Category: self-publishing

Join Me on the Air

ID-10033526Through 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.LemonsLimoncello

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!

—Candace

“On Air” image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Book Publishing Is the New Wild West

Book Publishing Is the New Wild West
Book Publishing Is the New Wild West

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.

 

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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 Share on X

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 Share on X

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”

Descriptive Verbs Printable Book Mark

How Descriptive Are Your Verbs?
courtesy of http://banyantreestudio.com

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!

Happy Writing!

—Candace

How Descriptive Are Your Verbs? Here is a list! #amwriting #writetip #writers Share on X

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to my blog and you’ll never miss my posts! It’s easy: just enter your email address in the space between “Recent Posts” and “Archives” on this page. I won’t share your email address with anyone!

This bookmark originally appeared in the post You Are Not Alone.

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I Am So Honored!

Cindy PasqueleneImagine my surprise this morning when I found my name mentioned in a new blog post!

Cindy Pasquelene, who writes at The Writer Backblogger, was one of the winners of last week’s drawing for free editing. Cindy sent the first 1,500 words of her NaNoWriMo novel for my feedback, and . . .

See what Cindy had to say about the experience at The Writer Backblogger.

I spend some time every morning searching Twitter, blogs, and the Internet for interesting things to post on my Facebook page. If you aren’t already a fan, I hope you’ll check it out here.

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 Share on X

“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!”

Reminder: Your Chance to Win FREE EDITING

Who can't use FREE editing?
Who can’t use FREE editing?

In case you were busy testing chocolates earlier this week and missed the announcement, here’s a reminder about the drawing I’m holding tomorrow for FREE EDITING.  Continue reading “Reminder: Your Chance to Win FREE EDITING”