Through the magic of the Internet, you can hear yours truly chatting about writing and editing on Monday, April 1.
I’ll be the guest of author, personal development speaker, and radio host Raeleen Mautner, PhD, who has invited me to be her guest on The Art of Living Well. I had the privilege of editing Raeleen’s latest book, Lemons into Limoncello, which will be out on May 7 and is available now for preorder here, here, and wherever books are sold.
The Art of Living Well is a fantastic show, and Raeleen is a seasoned professional. I, on the other hand, am more comfortable behind the scenes, so the idea of an hour-long radio interview is making me a little nervous—but I’ll do my best not to let that show. At least I don’t have to give a speech in front of a crowd . . . where I’d have to imagine the audience in their underwear (remember that old trick to overcome stage fright?).
Come to think of it, those of you on the East Coast of the US might actually be in your underwear at that time!
Seriously, we’ll be discussing aspects of writing and the editing process, so I hope you’ll tune in and listen. You can listen to a live stream from anywhere in the world. If you’re in Australia, I’ll help you go to sleep, since that will be 11pm your time. In the UK? Join me on your noon lunch hour. And if you’re anywhere else in the world, here’s a link to a time conversion site: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html.
I hope you’ll join Raeleen and me for what promises to be an entertaining and enlightening hour. See you there!
Crowd-sourcing, royalty-sharing, publishing your book in chapters . . . Here’s a little perspective from Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press and founder of Warner Coaching Inc.
Betsy Morais wrote a piece for The New Yorker called “A Book Is a Start-Up,” in which she writes about some of the new publishing business models coming out of the Tools of Change conference, three days focused on new publishing technologies and business models.
Morais writes about Tim Sanders, C.E.O. of NetMinds, a company that’s attempting to crowd-source book production. It’s an interesting model, to be sure, but one that will probably end with authors, editors, and designers feeling like they are getting screwed somewhere in the process. The reason I say this is because most books . . . read more.
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.
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
I came across a blog post the other day that I want to share with you precisely because the author is not a novelist, but she is a consumer–the type of consumer who might one day download your e-book.
In this post, Jill P. Viers writes about the overabundance of typos in a free e-book she downloaded—a nonfiction book filled with information she says “is valid and fairly useful”—yet the book is loaded with errors.
“Why Writing Well Matters, Even When Your Product Is Free” is a post every author should read. Remember: Your book is your resumé; you never get a second chance to make a first impression; save yourself time, money, and anxiety by making sure your book is the best it can be before you publish.
I am reading an ebook that I picked up for free when I signed up for someone’s mailing list. The information in the free ebook is valid and fairly useful; however, the free ebook is full of typos and misuses of words. I’m not talking about one or two minor errors. I could get over that. We’re all human. I make mistakes, too.
Notice I keep pointing out that this was a free ebook? There’s a reason, and it’s not an attempt to keyword stuff this post. Some people would ask me, “Why are you complaining about the typos when you got the book for free?”
Here’s the answer: Because I’m still investing my time into reading this ebook. If the author didn’t care enough to proofread, yet this is the author’s “sales pitch” or “can’t miss giveaway” that’s supposed to make me want to hire the author in the future, it’s ultimately a fail for me.”
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In 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.
If you’re looking for a great descriptive verb for your latest word picture, look no farther! This printable bookmark is filled with choices for creating dialogue, compelling descriptions of your character’s antics, or though-provoking sentences in any style or genre. as Debbie Maxwell Allen wrote in her blog, “Sentences that use walked, sat, and thought pale in comparison to stalked, sprawled, and stewed. However, don’t label yourself as a failure if strong verbs don’t automatically show up in your manuscript. Adding stronger verbs is something you do in your rewriting.”
Print this out on card stock for a handy reference that’s always at the ready—and another big thank you to artist Ginny Millard at www.banyantreestudio.com for creating it. Please visit Ginny’s website and let her know how much you appreciate having all these fantastic word choices at your fingertips.
If you like the idea of a bookmark filled with words, you’ll find another filled with Synonyms for Said in an earlier blog.
And don’t forget to “bookmark” Change It Up Editing and Writing Services for all your editing and writing needs in 2013. Let me help you say it the way you mean it!
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As many of you know, I was out of town for the past ten days. I visited my elderly father (an exercise in patience and resilience), my twenty-three-year-old daughter (more resilience), and dear friends. It was a fun but exhausting trip.
All this is a way to say I’m just now catching up on reading blogs from the past week. In the chaos of traveling, I missed National Grammar Day, but now I’m happy to share my favorite tribute blog with you, my loyal readers. Oliver Gray always has interesting things to say at Literature and Libation, and this post is one I read and thought, “I wish I’d written that!”
