Is It Time to Change Careers? Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

I grew up in a small town in Northern California, but for as long as I can remember, I knew that wasn’t my final destination. My first job wasn’t my last one, either—in fact, I’ve had more than a few careers, and I’ve loved them all … but when I knew it was time to make a change, I jumped in with both feet.

There’s a reason behind that attitude, which I shared with radio host Maureen Anderson on her show, Doing What Works.

I met Maureen when she needed an editor for one of her books, and I soon learned we share a penchant for going all-in. She and her cohost Katie Anderson invited me to chat with them for an episode of their fascinating show, and along with producer Darrell Anderson, we discussed overcoming career-change fear, and what managing a department for an upscale retailer, working as a flight attendant for a major airline, selling real estate, and working with fascinating authors have in common. Continue reading “Is It Time to Change Careers? Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”

Reactions to a Sea of Red: Guest Post by Chris Lippincott

An author’s reaction to editing is something editors worry about, as I did when I returned first edits to practicing psychic medium and bestselling author Chris Lippincott. Chris’s compelling storytelling only needed a light editing touch, and our collaboration on his work  paid off: Spirits Beside Us has been the #1 Amazon New Release in death, grief & spirituality since its release. It’s a fascinating look at his journey into mediumship, describes what the other side is like, and offers some remarkable mediumship readings and healing messages that have proven to be life-transforming to the recipients.

Take it away, Chris.

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When I began writing my first book, I thought I was creating a magnificent masterpiece. In my mind, it sounded like it flowed, and everyone would be able to understand exactly what I was trying to say. I wrote about my passion and about what I knew, so the content was certainly present. It seemed like the words had spewed forth onto the page like water from a garden hose. After I had completed all my edits and polished my first draft, I was utterly convinced it was the perfect manuscript. All it needed, in my mind, was someone to proofread my work, and it could soon join the great works of the world. Little did I realize, however, that often my writing style lacked the polish that would make it a great work.

Don’t Take Edits Personally

This came as a blow to my ego as well as a frustrating realization that I actually had much more work ahead of me. When I received my manuscript back from my editor Candace, I was at first horrified by the sea of red all over my draft. It practically looked like there were more red marks and corrections than there were black letters. I thought, “Well, clearly, she just doesn’t like my writing and has got it all wrong.”

Try as I might to avoid the extra work (or the blow to my ego), it began to dawn on me that many of her corrections were, in fact, quite necessary. What author ever wants their own words, their living, breathing manuscript, over which they have labored so tirelessly and finally given birth, to receive the painfully sharp cuts of an editorial scalpel? I venture to say no one would wish that upon their own worst enemy.

What author ever wants their own words, their living, breathing manuscript, over which they have labored so tirelessly and finally given birth, to receive the painfully sharp cuts of an editorial scalpel? Share on X

However, to make our prose sing to the heavens and truly connect with our readers, we need the expertise of an editor well versed in the editorial process. It is their knowledge and expertise that enables them to polish our roughhewn manuscripts into shining gems. Editors are the unsung heroes of the literary world. They rarely receive the credit they deserve as they typically are hidden in the background, while the author’s name is seen in bright lights. However, without these critical editors, few authors would ever have their name in lights. Continue reading “Reactions to a Sea of Red: Guest Post by Chris Lippincott”

Courageous Writing: Guest Blog Post by Denise Bossarte

I’m excited to introduce you to Denise Bossarte, a self-proclaimed thriver, award-winning writer, and artist. I met Denise when she contacted me for help with polishing her book proposal. Denise’s subject is one that takes a lot of courage to examine in writing, and I know other writers will benefit from reading her story. Take it away, Denise!

(Update 04.24.21: Denise’s book, Thriving After Sexual Abuse: Break Your Bondage to the Past and Live a Life You Love, is now available! Learn more at https://thrivingaftersexualabusebook.com/.)

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Writing takes a lot of courage. It doesn’t matter what you are writing about; you are putting pieces of yourself down on paper. And if you want to publish what you write, your poetry, your novel, your nonfiction book (traditionally or self-published) then you are stepping up to a whole other level of courage to believe that your writing is good enough and your work compelling enough for other people to want to read it.

