I've been editing for friends in exchange for other bookish favors for almost ten years. I've been doing freelance editing for about three, when I decided that I needed a day job that wasn't related to my creativity. The other day I ran across a book review where the reviewer was bashing the editor of … Continue reading A Few Notes From a Freelance Editor
Editing
Edit Rounds, Typos, and the Finished Project…
This meme has been floating around, and got my re-thinking about something I think on often... HOW DO TYPOS SURVIVE? For those traditionally published, you KNOW that typos make it into the final version of your book - almost every single time. (I'll admit to a tiny part of me being giddy when I find … Continue reading Edit Rounds, Typos, and the Finished Project…
Things We Forget
I remember a moment of time before I signed my first publication contract when I would hear published authors say - All of you newer writers, enjoy this time of no deadlines, where you are writing purely for the joy of writing. Where you can shut out the world, deadlines, editors, and critics and just … Continue reading Things We Forget
Hone Story-Telling Skills Without Writing
I'm going to start this post with a short personal note. Over the past week I put a house on the market that I designed and built. I had my first surgery outside of wisdom teeth removal and have been stuck in bed. And while bed-ridden, moved from the house I built into a basement … Continue reading Hone Story-Telling Skills Without Writing
Manuscript Isn’t Selling?
The thing I hear most often at writing conferences is the following : I’ve edited and edited. Worked and worked. And I still can’t get an agent or publisher interested in my Manuscript. So, I paired up with MAKEREADY DESIGNS/QUIRKS & COMMAS to offer the following: A free read of chapter one (no more than 4k) – at … Continue reading Manuscript Isn’t Selling?
Identity Crisis
When I first began writing, I had no notions of writing YA. I was going to be the next Nora Roberts or Sophie Kinsella. I hadn't decided quite yet. And then I read Sarah Addison Allen, and I was terrified I'd never be able to write like that (I won't, and that's ok. We're different). … Continue reading Identity Crisis
Humilty & Ego
There's a place for both humility and ego in any creative project. Ego has its place in drafting, in creating, in crafting... Humility is needed for editing and yes, crafting goes here too. The one time I get the perfect balance of humility and ego is when I'm working on a project with another author. … Continue reading Humilty & Ego
Wanna Know How/Where to Start Your Novel?
Wanna Know How/Where to Start Your Novel? Read a TON of first chapters. I'll talk about published ones today, and unpublished ones in another post. On my week of not-writing, one of the things I did was go to Amazon and read a TON of first chapters. (I may write up something on how important … Continue reading Wanna Know How/Where to Start Your Novel?
A Few Fav Blurb/Query Helps
This is a post I've meant to do for AGES. I'm sure I'll come back and edit this post as I find new ways to write blurbs, but these are my favs... for now. Helping someone else with their blurb or query is simple. Working one up for myself? Not as simple. There was a blissful … Continue reading A Few Fav Blurb/Query Helps
Critique Like a Sandwich
So, my last post talked about how EGO is not for EDITING, and we got into a discussion about giving and receiving feedback, which turned into - HOW CAN I BE A BETTER CRIT PARTNER? Be Aware of Bias Critique Like a Sandwich - ALWAYS smoosh the not so great things, with the great things … Continue reading Critique Like a Sandwich