So without further ado, here is Oliver’s take on Resumptive and Summative and Appositives—enjoy!
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.
print and e-book formats. It offers both a mirror and a roadmap to guide women to new understandings about individual thoughts, actions, and strengths.
You can hear the author speak about resilience today, Tuesday, March 5, on A Moment of Change with Sherry Gaba and Cathleen O’Connor on CBS Skye Radio. And be sure to check out Dr. O’Gorman’s blog at http://thepowerfulwoman.net for more on this subject.
Learn more about this fantastic “must-read” tool for personal growth here, and buy or download the book at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, or at your favorite bookseller today!
Happy Reading, and please let me know what you think of The Resilient Woman!
—Candace
Update 4/1/13: Publisher’s Weekly review of The Resilient Woman here.
I am excited to announce the publication on Tuesday, March 5 of an important new book I was privileged to edit: The Resilient Woman: Mastering the 7 Steps to Personal Power by Dr. Patricia O’Gorman, PhD offers both a mirror and a roadmap to guide women to new understandings about individual thoughts, actions, and strengths.
Societal messages that tell women they aren’t smart enough, pretty enough, good enough—self-sabotaging girly thoughts that tell them who they are and how they should act—compete with the voice of women’s inner strength, a strength that helps them forge their own best solutions for their best courses of action.
In The Resilient Woman: Mastering the 7 Steps to Personal Power, Dr. O’Gorman offers a thoughtful analysis of the causes of girly thoughts as well as in-depth self-evaluation assessments any woman can use to identify her personal strengths, weaknesses, and resilience style, plus seven daily steps that offer concrete strategies for women to create and strengthen their own resilience. In The Resilient Woman, readers discover:
resilience patterns established in childhood
how girly thoughts become so powerful and how to neutralize them
relationship issues that are specific to women
how to overcome physical/ psychological/emotional trauma
how to self-motivate by losing the victim mentality
methods for tuning in to the inner self and consciously align with personal strengths to expand their personal power
what resiliency is and is not, and how to achieve it
personal resilience patterns
Author Patricia O’Gorman, PhD, is an internationally recognized psychologist, coach, and public speaker known for her work on women, trauma, and substance abuse. She is a cofounder of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics and has held positions ranging from clinical director of a child welfare agency and interim director of a crime victims organization to Director of Prevention for NIAAA and founding director of the Department of Prevention and Education for NCADD. Dr. O’Gorman maintains private practice offices in Saranac Lake and Albany, New York. For information, please visit: www.patriciaogorman.com.
Read what others have said about this important book:
The Resilient Woman explores why and how we revert to our girlhoods for so many of our emotional responses, how to analyze and overcome the results of those responses, and how to make decisions based on our adult selves.” —Elaine Wilson, Esq., past president of the Foothill (East San Diego County) Bar Association
“The Resilient Woman offers the tools we need to make change in our lives plus the actionable steps to help us live from our base of personal power. It’s a masterpiece!” —Teena Cahill, PsyD, humorist, TV and radio show host, director of Wisdom and Beyond, and author of The Cahill Factor: Turning Adversity into Advantage
“The resilience journal Dr. O’Gorman guides readers to create is an excellent exercise for every woman to use to begin the process of developing a resilient life. This is a book I recommend not just for woman; men will benefit from this information, too.”
—Erin Merryn, Glamour’s Woman of the Year 2012, political activist, and author of Stolen Innocence and Living for Today
“(This) practical and warmly written book invites readers to recognize and boost their resilience as they take the journey to transform and give higher meaning to their lives. By the end of The Resilient Woman I was saying, ‘Yes, I am!’ and ‘Yes, I can!’”
—Kathryn Brohl, LMFT, author of Social Service Workplace Bullying; A Betrayal of Good Intentions
“The Resilient Woman reflects (Dr. O’Gorman’s) latest thinking on an issue that debilitates tens of thousands of women—a way of thinking and behaving that can literally be fatal—and shows the way to a new path of personal power.
—Julie D. Bowden, MS, marriage, family, and child therapist and coauthor of Recovery: A Guide for Adult Children of Alcoholics.
I encourage women (and the men who love them) to read this essential book, and then feel free to share your opinion on your favorite online book site. You can purchase the book or download it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever books are sold.
Happy Reading, and please let me know what you think of The Resilient Woman!
—Candace
Update April 15, 2013: Watch Dr O’Gorman discussing her book on WTNH.com
Through the magic of the Internet, you can hear yours truly chatting about writing and editing on Monday, April 1.
