways to publish a book. Today I want to make a quick comparison of two that are probably very similar, yet not the same. Unlike self-publishing, the subsidy publishing house distributes books under its own…
Read MoreAnd then God made editors…
You know, the good thing about having a good editor is they give you good advice. I (thought I’d) finished Part 3 of my novel The Mayonnaise Murders several weeks ago and was all geeked to have that thing finally done so I could have it…
Read MoreThe 10 commandments of Self-Publishing: part 2
Here is the second installment of my 10 item of the very important things you need to have in mind before, during, and after your self-publishing process: 1. Self-publishing is a contact sport. The biggest mistake people make when it comes to self-publishing…
Read MoreThe Invisible Hand: An editor’s Role
While many published books do include an acknowledgement to the writer’s editor after the title page, I’ve often thought while that is nice, the acknowledgement simply does not do justice to an editor’s hard work. An editor brings an active intelligent voice to your manuscript, making…
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