EDITING 101: Now covers 50 topics to date…

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

WEBSITE

EDITING – NON-EDITING – BOOK FORMATTING

Other Links:

FACEBOOK – LINKEDIN – GOOGLE+

FYI – Here’s a list of the first 50 free editing tips my good friend and Professional Book Editor Susan Uttendorfsky, the owner of Adirondack Editing, has presented so far.

Catch up with any articles you may have missed by scrolling through the list below and clicking those that are in Blue, Italic and Underlined.

Those still in black are not yet available, so stay tuned for the weekly updates.

EDITING 101: 01 – Introduction and ‘Redundancies’

EDITING 101: 02 – Description Depression

EDITING 101: 03 – THAT’s the Problem in Revising

EDITING 101: 04 – Character Name Consistency

EDITING 101: 05 – General Plurals

EDITING 101: 06 – He Said / She Said: Dialogue Tags

EDITING 101: 07 – Consecutive Versus Concurrent Action

EDITING 101: 08 – Using Song Lyrics in your Manuscript

View original post 469 more words

Why Self-Publishers Should Avoid Bookstores

CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD

Recently I was asked to write a sort of factsheet that would act as a starting point for Irish writers considering self-publishing their work. It was a really interesting experience for me because since I signed a traditional deal back in 2015 – Distress Signals was published in May of last year and my second thriller, The Liar’s Girl, will be out next March – I haven’t really spent too much time thinking about self-publishing. So it had been a while since I had to commit to paper (or screen) my feelings on it. Would my advice be different with the benefit of these past two years? Is there such a huge difference between sneaking a peek behind the curtain and getting to go play behind it that my views would change completely? Is there anything I said three, four or even five years ago that I would never…

View original post 789 more words

How To Use The 5 Senses In Creative Writing

Rachel Poli

The 5 senses are something we all use in everyday life. We use them without realizing it, it just comes naturally to us.

When someone asks us to smell something, we know exactly how to use our nose. When someone tells us to feel something, we know how to touch and how to describe it.

Despite how easy it is to use our senses in real life, it’s sometimes difficult to show off our characters using their senses in our stories.

Sometimes it doesn’t quite fit right into the description and other times we forget to add those subtleties in.

Why do we need to add the 5 senses into our writing?

Adding the senses to your writing allow your readers to be there with your characters. They’ll feel as though they’re part of the story. The details will be painted before them as it breathes life into your characters.

View original post 690 more words

What’s in a name? Guest Post by Jemima Pett…

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Luke Skywalker

Elizabeth Bennet

Jack Reacher

Stephanie Plum

Indiana Jones

Bridget Jones

Zarko Fanwester

Each name probably leaps into your imagination. If you’ve seen them on film or tv, you may have a distinct image of them, too. How well do their names fit the personalities you treasure them for?

Luke Skywalker. Luke is a solid name; shades of biblical resonance, traditional. Skywalker; surely he isn’t a dirtfarmer or whatever they do in the desert where he lives. He belongs in the air, a pilot, at the very least. Is he a hero? Maybe not intentionally.

Elizabeth Bennet. Another traditional name. Bennet is among the more ‘common’ English surnames, in that there are many people with it, although the single t adds a slightly period feeling to it. Elizabeth always seems to have overtones of regality, especially when not contracted to Liz, Beth or Bess. Beth March is a much…

View original post 1,000 more words

4 Tips for Creating a Successful Book Blog

black CATastrophy

If you love to read and you’re wondering what your next blog should be about then a book blog is the obvious first choice. Many great writers use book blogs to review and promote books they come across.

However, if you’re a novelist, then your book blog serves an additional purpose. It’s an additional opportunity to brand and market your book to followers who may one day become your customers, and form your fan base.

So how do you ensure you start off on the right foot, and make the best out of your book blog? Check out our four tips below.

1. Write About More than Your Book

One of the biggest mistake indie authors make is giving in to that drive to sell, sell, sell. There is often either a push for people to buy the books,  or read and review a free copy.

You might be thinking…

View original post 757 more words

EDITING 101: 50 – Using Another Language in Your Manuscript…

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Originally posted as the Dun Writin’—Now Whut? series on this blog, EDITING 101 is a weekly refresher series for some of you and brand new for others.

Courtesy ofAdirondack Editing

Using Another Language in Your Manuscript

Please note that this article’s suggestions are mostly for authors who have decided to self-publish. If you intend to shop your manuscript to an agent or publisher, they will ultimately decide how to treat your foreign language. But you are certainly welcome (and encouraged) to implement any of the suggestions for clarity before querying.

I’ve worked with fantasy and science fiction authors who generated an entirely new language for their story’s world. I’ve even edited some of those invented languages for consistency, since standard rules need to be created and implemented for pluralizing nouns, conjugating verbs, etc.! In other instances, authors have used an existing foreign language (such as French, German, or Spanish) in their…

View original post 592 more words

Smorgasbord Invitation to an end of Summer House Party – Saturday 26th to Monday 28th August

Smorgasbord - Variety is the spice of life

In a few weeks we shall be coming to the end of the summer holidays and I thought that as I am also approaching my fourth blogging anniversary, it was time to have a party.

I have already begun to prepare my guest list with those wonderful writers who have supported me throughout those four years. They will be appearing automatically with their details and links over the three days.

However, as with any good party there is also an opportunity to mingle and share contact details with others to promote your blog, books and social media connections.

There will be some music, personal recollections of my special guests and something to eat and drink…virtually of course.

This is a celebration of a community that never fails to warm my heart with its kindness and generosity of spirit. I hope that you will be a part of it..

I will…

View original post 26 more words