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What An Editor Does–Phase 2
Next week, I promise, we’ll jump into the nuts and bolts of editing. But today I want to talk about what editors don’t do. Why do I bring these things up? Because I’ve encountered each and every one of them as a freelance editor. I’ve had clients say, “While you’re editing, can you do the copyedit?” or “Since you’re also an agent, would you be willing to pitch just this book to an editor?” Here …
The Credibility Gap
This was a tough post to write. I felt at times that I was arguing with myself on these issues, but maybe in today’s “journey” through the topic of author credibility you will sense the struggle that Christian authors confront and maybe some truth with be revealed in the process. If you were a mathematics professor at a junior college and had a revolutionary insight related to something about …
A Year of Reading Dangerously
Be careful what you read. It may change your life! Franz Kafka wrote that books can “wound and stab us… wake us up with a blow on the head… affect us like a disaster… grieve us deeply.” As we move, over the next month, into the Spring, a time of renewal…and this week as we contemplate the Resurrection…think about the books you plan to read the rest of the year. What is on your to-read …
In Honor of St. Patrick’s Day — My Trip to Ancient Ireland
Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be fun to revisit a story collection I wrote about ten years ago with my wonderful and talented friends, Pamela Griffin, Vickie McDonough, and Linda Windsor. Brides o’ the Emerald Isle was a lot of fun to write, and an enjoyable change for me since my story, A Legend of Light, takes place in 500 AD. Inexplicably, the volume of stories is available …
Share Your Irish Blessings!
I think there’s a touch o’ the Irish—or at least a touch o’ the Blarney Stone—in every writer. So what more appropriate way to celebrate tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day than to write your own, original Irish Blessing? Irish blessings can be: Long or Short May the Lord be between us and harm and protect us from the harm of the world. Heartwarming May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be …
2020, Planning a Publishing Odyssey
Books are the slowest and least “current” form of communication. News or short-turnaround events are best covered in articles carried in media that can reach an audience quickly. Sure, a book about the Super Bowl can be slammed together with pictures in a few weeks, but it won’t win any awards for literary quality. Indie publishing has given the impression to many authors that the seemingly …
The Bookstore is Outnumbered
We had a client ask why their book could not be found in the bookstores. It is a common question. One that I tried to answer last year in a post about logistics. Today I’ll approach it from a different direction. The sheer number of books that are being published. Let me start with two sets of statistics. Barnes & Noble (B&N) is the largest retail bookstore in the U.S. Their stores …
Fun Fridays – March 11, 2016
This is the perfect illustration on the importance of “voice” in a book. The first version is the way it should be. The second version is how so many books sound to an editor’s ear. Beyond that, the video is simply a brilliant expression of what creativity sounds like! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhJIFC8xkY HT: Trissina Kear
Turn Envy Upside Down
Envy is one of the seven deadly sins and not easy to conquer. Who hasn’t felt jealous over someone else’s success, especially when it doesn’t seem deserved? Seeing an outright enemy succeed is even worse. It doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, take your feelings of envy and put them to good use. That is, make those feelings work for you so you can succeed. Here’s how: When someone in your sphere …