Psalm 32:8 (NIV84)
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
God Bless!
T Denise Clary
Sunday, October 16, 2011
New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, Oct 16th
Psalm 32:8 (NIV84)
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
God Bless!
T Denise Clary
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Who Is Ready To Write A NOVEL?
The project started in July 1999 with just 21 participants, but by 2010 over 200,000 people took part.
Individuals wishing to participate can register on the NaNoWriMo website at http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/sign_in, where you can post information about your novel. Word count is validated on the site (writers submit a copy of their novel for automatic counting). The official 'Forums' provide a place for advice, information, and support and are available from the beginning of October, when signups for the year begin.
According to the rules, a participant's novel can be on any theme and in any genre, and in any language. Starting at midnight November 1, novels must reach a minimum of 50,000 words before 11:59:59 PM on November 30, local time. Planning and extensive notes are permitted, but no earlier written material can go into the body of the novel, nor is one allowed to start early and then finish 30 days from that start point.
No official prizes are awarded for length, quality, or speed. Anyone who reaches the 50,000 word mark is declared a WINNER!!! However, in October 2008, the self-publishing company CreateSpace teamed up with NaNoWriMo to begin offering winners a single free, paperback proof copy of their manuscripts, with the option to use the proof to then sell the novel on Amazon.com. I am not sure if CreateSpace is still offering this deal, but it would be worth looking into.
I am also not certain I am up for the challenge, but I am motivated and have registered on the NaNoWriMo website...What about you?
Are you participating this year? Who is up for the challenge??
God Bless! T Denise Clary
Watch Video
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
GUEST BLOGGER ~ Editor Jennifer Moody
The Importance of Editing – From an Editor’s Viewpoint
**For a limited time, Jennifer with MoodyEdits is offering a special discount on editing services. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for additional information**
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| Editor and Writer Jennifer Moody |
I have been proofing other people’s work since 1999. When you edit for a living, you don’t get to turn it off at 5pm and go on with everyday life. The editor-eye is always searching. I have seen more errors on things that I don’t give a darn about… billboards on highways, banners on buildings, signs on doors… mistakes are everywhere. When I see one of these, I think, “Good LORD, didn’t you have somebody READ that before you made it 50 feet tall???” …Guess not.
When I’m editing to-be-published material (that would be the stuff I DO care about), it’s a whole different story. As a writer myself, I can relate to the writer’s position. I know from experience that no matter how many times you read through your own work, you’re going to miss something. (Right now I’m re-reading all this, thinking… if I have a mistake in this blog about editing that will look pretty sad! I probably will though, since it won’t be professionally edited. Whatchagonnado.)
While I offer a variety of editorial services, my bread-n-butter work is monthly national magazines. My normal editing process for a magazine feature goes something like this:
· Read-1: I read through it first, just getting a feel for its flow. (I make corrections as I see them, but it’s not the point of the first-read.)
· Read-2: Second read is done as a word-for-word, not really taking in the story on this round. (I catch a few more this way.)
· Read-3: Then I officially turn on the eagle-eye and read again – fixing any errors I catch along the way. (This is also the round where sentence restructuring is done, should the client want heavy copy-editing, which my magazine clients do.)
· Read-4: This round is done as a safety-net, because even editors miss things once in a while. (Hard to believe, I know; but alas, it is true.)
· Read-5: Final round – I sit back and read it as a READER. (Usually there is some sentence restructuring here too.)
Five rounds of proofing for each feature—with perfection as the ultimate goal—is how you get a beautiful “book” (as they call it in the magazine world) in the end.
When editing a book to be submitted for publisher consideration, the process is a bit different, but the goal is the same… perfection. Because the last thing a publisher wants to see when considering a book, is a book filled with errors. If you didn’t care, why should they? There are too many people out there begging for their book to be considered, for the publisher to invest their time reading a book that the author didn’t invest in. You have to do your job first, or they’re going to put it down and pick up the next one. And what you end up with is a rejection letter…and a reputation.
Professional book editing runs about 1.5-2 cents per word (more if rewriting or ghost writing is involved). If you’re serious about getting your book published, it is the best investment you’ll ever make. When the publisher reads through your work, they won’t be putting it down and grabbing the next one. They’ll keep reading. That’s the goal—to keep ‘em reading—all the way to the end!
If you are self-publishing an e-book, the importance of proper editing is not lessened. Sure, it will be published either way; but now, instead of a publisher stumbling over errors, it’s the reader. And if your first readers are tripping and falling, they won’t finish it, they won’t recommend it to their friends, and they won’t write a good review (or even worse, they’ll write a bad one). If that happens, ALL your blood, sweat, and tears you put into your work was for nothing. Because it will sit on Amazon or Smashwords for months, with a handful of sales (at a few bucks each) and a couple of bad reviews. At that point it’s dead in the water. And not just that book… any book that e-publishes after that with the same author’s name, already has a strike against it. Readers won’t hit that “buy” button if they’ve already been bitten.
When you have invested so much into your work, do not skip the last step. Have an editor go through it with a fine-tooth comb, giving it that final polish so it shines. THEN publish it. If money is an issue, shop around. There are good editors out there offering slightly lower than average rates to build up their business. And know your options… such as paying for a chapter at a time rather than the entire book at once. When you get to pay for it in pieces it becomes way more affordable. You won’t get the editor’s input on the entire book’s flow, but you’ll get each chapter edited, which is a big step in itself.
Another option, if money is really tight, is joining a book writing group. I belong to one that meets twice a month. Writers bring single chapters of books they’re working on, and read them out loud (while the rest of the group follows along with their own printout). After the reading, we go around the table giving our input… page 3’s second paragraph is confusing, consider changing such-and-such so it flows better, etc. As an editor in a writers group, I sit there marking up my copy as I listen to the author read… editorial freebies.
Whichever editing route you take, it’s better than not taking it at all. The important thing is to make the investment in your work so it pays off. With any kind of product, if the quality isn’t high it won’t sell, or at least, not for long. A book is no different.
Jennifer Moody
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God Bless!
T Denise Clary
Sunday, October 9, 2011
New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, Oct 9th
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
God Bless!
T Denise Clary
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