My first effort at courageous writing was in fiction. 

Genesis of My First Novel: My Process

My first novel, Glamorous, started off literally as a dream I had while living in Atlanta. I was sick with bronchitis, as I often was in the winter. In that state of too-tired-to-sleep, I daydreamed about a PI and a case he took that had paranormal aspects to it.

It was years later that I decided to write the full novel. My good friend was writing a science fiction novel, and we would meet once a week to talk about his book. He went on to be a very successful self-published author and was eventually picked up by 47North, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Amazon Publishing. I had my friend there to guide me through the steps to get a novel self-published—all I had to do was write it!

Some authors plot out every detail for each chapter on sticky notes or notecards. Some just jump in and see where the writing takes them. I did a combination of both. I am a data analyst by trade, so I’m used to working with structure, and I needed a bit of that to feel comfortable knowing the main points of the novel. For that I used what had worked so successfully for my friend: I followed his interpretation of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need into beats for a story with four parts: Orphan, Wanderer, Warrior, and Martyr.

And I let the artistic side of me daydream about the characters’ background, motives, and behaviors as well as the plot. Each chapter I would run through my mind like a movie, exploring what would happen and how the characters would react, what they would say or do.

Once I felt I had the “screen” version firm in my mind, I would sit down and capture it on the page. Usually I spent about two hours of writing per chapter. And I had to learn the hard way to just be brave enough to put down whatever flowed through the keyboard and worry about perfection later. Trust that it was good enough and that I could make it better later, otherwise I wouldn’t get farther than the first sentence!

Courage came into play once again when putting my work in front of development editors and having to hear them say how much work my manuscript needed. I had slaved for months on the book, and it was heartbreaking to learn I was still very far away from a publishable book.

So I put on my big girl pants and dug into it. I learned to be vulnerable and open enough to take what they said and make it my own, to put it into my own voice. And the results were a night-and-day difference in the quality of the story. Continue reading “Courageous Writing: Guest Blog Post by Denise Bossarte”

Announcing Breast Cancer: A History of Breast Cancer Treatment Told through Women’s Stories by David M. Mastrianni, MD

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in American women, according to Cancer.org. Currently, the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%. This means there is a 1 in 8 chance  someone you know will develop breast cancer.

I received this letter the other day from oncologist David M. Mastrianni, MD:

“As the world struggles to deal with the COVID-19 infection, the life we knew seems forever changed. At the start of my career, I remember patients exposed to the newly discovered illness called HIV/AIDS sharing their fears of that plague. Today, we are globally facing the uncertainty that many patients with cancer know so well. At times it can be overwhelming, even threatening to make us stop working for a better future.”

“I am inspired by the many who push on. Each day it is my privilege to witness healthcare workers step up to meet this challenge, even if they are unsure of what it means. I see those in our community reach out to others, even as they maintain proper physical separation. And I see patients with cancer continue on in their own lives and struggles.

“Watching these heroes continue in their missions has given me encouragement to continue with one of my own. I am pleased to report that my book, Breast Cancer: A History of Breast Cancer Treatment Told through Women’s Stories, is now available on Amazon. The profits go to support cancer research in the lab of Dr. Daniel Tenen. During this time, it is particularly important that research on cancer continue and the scientists of the future be encouraged.

“During this crisis, please follow the instructions of your local health officials. We must take care of ourselves and each other. As we do, I believe we will overcome this challenge together.”

(signed) David Mastrianni, MD

The unvarnished reality of what it’s like to have breast cancer and its social and scientific history, told through the stories of six patients. Breast Cancer by David M. Mastrianni, MD #breastcancer Share on X

Announcing an important new book about breast cancer, its history, treatment, and the women who battle the disease.

Today I’m honored to announce the publication of this important new book by medical oncologist David M. Mastrianni. In his almost thirty years in practice, he has heard the stories of hundreds of ordinary women in extraordinary fights against this all-too-common cancer. In Breast Cancer: A History of Breast Cancer Treatment Told through Women’s Stories, he shares the unvarnished reality of what it’s like to have breast cancer as told through the stories of six patients. Woven throughout the book is the fascinating cultural and scientific history of breast cancer treatment that will bring encouragement, comfort, and understanding to anyone whose life is touched by this disease. I invite you to read the free sample at the link above; I think you’ll be fascinated by both the stories of women profiled and the social and scientific history of this scourge that affects 1 in 8 women in the United States.

