Sunday, March 8, 2015

Sunday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts


By: Rachel E. Newman

When I first realized my passion for editing, I had long recognized my love for books and stories. During my adolescent years, I read voraciously; and by the time I decided to pursue editing, I believed I could recognize a well-written novel within a few sentences. Surely I would be a natural.

It was with great anticipation I began my first editing fiction course. I still remember that initial editing assignment. The paragraph had emotion; it had character; it sounded so good. And then comments from my more experienced classmates started rolling in. The excerpt had problems with repetitive language, shallow point of view, and unnecessary speaker attributions. Once it had been edited and portions of it rewritten, the finished product was head and shoulders above the original paragraph.

At that point I realized just how much I needed to learn. And the process of learning has been one of pure joy. Discovering how to communicate images and ideas in a way that makes the text disappear and the story come alive has opened a whole new avenue for connecting with people. And people, after all, is what I’m about.

That’s why I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned to help you polish your manuscript and save money. Although self-editing does not eliminate your need for a professional editor, it can cut down on the amount of time it takes to complete a professional edit which in turn could save you lots of money. Even the best editors will tell you that professional editors have their work professionally edited.

Our brains have the amazing capability to see what should be there instead of what is there. We might read over a sentence fifteen times and never realize it’s missing a the or contains a misspelled word. (I must have read that last sentence at least eight times before I realized I’d left the s off “times.”) That’s why it’s so important to have a fresh pair of eyes do that final edit.

There are many changes you can make, though, before you submit your manuscript to an editor. Keep in mind that while writing your first draft you shouldn’t concern yourself with editing. Editing and writing use different parts of your brain, and you don’t need the distraction editing will cause while you are emptying your creative genius onto your keyboard. But once you’ve got that first tornado of a story down, it’s time to start looking at it critically. What works and what doesn’t?

One of the first set of questions to ask yourself is:

. . .

Read the full article HERE!
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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:
  1. Fiction University: Day Seven: Focus the Narrative Drive http://ow.ly/K3vGy
  2. Productivity Tips for the Scattered Writer - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/K3vJl
  3. How to Survive a Publishing Trend Cycle, Part 1 - Rock Your Writing http://ow.ly/K3vLt
  4. Clumsy dialogue – your mission statement for a subtle scene | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/K3vO3
  5. How To Build A Top-Notch Media Kit | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/K3vRx
  6. Finding a Good Editor, Talent Vs. Training, and Writing Banter | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/K3vXK
  7. A Weird Way to Beat Writer’s Block http://ow.ly/K3w3y
  8. Why You Should Steal Content http://ow.ly/K3w6B  “Good artists borrow, great artists steal” – Picasso
  9. Marketing Strategy - B2B Inbound Marketing Snapshot: Top Goals, Tactics, and Challenges : MarketingProfs Article http://ow.ly/K3w9J
  10. 7 Step Content Creation Strategy for Epic Content Marketing http://ow.ly/K3wdx
  11. Book Trailers And Using Video For Book Marketing | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/K3wfZ
  12. What Authors Can Learn From Startups | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/K3wiJ
  13. Infographic: 6 Rules For Managing Your Business's Facebook Page | Fast Company | Business + Innovation http://ow.ly/K3yoA
  14. Writability: Pitch Tip: Make Your Stakes Personal http://ow.ly/K3ypS
  15. Navigating a Big Writer's Conference--What's Best to Do, What Do You Bring, How to Make the Most of Your Time & Money http://ow.ly/K3yrC
  16. Whose Story Is It? Self-Editing for Point of View by Rachel E. Newman — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/K3yCa
  17. Alexandra Sokoloff: Rewriting: Something has to happen http://ow.ly/K3z7l
  18. Mythcreants » Creating a Memorable Climax for Your Campaign http://ow.ly/K3z9q
  19. Why You Need an Online Portfolio; Yes, You! http://ow.ly/K3zbk
  20. The Dreaded Sagging Middle | The Violet Femmes http://ow.ly/K3zeI
  21. Anakina.blog: Giveaway and mailing list: how to take care of your readers http://ow.ly/K3zg4
Happy writing and running, Kathy 

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