Whether your manuscript is a final draft needing a polish or an early draft needing feedback, working with an editor can help you get one step closer to publication.
Can I turn my business blog into a book?
Adapting your posts as source material for your book is a good start. But the key word here is adapting. Just stringing them together under chapter headings probably isn’t going to cut it. Here’s why.
Procrastination
Wouldn’t it be nice if I had some wise words or helpful tips to offer about avoiding avoiding?
Five things to expect from a copy editor
Hiring an editor is a significant step, so you need to be confident that they are right editor for you.
Should I avoid using ‘said’?
I’ve found that some new writers try to avoid using ‘said’, perhaps worrying that it’s boring or repetitive. But believe it or not…
Don’t be daunted – be inspired
I suggested he re-read an author he admires who writes this way, to see how they handle it. He answered that he always gets depressed reading his favourite author because ‘he’s just so damn good’.
Helping new writers develop their craft
Some writers I work with haven’t done any writing classes or workshops, so they are unaware of the common mistakes new writers make, such as using filter words for action rather than letting the action speak for itself.
So what is a split infinitive anyway?
Spitting an infinitive is not a crime against grammar, but it’s not the most elegant construction either.
Dangling modifiers, squinting modifiers, what’s that about?
Understanding sentence modifiers can help with your writing, plus it can give you a bit of word-nerd cred when you casually name-drop them. A sentence…
A full stop is your friend
if you find your fingers hovering indecisively over the keyboard, if you’ve rewritten that sentence countless times and still can’t get it right, if you are stuck beyond stuckness
The brain is quicker than the eye – why typos slip through
I had been communicating with a new client for a few days before he politely pointed out that name was spelt Bret, not Brett.
Why am I telling you this? Surely as an editor I should be more observant, I hear you say. And surely I should be keeping this kind of oversight to myself. You’re probably right, but I couldn’t resist. It’s a perfect example of how the eye can see one thing and the brain can see another.