“I remember the moment the doctor told me I had cancer. Time stood still, and and I didn’t understand anything else she said. When the fog cleared, I had questions. Understanding cancer is a challenge, but you can do it. And you should.”  

—Carol, breast cancer survivor.

Continue reading “Announcing Breast Cancer: A History of Breast Cancer Treatment Told through Women’s Stories by David M. Mastrianni, MD”

Beta Readers on the Attack—When Critiques Get Personal: Guest Blog by Bonnie Bracken

Wallis Simpson 1936
courtesy of Wikipedia

What happens when a writing critique strays from  constructive criticism and becomes an attack on the writer and her writing? I invited historical novelist Bonnie Bracken to share her experience with her recent critique experience. If you’ve ever felt attacked by a beta reader or critique partner, you’ll want to read this.

When I decided to write a novel with Wallis Simpson as my leading lady, I knew my battle to seduce the senior female demographic would be sizeable. They grew up with Edward VIII as a handsome prince, touring the world for the sake of the monarchy’s popularity. He was the original celebrity, held up in the everyday girl’s mind to sell the fantasy: maybe someday he’ll pick me. The same thing happens today: single girls are secretly disappointed when they find out the latest heartthrob got a girlfriend and—gasp—it wasn’t them.

So when Edward picked a woman whose appearance was opposite to the angelic standard of beauty, the press didn’t have to work hard to make her unpopular. She was subjectively ugly with sharp features and dark hair, so half their work was already done. All they had to do was stoke the fire. They painted Wallis blacker than any other woman of the twentieth century. She was the original That Woman, and the nasty press about her was second only by the vicious attacks against Monica Lewinsky. (By the way Monica, my admiration for you is without limits; your recent interviews are the picture of bravery and strength. Brava.)

I knew this sentiment was out there. I knew it. But the level of vitriol and venom in these women’s reactions to my work shocked me to my core. It was as if Wallis personally banged their boyfriend and then with a toss of her hair walked out the door without so much as a good-bye. That heartless bitch.

How much leeway does an author have in assigning thoughts, feelings, or traits to her characters, especially when writing #historical #fiction? Share on X

Examples from the Critique

“You’re writing a book about Wallis Simpson? You can’t do that.”

“I still don’t understand how a man could be with someone who’s ugly and mean. It doesn’t make sense. There’s no way he’d be with her.”

“Trust me, I did a report on Wallis. She was anal retentive and was extremely fearful of people thinking she was a slut.”

When I heard that last one, I immediately thought, “Are you sure you don’t mean you don’t want people to perceive you as a slut?’ In all of my research (which includes reading half a dozen biographies and all the base documents they stem from: the FBI Files, documents in the London Archives and the German Foreign Policy Documents) I’ve never once read this sentiment. Not once. In fact, Wallis was the opposite, embracing her sexuality in the 1920s at a time before we really had a definition for the new modern women. So here we hit our first nerve of the day: The reader projecting their skeletons onto a character where those skeletons don’t otherwise exist.

I’ve practiced pitching this book on anyone with ears, so I started expecting the “Wallis was a witch” reaction from the sixty-plus demographic. Inside I would brace myself and say, “We’ve got another victim of Lord Beaverbrock’s press barrage on our hands.” I have won over some of these women once they read my book. In fact, I get most of them in the end, but it’s a fight. Mostly because their preconceived notions are so embedded and sealed with confirmation bias. It’s a hard shell to crack. But it’s crackable when presented with enough hard facts.

Killing the Messenger

However, this last weekend I took a severe, critical beating at my writers group when I presented a chapter where Wallis attends her divorce hearing to separate from Ernest Simpson. The critique comments started off with the same old slop: learned bias and not the words on the page. But this time something new came up. Continue reading “Beta Readers on the Attack—When Critiques Get Personal: Guest Blog by Bonnie Bracken”

Celebrate #InternationalWomensDay with The Healing Power of Girlfriends

 Some of my most important and long-term relationships are with my girlfriends. Whether you’re on top of the world or in the depths of despair (or somewhere in between), there’s something about spending time with another woman who really gets you that can’t be replaced by a spouse, partner, child, parent, or coworker.

