May 2009

Phraseology

May 28, 2009

One of the many responsibilities of an editor is making sure that common sayings are used correctly. This obviously includes checking and correcting the phrasing (it’s “running the gauntlet”, not “running through the gauntlet”). For historically-based projects, it also means verifying that a figure of speech actually existed at the time that it’s being used. [...]

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The Pitch Clinic

May 18, 2009

Your first page is your chance to make an impression. While your story has to be strong enough speak for itself, your first page has to be strong enough to draw people in and keep them reading. There’s a lot to be learned from the First Pages Clinic. Even if you don’t submit your own [...]

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Barbarian Princess Set to Take Amazon By Storm

May 14, 2009

NINA KIMBERLY THE MERCILESS, the fantastic podiobook by Christiana Ellis, debuts in print tomorrow, May 15th, from Dragon Moon Press. Buy your copy on Friday, May 15th, and help Christiana and NINA ambush the Amazon charts! I had the privilege of editing the print edition with Christiana and I’m very excited to see its release. [...]

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Life happens

May 11, 2009

Life happens to all of us sometimes. Despite our best intentions, emergencies and unforseen circumstances can arise that make our personal lives or our health or families come first. Sometimes our professional deadlines have to take a back seat. Freelance Folder addresses the topic with a very helpful Template Letter for Emergencies and accompanying tips. [...]

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Style Guides

May 7, 2009

When it comes to grammar, punctuation, and general formatting, there are a lot of gray areas that are often a matter of personal preference and experience. How are you supposed to know what to hyphenate, what to capitalize, where the punctuation belongs in dialog, and whether to use underlines or italics? Should you still use [...]

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Interview at Irreverent Muse

May 4, 2009

As important as it is for an editor to work in the author’s voice, it doesn’t mean we don’t have voices of our own. You can hear mine by listening to my very first podcast interview. Michell Plested kindly invited me to talk on the air with him about the reasons to hire an editor, [...]

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