Tag: Writing

Testing, Testing: How to Choose a Freelance Editor

How to Choose a Freelance EditorAs a savvy author, you know you need professional editing whether you hope to interest a traditional publisher or you’re publishing independently.

But how do you know if an editor is a good fit for you?

In an article titled Freelance Editing: How to Hire an Editor for Your Book or Query Letter, Chuck Sambuchino offered advice for hiring a freelance editor. His first piece of advice was “Get a Test Edit.”

A test edit basically means you pass along a few pages and get them reviewed to see what kind of notes and ideas the editor is making in terms of proofreading and content work. Test edits usually work one of two ways: 1) You pass on 1-2 pages and the editor reviews them for free; or 2) you pass on a more substantial number of pages (10-50) and simply pay the editor as normal for those pages. If you like what you see from the test edit, then you can move forward on a bigger deal.”

I think he makes his point well with his example (which hurts my brain every time I read it!)

You wouldn’t let just any mechanic fix your car, so don’t let just any editor fix your words. #editingtip Click To Tweet

This week I’ve been contacted by several writers who are shopping for editors as they near completion of their WIPs, and I’ve made this same offer to each one:

Send me the first few chapters of your manuscript. I’ll select several pages and provide a free, no-obligation sample edit for you. A sample edit is beneficial to both of us; it helps me determine the amount of work your manuscript needs to make it as professional as possible, and it also gives you the opportunity to see how I can improve your book.”

As I wrote here and here, you wouldn’t let just any mechanic fix your car, so don’t let just any editor fix your words. Ask for references from other authors who have hired that editor for the type of work you need, and don’t be afraid to voice your concerns before you hire someone. Editing is like marriage: communication and trust are vital to success.

*A big note about this: I am talking about editing for publication for any medium—printed book, ebook, blog post, advertising blurb, query letter. How your work is published isn’t the determining factor; that you publish a professional piece is. In a blog post titled SELF PUBLISHING ON KINDLE – Have Any Books On Kindle Ever Sold No Copies?, author Steve Truelove gives his answer to that question, which includes:

I guess is if the book is totally hopeless….badly written, full of mistakes, ridlled wiht typo’s, and unedited. Believe me, if you upload a book like that to Kindle you will soon get found out, so to speak.”

Blindly hiring an editor because he’s inexpensive or she knows your mother isn’t a wise business decision. But reviewing a sample edit will give you a huge insight into a particular editor’s knowledge and ability, so don’t hesitate to ask for one before making this important financial and professional decision.

Your expertise is writing; let me show you how my editorial expertise can help you take your writing to the next level. Contact me at cyjohnson5580@gmail.com for a no-obligation quote and sample edit today.

Happy Writing!

—Candace

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3 Things You Shouldn’t Hire an Editor to Do

3 Things You Shouldn’t Hire an Editor to Do
Don’t waste your money–read this article first!

When authors contact me about editing, they often don’t even know what they need. They know they should hire an editor at some point, but many are confused about terminology like developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. But there is SOOOO much a writer can do before paying an editor for his or her expertise—and I’d like to show you three ways to not only save your money but get the most bang for your editorial buck.

1.    Don’t pay an editor to edit your first draft.

No matter how brilliant your ideas are, or how beautifully you phrase them, do some serious revising before you hire professional help. Learning to revise your work is an important part of becoming a professional writer. Get rid of those extraneous words, the fluff that doesn’t say anything, the character who doesn’t advance the story. Consider every word, every sentence, every paragraph. There is no point in hiring a copyeditor to clean up work you may later delete in a revision.

Don’t pay an editor to edit your first draft. #editingtip #amwriting #selfpublishing Click To Tweet

2.    Don’t expect an editor to provide a service other than the one you’ve contracted for.

Your manuscript may need different types of editing help at different stages of your writing process. When you hire a developmental editor, you hire someone to help you with the big picture, not small details like punctuation. When you hire a proofreader, don’t expect help with your story arc; a proofreader is looking at details (like that pesky punctuation the developmental editor didn’t care about). If you’re uncertain about the type of editing help you need, ask me—I’ll be happy to help you figure it out. I’m here to help you make that book, newspaper article, blog post, advertising flyer—or anything else that strings together those amazing, marvelous things called words—sound as perfect and professional as it can be.

3.    Don’t hire an editor to tell you what you want to hear.

You are the author, and you have the right to disagree with your editor. You always have the right to ignore his or her advice and reject suggested changes. But if you engage intellectually in the editing process, you’ll find your writing improves and your ideas crystallize as a result. Remember that your editor hasn’t lived with your ideas, plot, or character—and that’s one of the reasons why you hired him or her to work with you. It is difficult to be objective about your writing when you are so close to it, so really consider every suggestion—then discuss your ideas and concerns, and make your editor your partner in creating the very best work you are capable of writing.

