Published in The Writing Cooperative·PinnedMember-onlyAs a Matter of Fact, Facts MatterWhy fact checking should be the first and last steps for any writer — “I found a problem,” the author called to tell me, his editor. “Oh, crap,” I reply. This is not the discussion I want to have with any author. Here’s the evolution of an editing error. I had worked closely with Mark Langan on his book More Busting Bad Guys —…Editing5 min read
Published in The Startup·Jun 14Member-onlySure-Fire Ways to Make Sure Readers Know What Your Book Is AboutHow to Tell a Book by Its Cover — or Why Cover Design Is Essential for Sales — Ever pick up a book and anticipate a juicy mystery thriller only to discover it’s a memoir of abuse? Or grabbed an enticing romance novel (or what looked like one because of the six-pack-ab boyfriend on the front cover), but it turned out to be poetry? Yah, extreme examples, but…Books6 min read
Published in The Startup·May 17Member-onlyFinally: The Critical Difference between Line Editing, Copy Editing, and ProofreadingA Definitive Guide for Authors and Editors — Editors disagree about many of the finer points of their work such as whether to capitalize the word president (no, generally, but yes with President Lincoln), whether to spell out numbers (some styles say yes to every number lower than 10 or lower than 100), or whether to use the…Editing5 min read
Published in The Startup·Apr 22Member-onlyWhy First-Time Authors Need an EditorI’ve seen it all. A manuscript of 60,000 words and just one paragraph. A hodgepodge of dialogue smooshed together with no quotation marks. …Editing6 min read
Published in The Startup·Apr 2Member-onlyWhy Are You Writing a Book?Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivators — When I ask students in my writing classes why they are writing a book, I offer this PowerPoint slide with bulleted options:Writing4 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Mar 14Member-onlyHow to Tell If You’re Doing Copyright All WrongAnd what to do instead — Copyright is federal protection for work you create. Let’s say you write a book (copyright applies to other creations such as music, but I know the world of books). You are instantly protected because you created the book in a fixed format, such as a computer file or a printout…Copyright3 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Feb 16Member-onlyPet Peeves, Tigers, and Bugbears, Oh, My!Words make the difference — I’ve never used the word bugbear in my writing, until now. It just shows how distracted you can get when trying to find synonyms for peeves. My pet peeve words are things, great, good, pretty, very, and really. Think about the word great. What exactly does it mean? …Writing Tips2 min read
Published in The Startup·Jan 24Member-only6 (Not So) Silly Writing Tips to Get Words on PaperSo you can finally stop staring at a blank page — Imagine the first writer’s block. I recall a cartoon showing a caveman with a rudimentary stick staring at a large, blank rock. Today’s equivalent of the blank rock may be a computer screen, and your process may seem like this: When you sit down to write (and there’s a problem…Writing8 min read
Published in The Startup·Jan 8Member-onlyMore Stuff Writers Write that Makes Editors Cringe6 Additional Writing Traps to Avoid Looking Like an Amateur — In an earlier, popular post, I discussed how first-time and even veteran writers go down rabbit holes with their writing, and sometimes it’s the editor (like me) who helps dig them out of those traps. I have more examples. Unmask the Oxygen Mask Story As if we didn’t have enough on our minds when we…Writing5 min read
Published in The Startup·Dec 14, 2021Member-onlyCan You Spot The Typo?Why you can’t find errors in your own work and need an editor — Let’s talk about those typos. The internet is filled with examples, but you only need to look, well, anywhere. Everywhere. Please post some of your favorites in the comments so we can all enjoy them. Although no one wants to die of a typo, imagine a sloppy physician writing the…Editing4 min read