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The painful ‘nowning’ process

January 22, 2009

BUFFY: How do you get to be renowned? I mean, like, do you have to be ‘nowned’ first? WILLOW: Yes, first there’s the painful ‘nowning’ process. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, episode 4.1 “The Freshman”) Clever wording aside, the process of gaining renown is, often, a painful one. Yet, renown, or reputation, or recognition, or whatever [...]

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In Homage to Mr. Poe

January 19, 2009

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe. In his honor, Evil Editor is calling for short-short-short stories or scenes in the style of Mr. Poe. The link is here. Reference works by Poe can be found here. The deadline is Sunday the 24th. The limit is 400 words. Enter. Enjoy! [...]

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Grammarphobic?

January 15, 2009

When it comes to commonly misunderstood rules of spelling or grammar (like whether to use “discreet” or “discrete”, “fewer” or “less”, or “as if it was” over “as if it were”), I’ve often found that a writer who is uncertain about the correct usage will alternate back and forth. It may be completely unintentional, but [...]

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Editing Tests

January 12, 2009

How Publishers Hire Editors I should start with a disclaimer: I’ve never had to take an editing test. I’m at a point in my career where I’m kept pleasantly busy with my work for Dragon Moon Press, and my additional projects arrive through referrals—situations in which my work has already spoken for itself. My experience [...]

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Mascot: Editorcat

January 8, 2009

I had a serious post in mind for today, but I saw this on icanhascheezburger last night and, well, I think this one speaks for itself. I never have days like this, either. Actually, I’m really fortunate right now. All my clients lately have been wonderful, eloquent, and easy to work with. May the trend [...]

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Old Books, Online

January 5, 2009

Way, way back (or, at least, a long time ago as Internet history goes), there was Project Gutenberg. It began in 1971, with project founder Michael Hart typing in the Declaration of Independence, and slowly expanded to include other historical documents and out-of-copyright literature. In 1991, Project Gutenberg took its current form. Its initial goal [...]

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Back to Work

December 29, 2008

I had a lovely holiday with family, and now I’m back in the office looking at the two manuscripts on my desk. In the spirit of the season, my mother had asked me if I would like one of those “I am the grammarian about whom your mother warned you” shirts. I graciously declined, and [...]

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Tips on Naming Characters

December 22, 2008

1. Choose names for members of a culture that follow a cultural thread. Names don’t have to be so similar that they’re indistinct, or rhyme, or all have the same vowel-consonant patterns. But in most successful science fiction or fantasy, names from a given culture have at least something in common. Think about the ways [...]

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Capital I is for Internet

December 18, 2008

Your editor is hard at work. I’m juggling three manuscripts, with a fourth soon on the way, and I’m trying to clear my desk before the holidays. If I haven’t been around in the usual places — Twitter, Skype, or wherever you might normally find me — now you know why. One common thread I’ve [...]

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Contracts

December 12, 2008

Are contracts really necessary? Isn’t making someone sign a contract for editing work like saying you don’t trust them to pay? There’s a lot more to a contract than just “Ha! Now you HAVE to pay me!” and “Ha! Now you HAVE to do the work!” Contracts set out the expectations of both parties. If [...]

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