Developmental editing, according to Wikipedia, is a “form of writing support that comes into play before or during the production of a publishable manuscript, especially in the area of non-fiction writing.” As explained by Scott Norton in his book Developmental editing: a handbook for freelancers, authors, and publishers, developmental editing involves “significant structuring or restructuring of a manuscript’s discourse”.[1] Developmental editors are a type of language professional.
Read MoreTime Management Tricks for Social Media
“I don’t have time for social media!” (Some strategies so you can stop lying to yourself)
A common worry that entrepreneurs have in regards to social media is that it will become a huge time-suck; when you’re starting a business, there are a lot of balls to juggle, and a Twitter feed can definitely be the vortex into which the precious hours of the day disappear.
Read MoreFreshVoice’s Great Content Map Part 2: Be The Brand Captain
Indie’s Great Content Map provides a path for you as a blogger to guide readers on a happy journey through your content. The map provides ideas on how you can entice and reward users to travel with you from outset to destination, instead of abandoning ship. Everything from titles to formatting to use of multimedia – not the least of which is actual interesting content that is well written and structured – is critical to the success of your content journey.
Read MoreSo Many Book Ideas…How to Pick Just One?
When first time non-fiction book authors come to me, I find that just as often as not they suffer from too many ideas as opposed to no ideas, or only one. After years of helping them wrangle through the process of selecting which of their ideas they should focus on for their first book, I came up with a way to look at multiple ideas and quantify their readiness. It’s now part of the first course I offer online in the Academy, Passion & Purpose.
It’s called the Book Idea Quiz, and It gives you a method for determining which idea will work best for you and the market, right now. You answer the following six questions, assigning point values to each, and the tool works out which is the winning idea, and what you might need to do to make a so-so idea a winning one, if that’s the one you’re set on doing first.
Read More6 Ways to Gloss Over Your Fear of Public Speaking
If you suffer from Glossophobia, there’s a chance you’d rather die than speak in public. The good news is, there are lots of ways to get around this common fear. There’s no need to listen to that nasty voice in your head screaming They’re all going to laugh at you! because no one actually wants to laugh at you. And overall, being a solid speaker and delivering a quality presentation is completely within your hands. One day, Grasshopper, you will be a top contender in the World Championships of Public Speaking! (Yes. That’s a thing. Some people actually love public speaking – and the key to their success is practice!)
These 6 steps will put you on the path to success.
Read MoreYou Wrote a Book! Now What?!
Every 12 seconds, a new book is published (and 80% of statistics are made up on the spot). To be slightly outdated, but more accurate, in 2012 Bowker reported that there were 3,500 books published every day in the USA alone, and this figure doesn’t even include e-books. (I don’t math, so feel free to calculate the per-second volume in your own time!) Simply put: There is a ton of competition in the book marketplace. How can a new writer stand out with all this noise?
Are You Taking Yourself Seriously as a Writer?
Remember: whether you’re writing fiction, creative non-fiction, graphic novels or a research paper on the mating habits of termites in Madagascar… (wait, whaaaaaat?!) there are some rules of the road that apply to everyone. Today’s post comes from the co-founder of an exciting new literary venture out of Toronto, Nicole Brewer – hold onto your hats, check out her site, and when you’re done – get busy being a writer!
words(on)pages is an organization created by emerging artists for emerging artists, so that we can help writers and poets find the validation and acknowledgement that every budding writer needs to keep going. We want to give writers the opportunity to showcase their work online, in print, and in front of an audience, so that they can value themselves as much as we do. Often, the most difficult part of being an emerging writer is getting yourself noticed, so words(on)pages wants to give you a few pointers on what you can do to help get yourself out there. We may not be experts (this is an art, not a science!) but it’s been working for us.
Manuscript Mark-Up: Are YOU a Billboard Punctuator?
A warm welcome to the first edition of Manuscript Mark-Up.
I hope we’ll have all sorts of fun together, and talk about the stuff of writing without getting our shorts in a knot. This should be a relaxing experience. (Listen to this as you read along!)
Today I’d like to discuss an editorial phenomenon I call “billboard punctuation” – that is, the incorrectly applied punctuation used mostly by novice writers who believe these props will enhance words, phrases or messages in their work.
Read MoreIt’s Not Me, It’s You
A few years ago, Internet was snarking at novelist Lynn Shepherd as her featured Huffington Post blog titled, “If JK Rowling Cares About Writing, She Should Stop Doing It” made the rounds. I wrote this in reaction.
The gist of her argument is this:
“…this is my plea to JK Rowling. Remember what it was like when The Cuckoo’s Calling had only sold a few boxes and think about those of us who are stuck there, because we can’t wave a wand and turn our books into overnight bestsellers merely by saying the magic word… But it’s time to give other writers, and other writing, room to breathe.”
Everyone loves a good underdog story, right? Imagine how much better they’d be if there were no top dogs! The pool of underdogs would shrink as each competitor succeeded and then left the arena – everyone would be given the chance to win! Gold medals and awards for everyone because LIFE IS PERFECT & FAIR, & PERFECTLY FAIR!
*sigh*
Read MoreProverbial Adverbial: Bonsai That Dialogue!
We all know the well-worn phrase “show, don’t tell” as it relates to writing. It means many things. All taken together, I believe it urges us as writers to use creativity to paint pictures, describe a setting or character or move along a story plot, rather than just stringing together words like paste jewels onto a cheap chain.
I’m learning bonsai tree pruning, and it reminds me so much of the editing process. You do a snip here and there, stand back, look at the whole tree. Then you see another place that needs snipping, and another. At a certain point, you have a perfect balance between the architecture of the tree trunk and limbs and the flow of the branches and leaves. That’s what you’re looking for in your writing.
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