When Deborah Olson first contacted me about the book she was writing, detailing these special relationships and how healing they can be for women, I was excited to learn more. Today, that book is available for your reading pleasure: The Healing Power of Girlfriends: How to Create Your Best Life Through Female Connection. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate International Women’s Day 2019 than to add this book to your personal library.

Women and Friendship

When Deborah and I first spoke, she shared that as a women’s emotional health specialist she often hears the same types of things from her clients, including:

  • the importance of having a close friend to confide in,
  • how hurt they are when a friend turns out to be anything but,
  • the frustration of trying to make time for girlfriends while juggling work and home life,
  • confusion over the mixed signals they sometime get from other women, and
  • uncertainty about where to find like-minded women who are also looking for new friends.

These are just a few of the myriad topics Deborah covers in her new book, The Healing Power of Girlfriends: How to Create Your Best Life Through Female Connectionavailable now in paperback and for Kindle.

“Packed with inspiration, insights, and personal stories, this book captures the nuances and uniqueness of the bonds that only exist within friendships between women.” —Allison Abrams, LCSW-R, psychotherapist, author, and contributing expert for Psychology Today and The Huffington Post

Don’t Try to Stop a Passionate Writer

Deborah and I have worked together on this book for months, taking it from concept to publication. As for many writers, publishing a book has always been dream for her, and she really went for it, learning all she could about publishing and marketing a book while she continued writing and revising her manuscript.  Oh, and that’s while she dealt with a few personal challenges, like helping her daughter whose home was destroyed in Hurricane Harvey in August, 2017, and facing her husband’s serious health challenges over much of 2018.

Through it all, Deborah worked on this book with a goal to make it a go-to source for inspiration, insights, and personal stories based on her years of clinical experience, scientific research, questionnaire responses, and personal anecdotes.  Continue reading “Celebrate #InternationalWomensDay with The Healing Power of Girlfriends”

Suffering from Anxiety or Depression? Mind Easing Is for YOU!

Mind Easing: The 3-Layer Healing Plan for Anxiety and Depression by Bick Wanck, MD, one of the founding members of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and an experienced clinician, writer, and educator, is available today as a paperback and ebook.

I’m thrilled to announce the publication of this fantastic resource that shows how to relieve and often resolve anxiety and depression by assisting the mind’s natural ability to heal. Today more than ever, we need to be our own healers, and this is especially true in the management of anxiety and depression.

The Missing Link Between Holistic Healing and Conventional Mental Health Treatment

In the first major conceptual leap in mental health care in forty years, Mind Easing’s 3-Layered Healing Plan directly promotes the body’s natural healing processes with the first comprehensive plan for healing human distress. This unique approach harmonizes wellness approaches, therapy, and, when needed, medicine into a safe and effective plan tailored to individual needs and preferences.

Continue reading “Suffering from Anxiety or Depression? Mind Easing Is for YOU!”

The Healing Power of Girlfriends: It’s Time for the Cover Reveal!

I have exciting news to share!

Women’s health specialist Deborah A. Olson, RN, MA, LPC, has been working for months on her book The Healing Power of Girlfriends: How to Create Your Best Life Through Female Connection … and I’m the lucky editor she chose to work with.

What’s the book about?

Deborah is passionate about helping women in every area of their lives, and in this book she shares decades of insights she’s gleaned about connection, communication, and intimacy in healthy friendships to help you nurture your current friendships and find new ones.

The Healing Power of Girlfriends will help you avoid toxic friendships, understand the role expectations play in women’s friendships, and learn how power dynamics can hurt or heal these special relationships. It is chock-full of personal anecdotes, scientific research, and therapeutic advice that any woman can use to support and honor these special friendships.

Today Deborah is revealing her book’s cover!

And now … drumroll, please … the cover reveal for The Healing Power of Girlfriends: How to Create Your Best Life Through Female Connection.

 

 

Doesn’t that cover make you want to grab a couple of your besties and head to warmer weather?

