Tag: editing tips

#WritingTips, marketing tips, publishing

#InspirationalJourneys Presents: Weekend Wrap up, Furious Fiction and Women in Publishing Summit Highlights

ann Harrison Author


Hello, to everyone in the blogosphere. Today, I have a couple of things I want to talk about. I explain them in greater detail in my latest podcast episode.

First of all, I would like to celebrate my first entry submitted to the monthly furious fiction competition, which takes place the first weekend of each month. This contest is sponsored by the Australian Writers Center and stories can be no longer than 500 words. The contest if free, and you have a chance to win $500 each month that you participate. The writing prompt for March was as follows: Your story must have a character in disguise. Your story must be set in a park and it must contain a mirror. I wrote a story entitled Calm before the Fall, using the victim from A Journey of Faith: A Stepping Stones Mystery.

The second topic in today’s episode of #InspirationalJourneys is my highlights from the Women in Publishing Summit March 2-8, 2020. The nuggets I found from the various presentations are as follows. Each of these nuggets are explained in greater detail in the episode linked below.

Editing

Although an author writes one draft of a story, don’t expect your first draft to be ready to send to an editor. One of the editors said either she or one of her clients revised their manuscript seventeen times, before it was ready to publish. There are different types of editors: developmental/content editors, line editors, copy editors and proofreaders. Don’t rely on one editor to do all the various types of edits.

Self-publishing your book:

Self-published or Indie authors wear three hats: The author hat, when you write the book, the publisher’s hat, when you get your book formatted, edited and hire a cover designer, upload your book to the different platforms etc., and the marketer’s hat once your book is published.

What readers look for:

In a bookstore, a reader checks the cover, the blurb and the author’s writing style, among other things, to determine whether or not the book is worth the purchase. Readers also look for books that are in a series first, genre specific books second, and books by their favorite authors third. I also learned that poetry books are often published in series.

Click the link below for today’s episode of the #InspirationalJourneys podcast:

#Amediting, #WritingTips

Changing Point of View During the Editing Process

ann Harrison Author


Hello everyone in the blogosphere,
I have a couple of writing tips to share, one of which is changing the point of view of your novel during the editing process. I wrote an entire book in Third Person, but my main character told me in no uncertain terms that she needed me to let her tell her story, at sometime after 4 AM on February 20, 2020. That same afternoon, I started rewriting Chapter one in First person. As I did so, I realized that my Main Character’s questions could be written in the narration of the story, instead of internal dialogue in italics.
The second tip, after you’ve decided which POV is the right fit for your book, is to ask yourself why elements of your story and your characters develop the way they do.

‘to see my quick tip video, visit:

To hear my discussion of these tips in greater detail, listen to my latest podcast episode:

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Inspirational Journeys Podcast:

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send an email to annwrites75@gmail.com with “newsletter” in the subject for email list subscriptions and “Inspirational Journeys” in the subject line to be a guest on my podcast
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Blessings,
Ann

#Amediting, #amwriting, #WritingTips

3 Tips for Making Your Book Babies Shine

ann Harrison Author

Hello everyone in the blogosphere,
Today I have another writing related post to bring you. If you’d like to hear the latest episode of the Inspirational Journeys podcast, where I talk about the tips I’m bringing you, and share my reason behind these tips, please visit:

Last night, I started reading a book called Don’t Quit While You’re Ahead, by Cynthia MacGregor, when the Holy Spirit convicted me to revise A Journey of Faith: A Stepping Stones Mystery. I’m glad I started on it, because I found that one of my character’s name was misspelled, along with other obvious mistakes in the book that I was unaware of at the time of publication. If you find yourself in the same situation, here are three tips you can use, to make your book babies shine.

Don’t Rush the Publishing Process

This holds true, especially for aspiring authors. I know you’ve finished your story and you’re excited about getting your book into the hands of readers, but you want to revise and polish your manuscript before it goes out on the market. You only get one chance to shine, so you want to make it the best it can be. I learned this the hard way when I made my first publishing mistake. Since then, my writing has improved, and I’ve gotten good feedback about my book. However, I relied too heavily on the publisher to make sure it was in tiptop shape. I learned a valuable lesson when I started editing my book last night. No matter who publishes your book, it’s your baby; therefore, it’s up to you to go over your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb and make sure you’re satisfied with the end result.

Check all Proof Copies for Mistakes

If you’re working with a small press, or you’re self-publishing, make sure each proof copy of your book is as error free as possible. Taking this step will save you time and money.

It Never Hurts to Edit Previously Published Work

All you Indie authors can take advantage of this tip, especially if you’ve uploaded an eBook. Paperbacks can be updated as well, but they would be published as new editions to your book. Not only am I working through this process for my own book, I have a friend who has updated her four of her Bible devotionals after publishing her fiction work and poetry.

Now that I have shared my tips with you, I challenge you to revisit your previously published manuscripts. Are you satisfied with them? Do they need a major overhaul, or just a simple minor fix? If the answer is no to any of these questions, then you may want to consider reworking them if possible. However, if you’ve answered yes to any of them, then you’re good to go.

I hope these tips will help you during, or after your publishing process. Stay tuned for a special guest interview with the author mentioned at the top of this post. Until next time, happy writing.
Blessings,
Ann