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Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Writing Craft » Page 46

Writing Craft

Share Your Irish Blessings!

By Karen Ballon March 16, 2016
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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 always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

or funny

May your glass be ever full.

May the roof over your head be always strong.

And may you be in heaven

half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

Serious or just a touch irreverent.

May those who love us love us.

And those that don’t love us,

May God turn their hearts.

And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,

May he turn their ankles,

So we’ll know them by their limping.

Rhyming…

May joy and peace surround you,

contentment latch your door,

and happiness be with you now

and bless you evermore!

 

or not. Really, it’s up to you!

For our Irish Blessing celebration today, let’s keep them on the shorter side. Here’s my Irish Blessing for all o’ ye today:

May your words be filled with God’s love and light,

Your work be a joy, your burdens be slight,

Your dreams come to life,

Your days without strife,

And peace be the cloak that surrounds you at night.

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Category: Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Creativity

What An Editor Does –Phase 1

By Karen Ballon March 9, 2016
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As we saw from the comments last week, editors have many tasks. As do copyeditors and proofreaders, but for the next few blogs we’re focusing on editors. I’ve been an editor for over 35 years, both in-house and freelance. And I’ve worked with all categories of books except Children’s books and academic titles. So here, from that perspective, is my take on what editors do. First, let’s look at what …

Read moreWhat An Editor Does –Phase 1
Category: Craft, Creativity, Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Editor, Writing Craft

What Does an Editor Do?

By Karen Ballon March 2, 2016
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When I tell people I’m an editor, I get some interesting comments… “Wow, you must really know how to spell great!” “So, what, you fix commas and stuff?” “An editor, huh? Don’t you get tired of rewriting other people’s stuff?” “Don’t you get tired of reading?” “Wow, so you get to tell authors what to do, huh?” What’s especially interesting to me is that some of these comments aren’t, as you might …

Read moreWhat Does an Editor Do?
Category: Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Writing Craft

Leap into Word Play

By Steve Laubeon February 29, 2016
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February 29th comes every U.S. Presidential election year. It is called Leap Year day. I pondered what we could do to celebrate this reaccuring phenomenon. Should we sing along with Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” when Frederic discovers that he was born on February 29th and the whole story turns on a most ingenious paradox? Instead I thought we could play around with all the uses of …

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Category: Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Creativity

Publishing Acronyms

By Steve Laubeon February 22, 2016
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After being in an industry for a while there is a natural tendency to speak in code. Acronyms flow freely and can be a foreign language to those new to the conversation. Below is an attempt to spell out some of the more common acronyms in the publishing industry and some specific to the Christian publishing industry. They are grouped by topic in a rudimentary way but in no particular order. If …

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Category: Book Business, Book Business, Communication, Contracts, The Publishing LifeTag: Acronyms, publishing

The Sound of Words

By Karen Ballon February 10, 2016
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One of the things I love most about working with words is that I will never reach the point where I can say, “There, now. I’ve learned it all.” Love, love learning new things. Especially when it’s something I can share with all of you. So, have you ever heard of phonesthesia or sound symbolism? Basically, it’s the idea that the sound of a word plays into it’s perceived meaning. That there are …

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Category: Communication, Craft, Creativity, Editing, Humor, LanguageTag: Language, words

You Might As Well Face It, You’re Addicted to Input

By Dan Balowon February 9, 2016
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With great fear of being sued by Robert Palmer for messing with his song lyrics: You like to think that you’re immune to the stuff…oh yeah It’s closer to the truth to say you can’t get enough You know you’re gonna have to face it You’re addicted to love INPUT. Publishing is such a subjective field of endeavor that at one point or another an author, editor or …

Read moreYou Might As Well Face It, You’re Addicted to Input
Category: Career, Communication, Editing, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Career, Input, The Writing Life

Don’t Waste Your Time

By Karen Ballon February 3, 2016
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Some days…those rare, out-of-the-blue, once-in-awhile days…God speaks an amen that reminds me all this is worth it. This past Saturday was a day like that. I spoke at a writer’s conference and had a delightful time. At the closing sessions I spoke on passion and why we Christian writers do what we do. How the goal can’t be publication, but obedience to the task God has given us. How writing for …

Read moreDon’t Waste Your Time
Category: Career, Conferences, Get Published, TheologyTag: Get Published

Deadlines: Pre-Emptive Strike

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 28, 2016
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Last week I wrote about a process on how to manage deadlines. Despite our best efforts, events may put us awry. To avoid this, eliminate overconfidence. When you see a contract and the advance – one you may desperately need, you may be tempted to say, “You know what? I really don’t need to go to the beach this year. I’ll write all summer instead.” Or, “Sure, I can write 3,000 words a day, seven …

Read moreDeadlines: Pre-Emptive Strike
Category: Career, CraftTag: Career, Deadlines

Can You Handle the Edit?

By Karen Ballon January 27, 2016
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There’s a lot about being a freelance editor that’s fun. But some things that just…aren’t. Like telling a writer that his manuscript isn’t ready to be edited. This happens most often before an editor agrees to do an edit, when they read the sample of the manuscript. There are times, though, when those first pages are pretty good, so the editor takes the project on. And then, when he’s deep in the …

Read moreCan You Handle the Edit?
Category: Career, Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Writing Craft
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