If you’re someone who has taken a book from dream to reality, you know how exhilarating the time approaching the publication date can be. And so many decisions have to be made, including what the cover will look like. Deborah’s “happy place” is at the beach, and I think she nailed that one, don’t you?

#SendACardtoAFriend Day

Deborah’s timing couldn’t better! Today is Send a Card to a Friend Day … so pick one or two—or 12—of your besties who have been a source of support and healing for you, and send them a card to let them know how much you value them!

Learn more about Deborah, her work with women, and The Healing Power of Girlfriends (available March 8, 2019) by visiting her website at https://www.galleriacounseling.com/book/. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for her newsletter for updates.

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Candace Johnson is a professional freelance editor, proofreader, writer,  and writing coach who has worked with traditional publishers, self-published authors, and independent book packagers on nonfiction subjects ranging from memoirs to alternative medical treatments to self-help, and on fiction ranging from romance to paranormal. As an editorial specialist, Candace is passionate about offering her clients the opportunity to take their work to the next level. She believes in maintaining the author’s unique voice while helping them create and polish every sentence to make it the best it can be. Learn more here.

For more great writing and publishing information, follow  Change It Up Editing and Writing Services on Facebook, where I share interesting articles and links about writing and publishing. And let’s connect on Twitter and LinkedIn too!

 

 

 

Please Don’t Make These 3 Mistakes with Your NaNo Novel

Did you “win” NaNo? Are you already intoxicated by the sweet smell of success? Congratulations—you’ve earned it! Let’s talk about what you should—and shouldn’t—do for your next steps. Don’t make these mistakes with your NaNoWriMo Novel.

November is over, and with it the end of NaNoWriMo. The blog posts I read during the month were filled with frenzied accounts of growing word counts and even some samples of WIPs.

Did You “Win” NaNoWriMo?

Those who didn’t make it learned some valuable lessons about writing, themselves, and their approach to writing—so truly, there is no such thing as NOT winning NaNoWriMo because whether you make that 50,000 word count or not, you’re a better writer now than you were a month ago.

By the way, I agree with Chuck Wendig’s comments about the language of NaNoWriMo, specifically “winning” and “losing.” Continue reading “Please Don’t Make These 3 Mistakes with Your NaNo Novel”

Are You Making this Common Mistake with Appositives?

An appositive is a modifier. It’s a noun or noun phrase that immediately follows another noun or noun phrase to further define it. You probably use appositives all the time without even realizing it. But are you punctuating them correctly?

Why am I devoting a blog to appositives? I’m so glad you asked!

Learning how to punctuate appositives—most often done with commas but sometimes with parentheses—isn’t difficult, but I see incorrect examples almost every day. The sad thing is that so many of this common appositive punctuation mistakes show up in Amazon book descriptions, websites, book reviews, and pretty much anywhere you find the written word.

Punctuating appositive nouns and phrases is easy once you understand the rules. Share on X

So let’s review definitions, and then I’ll show you how easy it is to correctly punctuate whenever you use an appositive in your writing.

What Is an Appositive?

As a reminder, an appositive is a noun or noun phrase that provides additional information. Like other types of modifiers, an appositive can be essential (restrictive) or nonessential (nonrestrictive) to the sentence. Removing an essential modifier may cause confusion, but removing a nonessential one still leaves most of the meaning intact.

Essential: My cockatoo Snowflake attacked my computer.

Nonessential: My cockatoo, Snowflake, attacked my computer.

Snowflake’s handiwork the day she decided I was working too much.
Snowflake the Cockatoo

What’s the difference, and why does it matter?

If I had more than one cockatoo, I wouldn’t use a comma—I’d want to make it clear that I’m discussing Snowflake and not another bird. I’m specifically throwing “Snowflake” under the bus (she deserves it, don’t you think?). If I delete her name (the essential modifier), I remove the clue that tells you which bird was the culprit, so I could be referring to one of several birds.

The second example is the one I personally would use because I only have one cockatoo, and her name is Snowflake. If I delete the appositive (her name), which is a nonessential modifier, you still know my only pet cockatoo created some trouble. Continue reading “Are You Making this Common Mistake with Appositives?”