My love affair with words is the best tool in your arsenal as a published author. You came up with fantastic ideas, and I’ll help you make sure they come across the way you want them to. I love words, and I’d love to play with yours. Email me at cyjohnson5580@gmail.com, and let’s discuss how I can help you.

Happy Writing!

—Candace

 

Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Show, Don’t Tell

When I read a post on someone else’s blog that explains a concept in a way that makes me think I wish I’d said that, I just have to share it here. This article by Oliver Gray is a wonderful exposition of literary devices you can use to help you bring your imagery to life. I hope you’ll visit Oliver’s blog at Literature and Libation to read the entire article.

Literary devices you can use to help you bring your imagery to life. #writetip #amwriting Click To Tweet

Imagery innervates your writing, takes it beyond yawing generalities and into the visceral, blood-soaked details. It is how, using your words and syntax and imagination, you create the world of your story in your reader’s mind. It engages all of the senses: vibrant, blinding colors; pungent, wafting smells; coarse, sandy textures; plunking, rolling sounds; sweet, buttery tastes.

The piece of advice I’m sure you’ve heard even more times than “Cliche? Run away!” is “Show, don’t tell.” It’s another easy one to regurgitate into the awaiting mouths of nutrient-starved writers, but it is often misunderstood.

The idea is that you need to show an emotion or character trait or some other important facet without just telling your reader explictly what that thing is. It’s the difference between, “Carol fidgeted, her eyes darting towards the door ever few minutes” and “Carol was nervous.”

What makes the first one showing and the second one telling? Images. Imagery. Figurative language. Pictures drawn with words and forcefully placed into the reader’s brain through his eyeballs.

It’s that simple. Showing comes down to using effective imagery in your writing. There are no other magic methods or secret spells or ridiculous riddles. If you’re getting a lot of feedback saying, “show, don’t tell!” with no other qualifications, re-interpret that as, “I couldn’t really picture this correctly, and it gave me pause.

When you start replacing abstracts and generalizations with concrete images that your reader can easily turn into a video of the action in their head, the problem of showing verses telling suddenly, as if by some divine writing miracle, disappears.”

This is just an excerpt from Oliver’s longer article, and it’s packed with great information so I hope you’ll visit and read more here.

Happy Writing!

—Candace

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Why You Must Create a Compelling Book Description

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Question: What’s the most important piece of writing you’ll do once your book is complete?

Answer: The description of your book. No matter how well written your book is, no matter how great your author platform is, no matter how great your marketing plan is, if your promotional copy puts readers to sleep, you just lost a potential sale.

What you say about your book can be as important (and arguably even more important) that what you say inside your book.

What’s the most important piece of writing you’ll do once your book is complete? #selfpub #indieauthors Click To Tweet

The product description you write for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other product pages—even your own website—needs to be the best sales copy you can create. Whether readers are just browsing for a book to read or they’re looking for yours specifically (yay!), the interest and excitement you create in that product description will influence whether you gain another reader or not.

Continue reading “Why You Must Create a Compelling Book Description”

Critique Groups for Self Editing

Critique Groups for Self Editing
A critique group of writers is a smart way to begin the editing process!

You’ve written a chapter of your memoir, or the first page of your novel, or a writing contest entry. You’ve meticulously self-edited, and now you want to know if what you’ve written “works” for readers . . . so  what’s the next step?

Consider a writers’ group, aka a critique group. Writers’ groups come in all shapes and sizes—some specialize in genres, others are based on common geography, and still others operate online. Whichever type you choose, you’ll find an abundance of free help from others who love to write. Even experienced writers understand the benefit of the unique perspectives each group member provides.

A critique group of writers is a smart way to begin the editing process! #writers #amwriting #amediting Click To Tweet

Critique group members can help you identify global issues in your writing, such as unclear meaning, stilted dialogue, overuse or incorrect use of particular words, and patterns of error in punctuation. They can also help you with grammar issues, plot inconsistencies, a story line that doesn’t work, and character development. They are also invaluable for brainstorming on everything from titles to plot lines to ideas on where and how to tighten your writing.

You may have to try a few groups before you find one that works for you, but you’ll find it is well worth the time and effort. In addition to critiquing your work, group members can be a source for great ideas on workshops, books about writing, and other related information.

Once you’ve received feedback from group members, you’ll be armed with many different ideas. You’ll find some of those ideas aren’t workable for you, but others will give you an “a-ha” moment, a moment when you ask yourself, “Of course, why didn’t I see that?” You’ll be reinvigorated about your writing and refocused on getting your paper, article, blog, or book ready for publication.

If you use a critique group for beta reading or any other part of your editing process, I hope you’ll share your experiences. And if you know of a great on-line critique group for authors to check out, please include the link in the comments.

Happy Writing!

—Candace

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/FreeDigitalImages.net

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originally published as “Writing Groups for Self-Editing”

Copyediting or Proofreading: 5 Steps to Determine What You Need

copyediting or proofreadingIn the past few weeks I’ve received queries from several writers about my editing services. “How much do you charge to edit a 110,000 word novel?” and “What will it cost to copyedit my nonfiction book. It’s about 300 pages.”

These seem like perfectly reasonable questions, don’t they? The problem for me, as an editor, is that they are too vague. Editing is a very broad term that covers every function from development through line editing to proofreading—soup to nuts in editorial services, so to speak.

When you’re on a budget (and really, who isn’t?), it’s important to plan for your upcoming expenses. Your editorial budget should not be an exception!

All writers who publish—whether traditionally, independently, or through assisted publishing—will need some level of editorial services. When you plan to seek an agent or query publishers directly, you should use at least one professional editor before you submit. In the case of self-publishing, the responsibility for editing falls entirely on your shoulders, and you may want to seriously consider a wider range of editorial services before your work goes live.

You might need several different types of editing (at various stages of the project) before a final proofread. The hard part is knowing what editing service to ask for. Continue reading “Copyediting or Proofreading: 5 Steps to Determine What You Need”

Present Tense Draws the Reader into the Story—Guest Blog

Present Tense
Present Tense: Breathlessly Waiting to Read About What’s Already Happened

Several months ago I wrote “Present Tense: Breathlessly Waiting to Read About What’s Already Happened,” in which I posited that writing in present tense is difficult for most writers to do effectively. Two fellow bloggers commented that they felt their stories worked best using present tense, and I invited each of them to write a guest blog about this to share with us.

C.B. Wentworth wrote “How I Used First Person and Present Tense to Wake Up My Story—Guest Blog,” and below is JH Mae’s guest post. I hope you’ll visit both blogs and let them know you found them here at Change It Up Editing and Writing.

Continue reading “Present Tense Draws the Reader into the Story—Guest Blog”

A Little Editing Makes a BIG Difference

editingI held two drawings last November for free editing: one winner was randomly selected from my blog followers and one from fans of my Facebook page.

The Facebook winner was author Maureen Francisco, whose first book, It Takes Moxie, was approaching the publication date. Because Maureen is a savvy author and a skilled marketer, she knows how important it is to get the word out about her book; she used her free editing to have me work with her on several articles she hoped would be picked up by major media outlets.

Sure enough, one of Maureen’s articles, “6 Ways to Improve Your Work Ethic, Get Ahead, and Learn the Secrets of Successful Immigrants” was picked up by Huffington Post, and Forbes.com published an article about her and her tips on “Seizing Opportunities.”

I’d like to share a short excerpt from “6 Ways to Improve Your Work Ethic” so you can see how a little tweaking here and there can make a BIG difference without changing the author’s voice. I’ve lined up the original followed by the edited version so you can see the differences:

Continue reading “A Little Editing Makes a BIG Difference”

Beware of Snake-Oil Salesmen in the Editing Biz

In the past week I came across two websites that offer unusual editing services. Unusual isn’t bad, but in these particular cases, unusual is definitely NOT good for authors.editing

One of these companies is a membership site that proposes to save authors money on professional editing by trading editing with other members; in other words, you and another writer edit each other’s books, thereby eliminating the cost of having your manuscript professionally edited.

What’s wrong with that? Nothing, as long as you understand that the chances of having a professional edit your work are slim to none. In reality, this service is a beta-reader service, which is very useful in its own right—but let’s call it what it is. And it is no substitute for professional editing or proofreading.

How to NOT save money on professional editing costs. #writers #editing #amediting Click To Tweet

“Oh, come ON, Candace,” I can hear you say, “I’ll still get editing, plus I can save hundreds of dollars on editing costs.” Continue reading “Beware of Snake-Oil Salesmen in the Editing Biz”

Meet Two Winning Bloggers!

FREE EDITINGAs I mentioned in my post announcing the drawing for FREE EDITING, I love to start each day by reading other bloggers’ posts and anything related to writing and publishing. I usually find at least one gem to post on my Facebook page, and I love sharing with all of you.

I wanted to encourage more people to “like” my Facebook page, and I also wanted to thank those who are already followers, so I decided to give away FREE EDITING to someone from each group.

And now, I’m excited to announce the winners of both drawings! Continue reading “Meet Two Winning Bloggers!”